1.) 2013 Land Rover Range Rover 'The Prestige'
An extremely late entrance, we barely knew anything about the latest Range Rover SUV until earlier this month.The latest in a prestigious lineage, the Range Rover has long been regarded as one of the finest vehicles, car or truck, ever made. For 2013, the new Range Rover is taking luxury, engineering, and all-road capability to a whole new level.Evoking high levels of luxury, its art deco interior is complete with polished aluminum, gloss piano black trims, and acres of leather surfaces.However, the biggest change in the new Range Rover is its new aluminum extensive architecture. Thanks to the lightweight material, the new generation Range Rover has lost as much as 850 pounds, a significant 14 percent reduction, from its outgoing model.Thanks to the new chassis, the 2013 Range Rover boasts confidence-inspiring driving behavior that makes the 5,137 pound behemoth actually feel light footed. Combined with a supercharged V8 engine that offers 510-hp, the enormous house on wheels accelerates from 0-to-60 mph in just 5.1 seconds and all the way to a top speed of 140-hp. Not even Hurricane Sandy can propel your house as quickly (too soon?). Land Rover

When the 2013 Land Rover Range Rover made its debut earlier this month, the British automaker's latest flagship luxury SUV grabbed headlines when it revealed an all-new diesel hybrid model. The drivetrain in the Range Rover Diesel Hybrid features a 3.0 liter turbo-diesel V6 powerplant mated to a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission as well as integrated electric motors with a lithium-ion battery cell.

What seems like the perfect product for the hybrid-embracing U.S. market, Land Rover has announced that the diesel hybrid variant will not be available for America. Why did Land Rover shut out its Range Rover Hybrid from what's arguably its largest potential market? According to Land Rover sources, the diesel powerplant currently faces challenges in meeting U.S. emissions standards and a significant amount of work and finances must be invested before it can meet U.S. compliance.

According to figures in the Europe-spec Range Rover Diesel Hybrid, expect fuel economy ratings exceeding 50 mpg.

For now, American buyers will be offered a choice between the naturally aspirated or a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 motor with an eight-speed automatic transmission. At this point, the EPA has yet to report official fuel economy figures for the 2013 Range Rover just yet, but given its new transmission and its lightweight aluminum structure, Land Rover is confident of significant improvements over the outgoing model.

Despite the 2013 Land Rover Range Rover Diesel Hybrid's early exclusion from the U.S. market, a hybrid Range Rover is only a matter of time. Expect obligatory tweaks under the hood to be made in time for a future Range Rover mid-lifecycle facelift.

[Source: Automobile Mag]

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