You know I love architecture and interior design. Almost as much as I like those, I like cars. For as much as I write about green design, I love driving fast. I'm nothing if not complicated.

Today, instead of sitting behind a desk, I was given the chance to sit behind the wheel of the fastest, most powerful Saab ever: the Saab Turbo X.

Why is it called the Saab Turbo X? Well, Saab starts with the 9-3 and puts in a turbocharged 2.8 V6 that produces 280 hp and and 295 lb-ft of torque. Then they add a unique Cross Wheel Drive system. Cross, because torque can be transferred between the rear wheels - something that doesn't happen in other AWD systems and helps the car keep control through all types of driving situations. All that power is delivered to the pavement through 18" wheels wrapped in high performance tires.

Yeah, yeah. Car talk. Blah. Blah. BLAH. I know, this is a DESIGN blog. What about the car's design?

Visually, the car is stunning. The new for 2008 9-3 is sharper than ever, with it's wrap-around headlamps and integrated center grill. The Turbo X steps it up with a deeper front lip spoiler with an integrated air intake to reduce drag (make the car more aerodynamic - forms follows function, right?). In the back, the rear fascia is lowered and wrap around rhomboid-shaped exhaust pipes. Overall, a subtle hint of I'll-kick-your-butt-ness.

Inside, the Turbo X is all business: well appointed, but not flashy. Sport seats; carbon fiber on the glove box, shifter console and door trim; a fat leather steering wheel; and a retro turbo-boost gauge all give the feel of a purpose-built machine.

Color. What colors can you can get? You won't have a hard time choosing which color to get, because all 600 Turbo X's that are coming to the US are jet black. Get it? Saab - "born from jets", jet black Turbo X. Actually, it's deeper than that. Saab and turbocharging are as old as I am - the first Saab 99 Turbo was introduced in 1977. Throughout the 30+ year history of turbo Saabs, the jet black turbo has become a sort of cult car - the one to have. The Turbo X is a nod to the enthusiast.

OK, it's got a fast engine, good grip, looks good, has a well appointed interior, and is black. What does it drive like?

On the roads and highways from Herb Chambers Saab in Allston to the test track in North Andover, it was powerful yet comfortable. The sport suspension and big wheels gave no hint of a jarring right like other performance setups can. Those leather seats are sooo comfortable, you feel like you could ride in that seat for hours without getting that we've-been-driving-for-hours-and-my-butt-is-sore feeling.

What's it like on the track?

Wow.

Actually, my post on Twitter after I drove it for the first time was "That. Was. Fun".

I took four or five turns of about three laps each. It wasn't an actual racetrack, but a large parking lot set up with an autocross course. The course had a variety of turns, one of which was covered in sand. Try as hard as all of the journalists did, we could not get this car to spin. Lots of screaming tires, the occasional downed cone (none by me!), but no backwards cars. A group of auto journalists unable to get a car to spin is probably the single greatest compliment to the Turbo X's stability.

Overall, a great day (did I mention the weather? OMG!) to spend in a great new car. About half of the 600 Turbo X's coming to the US have already been spoken for, so if you want one, you'd better act quick!



Want to see more photos? Check out my photos on Flickr!

Earlier today, I logged onto my Facebook account and saw an ad for what looked eerily like the Ford Focus I sold after I moved to the city. I wiped my glasses clean (just to be safe), and looked again. It wasn't a Focus, but in fact the new 2008 Saturn Astra.

The Astra is all new, in America at least (the Opel Astra has been competing with the VW GTI and other hatchbacks in Europe for some time). The specs page wasn't loading all the way when I tried to check it out, but according to Edmunds.com, the Astra is going to have a 140-hp, 1.8L 4-cylinder motor and will be available as a three- and five-door hatchback. Saturn is playing up the driveability of the car, offering up 18" wheels and "sport seats" on the three-door.

What do I think? Well, I love small, "tossable" cars. With 140-hp, it's not the most powerful sport hatch on the market, but I've always appreciated handling over sheer power. Design-wise, I think it looks a lot like my old Focus, but with the signature Saturn bug-eye headlamps.

I don't think it will set any records, but will be a good choice for someone looking for a car with a lot of reliability, good economy, and a little sport. Just like my Focus.

I know my friend Adam Denison is having fun.

After years of being seen as the official vehicle of the old, out of touch white man, Cadillac has emerged as a force to be reckoned with.

The newly redesigned 2008 Cadillac CTS was recently named Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year. Two upcoming versions of the CTS also won the Eyes On Design award at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit: The high performance 550hp 2009 CTS-V won the award for Best Production Car; the CTS Coupe won the Best Concept Car.

GM must be really enjoying themselves, as the Chevy Malibu (which I've talked about before here and here) won the North American Car of the Year. Congratulations to Adam and the rest of GM.

Back in September, I had a chance to discuss sustainability with some GM reps and sit in the new Chevy Malibu Hybrid. Acknowledging the last generation was too tame, Chevy has dubbed the new Malibu's ad campaign "The Car You Can't Ignore". I was quite pleased to see that because, well, it's true. For a car that starts in the high teens, it's quite impressive, from its design, to power, to fit-and-finish.

Earlier today, I had the chance to sit down with Jay Ferraro and Adam Denison from General Motors. They're in town as part of the AltWheels Festival.

Over lunch at the Union Oyster House, we discussed the steps GM is taking to become more sustainable. Check this out:

• By 2012, 50% off all GM vehicles will be able to run on ethanol (There are already 2.5M "FlexFuel" vehicles on the road now).
• Chevy is launching hybrid versions of the Tahoe SUV and Malibu sedan. The Malibu Hybrid gets as good gas mileage as the Camry Hybrid.
• Saturn currently offers the Aura Hybrid sedan, and will be releasing the Vue Hybrid compact SUV for 2008.
• Chevy will reportedly begin production testing the plug-in Hybrid Volt (it goes up to 40 miles before it uses any gas!) by this time next year.

Since this is a design blog, let me point out, the new Malibu is a great looking sedan. Smooth lines, a quality interior - this is not your old Celebrity.

The AltWheels festival is running through tomorrow at City Hall Plaza.

Here is a commercial that GM made for the Volt - a car that's not even "officially" slated for production...

When you think of a Jaguar (the car, not the big cat), you typically think of a stately British car with a traditional design theme that traces back decades of the company's history.

Well, that might change soon. This past January (yes, I'm way late in posting this), Jaguar introduced the CX-F concept. The first thing you notice is the roofline: much like the Mercedes CLS, the sleek roofline give the sedan an almost coupe-like appearance.

In the front of the car, you see a large, recessed mesh grille. On either side, Jaguar has done away with the traditional twin headlamp style for a more, well, cat-like look.

The inside of the car features carbon fiber, torch-darkened poplar, and machined aluminum for a blend of luxury and performance. Jaguar was one of the first to introduce a gated shifter, but has replaced that in the CX-F with a rotary dial - just twist it to the desired setting, and off you go.

While the CX-F is a concept, it has been positioned as the basis for the next generation of Jaguar sedans. Quite a step forward, I say.

While looking up info for my earlier post on the Ocean Drive, I checked out the future cars section of the Mercedes website, and discovered the 2008 C-Class.

Following in a string of recent vehicle introductions and redesigns, MB is making a rather striking intro-level automobile: Split between a "Sport" and "Luxury" trim levels, the car will have an astonishing list of features, including the following:

• A choice of two V-6 engines (3.0 or 3.5 liter sport sedan and 3.0 liter luxury sedan)
• Standard 7-speed automatic transmission (optional on C300 Sport Sedan)
• Standard 8-way power driver and passenger seats
• Adaptive brakes
• Standard dual-zone automatic climate control
• Burl Walnut trim (luxury sedan) or Aluminum trim (sport sedan)
• DIRECT CONTROL adaptive suspension system with selective damping for comfort and handling
• Standard Bluetooth® connectivity
• Aggressive AMG bodystyling on sport sedan models
• Standard power sunroof
• Six standard air bags
• 17-inch twin-spoke aluminum wheels (Optional 18-inch twin-spoke aluminum wheels on C300 and C350 Sport Sedans)

Remember, this is the intro-level car. Quite impressive.

The style is not as aggressive as the CLS 4 door "Coupe", or the new S-Class, never mind their coupes and roadsters, but it is a step forward from the earlier generation C. I don't see any side or rear views of the car, but as you can see from the front shot above, and the list of features above (both pilfered from the MB website), it'll be quite sporty. Once AMG gets their hands on it, this car will be a true performer, competing with the likes of the future BMW M3, and the Audi S4 (or RS4, depending on how much power AMG gives it).

One thing: I wonder why MB did away with the supercharged 4-cylinder, which was quite a fun, responsive engine (disclaimer: I used to sell MB's, so I know a thing or two about their previous editions). It would also be a bit better on fuel mileage - although, with MB's technical prowess, not by much.

The other day, I said I dreamed of a car with supercar performance and stellar gas mileage. Wouldn't you like that too? How does 0-60 MPH in 4 seconds sound? A top speed of 135 MPH? Or the equivalent to 135 miles per gallon? Oh, and it rides so quietly, you'd be forgiven for thinking it didn't have an engine. (That's because it doesn't)

Meet the Tesla Roadster, a two-seat roadster that runs completely off of electricity. It can go up to 250 miles between charges, and with the cost of electricity, it costs about one cent per mile - compare that to your car.

Its style is reminiscent of the Lotus Elise, a car that I absolutely love (beyond design, I'm a car nut, too). The low stance, aerodynamic angles, the fins in the hood to push air up over the hood, it has the looks to match the performance.

Aside from it's performance and great fuel economy, it's a fairly luxurious ride, too. Available options include two-tone premium interior ($1,800), touch screen navigation ($1,200), and a matching body-colored hardtop roof ($3,200). Add that to the $92,000 base price, and you get a pretty expensive car, but no other car at that price is both as fast and as clean.

Prepare to see a barrage of posts on some automotive design news that I've discovered (or rediscovered).

I recently came across this article on Wired News: Mercedes-Benz has produced a prototype of a four-door convertible, their first since the 1960's.

Built off the same frame as the top of the line S600 with additional reinforcements (to match the stiffness of the hardtop sedan), the Ocean Drive is not as sleek as the S Class, but it isn't trying to be. The grill is a third larger; the headlamps are made of five banks of 35 LEDs; the top, when down, is concealed under a "birds eye maple compartment behind the rear seats."

I typically like to focus my energies in the automotive realm around environmentally friendly cars. This isn't one of them. The 5.5L, 36-valve, biturbo V-12 produces 512 hp and an amazing 610 lb-ft of torque. The downside of all that power is gas mileage: 12 mpg city and 19 mpg highway - that's pickup truck territory. I would love to see the day when someone like MB or Aston Martin make a car this expensive and powerful, but with a more fuel efficient motor. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

If produced, the car should cost "around $300,000." Needless to say, if this is produced, you'll see Jay Z in one.

Via Inhabitat, I found out about the H-Racer from Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, a toy car that runs off of hydrogen. The car is fueled through "a miniature solar-powered hydrogen refueling station that converts water to hydrogen using energy captured from the sun." The toy is getting a lot of attention in various media outlets as a front-runner to the supposedly oncoming rush of hydrogen automobiles. Priced at $80, this would make a great, battery-free Christmas present for your favorite car geek, young or old.

There's an article on the CBS4Boston website (that I found via about) about a first in Boston: a hybrid taxi. Alright, so this isn't so much about design (although the new Camry is an astonishingly attractive sedan) as it is about being green. So what? If we can get more of those dilapidated V8 Ford Crown Vic's out of service and more green machines in, Boston will be a much nice place to breath. And all the traffic congestion downtown would look nicer, too.