Unveiled: 2011 Dodge Durango - What do you think?

After a recent sneak peek, Dodge has officially pulled the covers off its all-new, third-generation Durango. While the original was a truck-based, rough-and-ready SUV, the 2011 Durango is a unibody crossover (available with rear- or all-wheel drive) promising more real-world refinement as well as off-pavement and towing abilities to satisfy the needs for most customers. Think of it as now targeting the Chevrolet Traverse, rather than the Tahoe. It is powered by the new Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 engine, with a 6,200-lb. tow capacity. For more might, a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 will be available with a 7,400-lb. tow capacity—more than enough for a typical 24-foot boat and trailer. Horsepower and fuel economy figures have not been released. However, we can guess the output, as these power plants are shared with the redesigned 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. There, the V6 produces 290 horsepower and the V8 churns out 360 horsepower. The three-row interior is said to be more passenger friendly than before, with better materials and attention to design. We had a chance to briefly preview the Durango, and the cabin made a better first impression than the outgoing model. We'll know more when we test a real production model. Safety features include standard three-row curtain air bags, active head restraints, and stability control. Available premium equipment includes adaptive cruise control, collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-path detection. The new Durango goes on sale late in 2010. See more 2011 Durango photos. How do you like the overall package and styling? Post your thoughts in the comments below.—Jeff Bartlett Next Steps SUV Buying Advice: Types of SUVs | SUV Features | SUV Brands All SUV Ratings Subscribers can view and compare all SUV Ratings. Recommended SUVs Look at the ones that we chose as the best of the best.

How will your car rate under new EPA fuel economy window stickers?

Even with fuel economy ratings on window stickers, it can be difficult for consumers to judge how efficient their car is compared to others at a glance. That's one thing that the Environmental Protection Agency's new fuel economy labels are designed to address by assigning letter grades to every model. According to EPA assistant administrator Gina McCarthy, the letter grades—from "A+" to "D"—will be assigned on a bell curve, with the median being a "B-." That means most cars will cluster around a "B-," while few will get an "A+" or "D." Specifically, according to the joint notice of proposed rulemaking by the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 697 of the 2012 model-year vehicles will get a "B-," while 14 will get an "A-." There will be a dozen vehicles that get the lowest mark, "D." (The EPA counts each drivetrain variation within a model separately.) For now, no cars rate an "A" or an "A+." According to the schema, only pure electric cars would be eligible for an "A+," only plug-in hybrids could get an "A," and only conventional hybrids could get an "A-," says McCarthy. (Whether those cars deserve that grade comes down to where the electricity they use comes from, which consumers can find out from the QR Code on the new window sticker.) So far only the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti rates a "D," and only the Ford Fusion Hybrid, Honda Civic Hybrid, and Toyota Prius rate an "A-." Other interesting examples include the Ford Escape, Nissan Altima, and Toyota Camry hybrids, which each get a "B+," and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, which gets a "B." The Honda CR-V and four-cylinder Toyota RAV4 each rate a "B+," while other popular small SUVs such as the Subaru Forester and the V6-powered RAV4 only get a "B." Several family sedans such as the Honda Accord and Chevrolet Malibu are rated "B" with in their four-cylinder engine variants, while the V6 versions get a "B-." Most large half-ton pickups, as well as popular midsized SUVs such as the Honda Pilot and the Jeep Grand Cherokee, are rated "C+." If approved, the new system may take a little getting used to. But just like in school, a "C" isn't a very good grade, while only the stars will get "A+." To see how your car rates, check out page 37 of the PDF of the agencies' proposed rule. Learn more about the window stickers under consideration, and share your opinion. Also read: New-car fuel-economy stickers promise abundant information and connectivity Your vote: Should new car fuel economy labels include letter grades? —Eric Evarts See our guide to fuel economy for advice on saving gasoline. Learn about future technologies in our guide to alternative fuels.

Recall: 2010 Kia Soul, 2011 Sorento - Fire risk

Kia is recalling 2010 Soul and 2011 Sorento vehicles to address a wiring harness that may not have been properly soldered. The recall targets over 35,000 vehicles built between September 7, 2009 and July 30, 2010. The wiring harness is used for lighting the Soul front-door speakers and Sorento accent trim. The concern is that when the lights are used in certain circumstances, an electrical short can occur and potentially result in fire. Owners will be contacted this month, and dealers will replace the wiring harnesses free of charge. Owners may contact Kia for more information: 800-333-4542 Next Steps SUV Buying Advice: Types of SUVs | SUV Features | SUV Brands All SUV Ratings Subscribers can view and compare all SUV Ratings. Recommended SUVs Look at the ones that we chose as the best of the best.

Nissan Leaf electric-car charger installation cost proves shocking

As the Nissan Leaf moves closer to production late this year, consumers who have put down $99 deposits on the all-electric car are learning more about the financial impact of driving on the leading edge. And the costs are shocking, potentially tallying thousands of dollars. Electric-car buyers need to factor not just the purchase price (or lease payments) and energy consumption, but the cost for an at-home charger and its installation. The charger runs from about $700 to $1,200. Being much more than a power cord, the charger takes the alternating current from your house or elsewhere on the grid and converts it to DC for charging the batteries. It also protects the batteries from overheating, overcharging, or charging too fast. Some chargers may also allow you to monitor or control charging wirelessly or over the Internet. Should power be interrupted, it will also safely restart charging so you don't find your car's battery still dead in the morning. The other portion of the cost of putting a charger in your home is installing an outlet to run it. Level 2 chargers, which can recharge a pure electric vehicle overnight, require a dedicated 240-volt circuit with a capacity of at least 30 amps. Installing such a circuit requires a licensed electrician. But the cost of the circuit varies wildly. Some homes may already have a 240-volt, 30-amp circuit to run a clothes dryer or an electric oven. And some of these may have a 200-amp panel with enough room to install another powerful circuit. Even then, it's still going to cost homeowners to have an electrician pull wiring to your garage or driveway for a new circuit. The farther the charger needs to be from the panel, the more it will cost. (Remember, you can't use the existing dryer circuit; the charger needs its own.) Many older homes with only 60-100 amp supply may need a panel upgrade to install a 240-volt circuit, which can cost several thousand dollars. One program with federal support will provide free chargers to 5,700 of the first Leaf buyers in 13 cities. (It will also roll out an additional 6,350 public charging stations and 2,600 free chargers for Chevrolet Volt buyers.) The program, called the EV Project, will also pay for up to $1,200 of the cost of installing the circuit to power the charger. If you're not one of those lucky 5,700 buyers, you'll have to pay for a charger and installing a new electrical circuit. However, some early Leaf buyers have found that without the EV Project subsidy, even the simplest charger installations are costing more than $2,000. One early buyer on the mynissanleaf.com forum, who recently built his own house with an electric vehicle in mind, had prewired a dedicated 240-volt, 50-amp circuit in the garage, found the charger company wanted to bill him a flat rate of $1,200 to install the $700 charger, even though the circuit was already there. The EV charging industry is still in its nascent stages....

Courts rule on legality of planting GPS trackers on suspects' cars without a warrant

GPS is everywhere. Now, according to a California court, it can also be used to track criminal suspects. In a case involving a marijuana grower, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has decided that police didn't violate the suspect's Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure by sneaking his driveway and attaching a GPS tracking device to the bottom of his Jeep. (Court document pdf.) In a different case in Washington, D.C., an appeals court decision went the other way, ruling a lower court erred in admitting evidence acquired by the warrantless use of a GPS device to track that defendant's movements. The court overturned the conviction of one suspected conspirator. (Court ruling pdf.) While your movements on public roads have never been private (an unmarked police car could legally follow you, for example), the Information Age continues to present new challenges to privacy, especially when it comes to law enforcement, from Internet usage to GPS signals in cars and cell phones. Should law enforcement have access to GPS data? And is it fair to place trackers on vehicles without a warrant or permission if law enforcement has reasonable suspicions about criminal activity? Share your thoughts in the comments below. —Eric Evarts Next Steps GPS Buying Advice: Types of GPS | GPS Features | GPS Brands All GPS Ratings Subscribers can view and compare all GPS Ratings. Recommended GPS Look at the ones that we chose as the best of the best.