The Detroit News is like really high on the 2010 Nissan Altima! The “dynamic simplicity” look that Nissan is going for here in the 2010 Altima went over well with the editors in Detroit. You need a good smooth ride in this segment and the independent suspension along with 32mpg on the highway shows that there is more to this machine than just good looks.

While there are a bunch of 2010 Nissan Altimas (eight, if you count the coupes, sedans and hybrid versions), only one can be the best in the bunch: the 2010 Nissan Altima 3.5 SR sedan.

Loaded up with Nissan’s bulletproof 3.5-liter V-6, a decent continuously variable transmission (as good as CVTs go) and a solid ride, the 3.5 SR sedan provides everything a daily driver should want and a whole lot more.

For the 2010 model year, Nissan has given the Altima a fresh look. Nissan changed the front end, bumper and hood as well as some other touches around the vehicle. It also added new wheels to give the 3.5 SR a more aggressive look. It looks meaner.

Read the full article here.

The guys over at the Detroit News are just gushing about the Porsche 911 Carrera S. Yes, This is an amazing machine and what an impression it has left on Scott Burgess. Can’t wait to drive one myself.

The Porsche 911 Carrera S is almost mythical.

Spotting one on the open road in Michigan is like trying to lasso a unicorn.

But they are out there and when you see one bolt past, you have to wonder what it’s like to drive one.

Allow me to explain: It’s better.

The 911 S is a mechanical dream, watch-like precision in a car. There’s a reason German engineering comes with such a glorified reputation and the 911 S proves this at every turn.

When I sat inside the cabin for the first time, I was in awe — it didn’t even matter that I was driving the 2009 model of the 911 S when the 2010 version with a few updates was starting to roll into dealerships. (There have been some additions to the 2010 model year, but most are minor and the 2009 is a good representation.)

Read the full article here.

The Detroit News is reporting the GM bondholers are driving a hard bargain and threatening to push GM into bankruptcy.

General Motors Corp. bondholders want more money in exchange for forgiving billions in debt and are threatening to push the struggling automaker into bankruptcy if they don’t get it, The Detroit News has learned.

GM has been negotiating with bondholders this week on a complicated debt exchange that would cut the automaker’s unsecured debt by two-thirds to $9.2 billion. To get there, bondholders would have to accept about 30 cents on the dollar, which is a requirement of the automaker’s $13.4 billion federal loan package.

But bondholders are demanding 50 cents on the dollar, which they say mirrors the value of concessions being negotiated with the United Auto Workers, said people familiar with the talks.

The demands illustrate the challenges GM is facing in its talks with bondholders and raise doubts about whether the company will succeed in cutting its debt and convincing the government it can repay the loans. If GM cannot reach a deal on concessions with bondholders, as well as with the UAW, the government could recall the $9.4 billion GM has already received and effectively force the automaker into bankruptcy.

When he arrived at Ford several years ago, new CEO Alan Mulally decided it was crazy for Ford to abandon the once-popular “Taurus” brand. He decided quickly to rename the lackluster Ford 500 and bring back the Taurus name.

Now the new Taurus has been introduced at the Detroit Auto Show, and the readers of The Detroit News have chosen the Taurus as “Best of Show” at the auto show. The car looks sweet, and it could provide a great shot in the arm for the struggling American auto industry.