#4wd

The call came in at 11:30 p.m. on a Friday night. A rich southern tycoon, who I’ll refer to as Mr. Moneybags to avoid a lawsuit, was on the other end of the line.

According to Jaguar’s global brand director, Adrian Hallmark, all future models will be developed with all-wheel drive capability.

The controversial looks and unconventional format of the FF hasn’t stopped Ferrari from selling every example they’re building this year.

While Ford has made the decision to turn the Explorer from an SUV into a crossover, it seems committed to making that crossover as capable as possible. Ahead of its debut, Ford has announced the new Explorer will get a “terrain management system” to help owners get the most out of the 4WD system.

After market research, and knowing full well that as a crossover the new Explorer will be marketed to less off-road savvy individuals, Ford wisely decided to do away with having to make drivers choose from two-high, four-high or four-low depending on road or trail conditions. Instead the next-gen Explorer will get a simple console mounted knob with clearly marked driving modes for normal, mud, sand or snow. Every mode will also be compatible with a new hill-decent feature, to navigate steep grades. Rather than use a traditional transfer case, Ford will use more advanced electronics to send power to each wheel. This will also reduce the overall weight of the truck crossover and combined with a new V6 engine will see a reduction in fuel consumption by as much as 25 percent.

See the official release and a short video demonstration of the system after the jump:

A joint project with Nissan, the 2009 Suzuki Equator pickup truck will be built in Nissan’s Smyrna, Tenn. Facility. Suzuki will offer plenty of variants including Extended Cab and Crew Cab body styles, Long Bed and Short Bed variants, four- and six-cylinder engines, and two- and four-wheel drive options.

The 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine makes 152hp and 171 ft-lbs of torque, whereas the more capable 4.0-liter V-6 powerplant produces 261hp and 281 ft-lbs of torque. Four-cylinder models will be available with a five-speed manual transmission. A five-speed automatic will be optional on the 4-cylinder and standards on V-6 models.