Some look at new products and they think, “Hey, it can’t be one of the best if it hasn’t been around…” Well, I don’t believe that’s always the case. And in this case, it’s not possible. You find me three more beautiful cars in the world, and I’ll let you write your own article for The Long Drive.

Here are the cars: Aston Martin’s DBS, Audi’s R8 and Mercedes-Benz’s SLS AMG. All three are not really that competitive to one another, but all three are perfectly styled and some of the most modern examples of how car companies can take design cues from their past without making the car retro.

Let’s start off with the Mercedes. You’ve seen the old 300SL Gullwing, right? If you haven’t, you’re missing out. It is one of the sole reasons why Mercedes-Benz is looked at as one of the most beautiful automakers in the world. They design gorgeous products… without a manual, however. That’s always been my biggest issue. You can’t get an AMG with a manual transmission. Sad. But, with that said, I think I could learn to live without it for all of the grace, class and style that the SLS AMG offers its customers.

When you look at the SLS, you’ll notice pieces of it taken straight from the old-school Gullwing, but if you look closely, you’ll see a modern Benz style all its own. Under hood is a 6.2-liter engine, not an actual 6.3L that AMG claims and presents with their special badges on the sides of the cars. Still, though, that 6.2L V-8 is good for 563 horsepower and 479lb-ft of torque, all put to the ground by a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. AMG, Mercedes-Benz’s in-house tuning agency, who made the car from the ground up -the first ever AMG road car- did a lot to minimize weight by using an aluminum spaceframe and carbon fiber materials; weight’s been, surprisingly, kept to a minimum at just 3,573 lbs. That may seem like quite a bit for a modern day supercar, believe me, comparing it to an SLR, this is almost a MINI Cooper less. Let’s not forget that it’s still got MB’s attention to detail when it comes to safety, ladies and gentleman.

All of this special AMG technology and build perfection secures a 3.6-second 0-60 time, maybe faster, and a top speed nearing 200 mph. Not too shabby, boys. Not only did you create a true vision of modern automotive art, you made it go like bird (get it, because of the gullwing doors? Yeah, I know…).

The spiritual successor to one of the greatest cars of all time, the Acura NSX, is currently produced by a German company named Audi. Popular for Quattro all-wheel drive, front-wheel drive A4 sedans, and beautifully big A6 and A8 luxury cars. But also famous for Ur, S and RS sport line models, they now build a mid-engine supercar that will blast through the fog and getting to 60 in 4-seconds flat, or 3.3-seconds… depending on whether you get the 420hp 317lb-ft of torque 4.2-liter V-8 (2011 models get 430hp), or the 525hp and 391lb-ft of torque 5.2-liter V-10. You can also have your choice of top speed, too. Getting the R8 with a V-8 gets you just 187 mph at the top end, and 196 for the 5.2 FSI V-10 model.

When the Audi R8 became available for purchase in 2007, everyone loved it. I mean, c’mon, how could you hate it? With the styling of no other Audi before it, the handling of a supercar god, with the power to match it, what else was there to love? You could actually fit comfortably in it, have leather appointed everything, and you wouldn’t break down on the highway after a 1,000 mile road trip. It has the same quattro AWD system that Audi has become more than famous for, so you know it feels fantastic from behind the steering wheel. It also has Audi’s bulletproof 4.2-liter V-8 that’s been fitted in the S4, RS4, S5, RS5, every current Spyker, as well as the extra-super, Gumpert Apollo. If that doesn’t say something about the level of greatness the engine has achieved, I don’t know how else to tell you that it’s one of the best engines ever made.

Made of aluminum with some carbon fiber bits, just like the SLS, the R8 is a racing man’s supercar. It has the heritage with its name (the Audi R8 Le Mans racer won 5 times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans), but also the actual prowess of no other Audi that’s come before it. You can get it with a 6-speed manual or Audi’s R tronic automated manual gearbox. A dual-clutch is currently in the works. With the use of aluminum, the R8’s weight isn’t too bad, either. At just 3,571 lbs for the V-10 and 3,605 lbs for the V-8. The weight may seem like a lot, but you’ve got to remember that the R8 sits on an all-wheel drive platform. That’s a couple to a few hundred pounds extra weight right there. So I’d say that Audi did a great job at keeping weight down with all of the modern electronics and safety features that make it one of the best all-round cars in the world.

Last but not least, we have my current favorite car in the world, and the one that I think sits atop the list of most beautiful. I also think it’s in my top 10 of sexiest cars of all time. Sure, it weighs 3,737 lbs, by far the most of this group, has the slowest 0-60 time of 4.0-seconds, the lowest top speed of 191 mph, and also costs way more than both the Audi and the Mercedes. But one thing it has that the others don’t? British quality. Wait, okay, that’s the wrong way to put it. Umm… British design? Yeah, that’s better. It just so happens that the Aston Martin DBS is James Bond’s car of choice. Take that Germany!

Yet another supercar made of aluminum and carbon fiber, the DBS has driven by its 6.0-liter V-12, the largest of the group, but only puts out 510hp and 420lb-ft of torque. I know what you’re saying, “The car with the biggest engine has the lowest amount of power, the slowest 0-60 and top speed, and you think it’s the best one here?” Why yes, yes I do. Here’s why: The Aston is designed with a different grace than the other two beauties in this three car list. It’s artistic without being artsy. It’s big, bulky and has a muscle car look to it.

Coming in rear-wheel drive, the Aston Martin easily provides the most luxury here, and you can even option it with or without a rear seat. Hey, something to carry the babies. Also, standard is a 6-speed 007 manual transmission with a Touchtronic automatic as a $4,000 option.

A base DBS will swipe $266,000 from your checking out, while the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG will only borrow $183,000 at the start before options, and the Audi R8’s will coax $114,200 and $146,000, respectively. If you happen to want a convertible, then you’ll have to dish out a little more for each and wait for the SLS to come out (AMG is currently working on one.). For the Audi R8 5.2 V-10 you will start out by paying $161,000 before options with a standard manual. The Aston Martin will cost you $286,400.

It should be noted that the DBS is the only car that comes only with carbon ceramic disc brakes. Audi does not offer them yet, and Mercedes-Benz charges a $12,500 premium.

Audi will also produce a V-8 R8 cabrio, but it won’t be available until spring of 2011.

Below are some videos I’ve compiled from Top Gear and Fifth Gear. Tiff Needell of Fifth Gear agrees with me that the Aston Martin DBS is the best GT car in the world.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In my 24 years of life, I never thought I’d see the day where people were making videos to plead with the average citizen to save the manuals. For just a few dollars a day, you too can make a difference. Please, folks, listen to Eddie Alterman and the rest of the troops at Car and Driver.

We’re fighting a war we have to win… Screw the automatics! Give me a manual.

Let’s just go ahead and say it… anything you can do, I can do better, mr. automatic man. This is because I have as many legs as I do pedals. Yes, I said it.

But if you look closely, not too many out there have actually tried to review the X6. At least not in a thorough fashion.

That’s why we’re bringing you an article based review, with a video based review. We want to cover all angles for you.

There’s no need to hide it; and this I shall get out from the beginning: the BMW X6 is expensive. Too expensive, I believe. But that doesn’t tell you anything about it. But here’s the story…

To tell it the proper way, I must add that pretty much every fellow writer that I spoke with before getting the X6 from BMW, and each one I talked to while having it, told me that I was going to hate it, or strongly dislike it. I feel neither of those emotions are at all true from this writer. I came out enjoying the X6 as if it were a vehicle I would go and buy myself. I drove the X6 xDrive35i from Newark, NJ, stopping off in Columbia, MD to visit some family, and then down to my home in Raleigh, NC. In total, I covered roughly 1,200 miles between driving it down and then back up.

In the amount of time I had the BMW X6, I realized, it packs a lot of punch for something that’s only meant to carry 4 people and a little bit of cargo. The 2010 35i, like I had, has the N54 twin-turbo inline-6, making 300hp and 300lb-ft of torque (the 2011 will have the N55 single turbo). However, we know from past experiences that the N54 can actually make closer to 360hp and 350lb-ft of torque at the crank. That’s roughly what the 4.8-liter V8 from the E60 550i and E65/E66 750i/Li had. All-in-all, the twin-turbo six will haul the X6 to 60 in about 6-seconds with the sport package. Impressive for a car that weighs just shy of 4800lbs.

I was able to haul people 6-feet tall and under in the back seat with room to spare for their legs and heads. However, any taller than 6-feet, and you’re pushing your luck. With that said, I was able to fit 3 medium to large roller suitcases in the back, but I was also allowed space for 3 full backpacks underneath the cargo area (the floor opens up to reveal this) in the back of the SAV. It was certainly impressive amounts of space for something that everyone told me before hand to be cautious of.

In the front, well, that’s where the fun is. The BMW X6 has many different things to play with. Whether it’s the iPod adapter, the amazingly revised iDrive control system, or just sitting back and relaxing in the comfortable sport seats. This X6 unfortunately didn’t come with iDrive navigation…

Overall Driving 4.5 out of 5:

The overall driving impressions of the X6, at first, were rather good. It took me a second to get used to where everything was and what it did. When you’re more used to driving a Ford over a BMW these days, you tend to take a second to re-learn everything. However, when you do learn it -rather quickly with the revised iDrive- you enjoy the driving experience a lot more.

When I started my journey, I was in traffic on the NJ Turnpike. Not the most ideal place to be on a Friday at 5 o’ clock. But I learned a lot about the X6 driving it in traffic. For one, the xDrive35i may very well be the better of the two X6s offered (xDrive35i & xDrive50i). I know that may sound crazy, but here’s why. driving along on the highway, I was returning, according to the trip computer on my way back from Maryland, about 23.5 mpg with an average speed of 54.3 mph. That was just 191 miles into the trip. Once it started with some hurricane style downpours continuing until I got home, I was going slower and returning about 21-22 mpg. Not bad at all for a utility vehicle doing 60-75 mph on I-95 and other various highways with similar traffic and speed limits.

Getting back into North Carolina, I filled up the following day and realized that I had gone a total of 431 miles on one tank of gas, with 33 miles left, from Westchester, MD to Raleigh, NC. I had been driving in traffic on the highway, at various highway speeds, then into extreme rain and finally, city driving. According to BMW’s trip computer, I had successfully done 21.5 mpg on the dot, and kept an average speed of 49.9 mph. Maybe I should have slowed down a little more in the rain… but the BMW X6 gave me so much confidence in everything I drove in, that I never felt, at any time, I was in any sort of danger. The typical highway stuff of people cutting you off, dodging interesting things in the roads, and people even swerving to avoid something right next to you, not one time did I feel as if the X6 would do me any harm, or allow me to get hurt. It may sound hokey, but I mean it when I say, I’ve never felt so safe in any automobile.

I have heard some people who calculate their miles per gallon manually say that BMW’s trip computer can be up to 1.5 mpg better than in actuality. So with that, the X6 still did 20 mpg in all types of driving habits and styles.

Comfort 4 out of 5:

Driving the X6 all that I did was fantastic. I felt very safe and secure, but i felt extremely comfortable. I only wish the sport seats had a manual bolster setting, because I found myself wanting them to be a little tighter on my sides. Also, the knee bolsters are fantastic, but the X6 that I had seemed to have touchy ones. If you went to sit up, or reach over into the passenger or rear seats, the backs of your legs hit against the bolster and push them in to the point where it sounds like you’ve broken them. Maybe it was just the vehicle I had.

The back seat riders said they had good comfort, but wouldn’t have been comfortable for anyone too tall or big.

One more surprising thing about the X6 is the actual ride comfort. With the 20″ sport wheels, I would have expected something much more harsh and choppy, but that’s not the case. The X6 xDrive35i with the sport package and big sport wheels rides like the proverbial Cadillac…

Sport Package 5 out of 5:

The BMW sport package is renowned for being the best blend of sport, luxury, safety and effiency in all the world. Here’s why: when driving any BMW, you feel alive. There is hardly ever a feeling that a computer can and will do it for you, or better than you for that matter. It’s the same in the X6 xDrive35i. Except for one thing… you can turn it off. Right behind the gear shifter is a black button that has a green light when turned on. It says, “Sport”. Turning this off, you can feel the steering loosen up around town, the brakes a little less touchy, and the accelerator pedal a little more relaxed. Gear changes also seem a little more at ease. So this is good news for anyone who wants a sport package BMW without all of the stiff steering and other various inputs that used to come along with it. The guy can have his sports car, but the wife can have her soccer mom utility vehicle. The best of both worlds is what I call it.

Sound System: 5 out of 5:

Plain and simple, one of the best stereo systems I’ve ever heard is in the X6. The Harmon Kardon premium sound system is fantastic. You could literally sit an X6 on the stage at Madison Square Garden and power the sound of any rock concert you’d want to hear. As I said earlier, there were some seriously heavy rains driving down from MD to NC, and the problem with rain is that you can always hear it from inside the car. You can hear it whooshing around the car, under the wheel wells, hitting the car as other cars drive by, etc. But with my iPod hooked up to the X6 and the stereo turned up rather loud, you hear nothing. And I really do mean nothing. It’s quite amazing. I’ve yet to drive or ride in a car where the noise of the outside world didn’t at least interfere a tiny bit.

Pet Friendliness 3 out of 5:

Okay, so the title is weird, but here’s what I mean: With the hatchback style rear on the X6, you’re looking at a weird angle when larger dogs try to stand up. There’s plenty of room back there for most dogs and any cat, but it’s not going to be the most comfortable on long drives. In this case, you may want to look at the X5.The first day I got back home, I put my 70 lb German Shepherd was able to get into the back just fine, and had good comfort while laying down. But when I shut the door, I started to feel bad. When she stood up, she had to put her body at a weird angle just so she could look out the back window. There is one thing that makes the X6 more pet friendly over any other utility vehicle out there; the tall rear bumper.

The rear bumper on the X6 is so tall, that animals have to jump a little higher to get in. But if you look closely, say someone rear-ends you… The impact would not drive into the cargo area. It would go underneath of the cargo area. So the rear hatch should remain unharmed, along with most things in the back. Again, safety.

Final Verdict: 3.5 out of 5

The X6 xDrive35i is more sports car than SUV, but is much more utility than anyone could expect. You can still tow 6,000lbs, for all you boat, jet skit or racing guys. So it only seats 4-people. But you know what? A Chevy Tahoe, an Escalade, GMC Yukon, Ford Expedition, and the Lincoln Navigator all only hold four people when equipped with captains chairs. Yes, they do have a third row seat that seats two. But try putting anything behind those rear seats when going on a trip. This means that you have to put the rear seats out, or in the GM vehicles, unload the 80 lb third row (80 pounds for each seat! I know this all too well… I still have nightmares) and then put all of your luggage in. That’s only 4-5 seats. And those *trucks* don’t have much more room in the back than the X6. So, the X6 isn’t an SUV, but it sure does all the same stuff people use them for these days.

But this brings us to a conundrum. As beautiful and great this vehicle is, I believe it to be too expensive. This xDrive35i came out to be $67,xxx on its sticker, and that’s $10,000 too much. It’s an amazing vehicle, but I’d buy it CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) and let someone else taking the hit to their wallet. This X6 also didn’t have navigation at that price, and that’s a lot of money for a car these days that doesn’t have it. With that said, we still recommend buying it, just maybe not brand new.

Also, SAV is a Sports Activity Vehicle. I’ve heard a lot of people say weird things about this. And while I think it sounds weird, too, I have since broken it down. SUV stands for Sports Utility Vehicle. I’m sorry, but what’s sporty about any SUV, unless it’s got a big motor and brakes, or unless it comes out of Germany? I’ll grant you that a Jeep Wrangler is an SUV, but is it even categorized as one? All I’m trying to say is, GM, Ford, Chrysler, etc. are all calling their utility vehicles sporty, when they’re not. At least BMW has the decency to not say it’s a utlity vehicle because it isn’t meant to do all of the same things they do. Except for some odd reason, it can do those things on the road. Off-road? Well, that may be a different story.

You can check out the video below:

Disclaimer: I know that there is a spot when I’m speaking in the car that’s a bit dark. For this, I apologize. It looked good on the camera’s LCD display, but when I got it on a laptop, it wasn’t. Lesson learned, folks.

I would like to extend a nice, heartfelt thank you to BMW. Not only for their support in giving me this X6, but more for the fact that they let me keep it a few days extra. You see, right as I started making the X6 videos my 2.5 year old German Shepherd puppy became extremely ill and was in the hospital the whole week I had the car. BMW NA understood and respected this and allowed me to keep the X6 as long as I needed to. My puppy passed away on a Tuesday morning, and I started driving back up to New Jersey later that day. So to the guys that supported me (you know who you are), I thank you with all of my heart for your help and support.

The new 911 GT2 RS is, well, really amazing. It’s fast, fun, unaffordable, wild and so many other things that we love.

Now Porsche has supplied us with some great videos of its new German, ‘Ring king. So here they are for you all to enjoy.

[Source: Porsche & Porsche's YouTube]

This episode of his Evo videos, he pits the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS and Ferrari 458 Italia against one another. It seems cheesy and odd to say this, but it’s almost as if it’s man versus machine. The Terminator (458 Italia) versus John Connor (GT3 RS).

So check out the two videos below and tell us what you think.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

[Source: Evo Magazine via YouTube]

Case in point (fast forward to 1:40):

Click here to view the embedded video.

After seeing that, you should understand what I’m talking about once you’ve seen the ‘Stang videos. Without further ado, check them out below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

[Source: Ford via YouTube]

Evo magazine is widely known to be one of the best and most entertaining car magazines in the world. It’s certainly one of my favorites. But more so, they have Chris Harris, one of the best auto journalists in the world. He knows how to test everything properly, and he does. He’s a seasoned racing driver and car enthusiast who loves to talk about cars.

Part 1:

Part 2:

[Source: Evo (1/2)]

Have you ever wondered why the McLaren F1 is quite possibly the greatest car ever? Yeah, me either. Ever wonder where Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Zonda, Bugatti, SSC, and the likes get their understanding and passion for making crazy-fast supercars? It’s because of Gordon Murray, the creator of the F1.

Back when it first came out in 1992, it took top honors immediately as the fastest and wildest car in the world. It could get to 60 mph in 3.2-seconds and flat out you could be doing roughly 242 mph. On a closed course, obviously.

Here is a video of Le Mans racing legend, Andy Wallace, taking a prototype of the McLaren F1 around VW’s 5.6 mile private test track, Ehra-Lessien in 1998. In this video, Wallace hits 391 km/h, or roughly 243 mph.

While searching for photos of the McLaren F1 for this article, I found a great article by Ian Kuah for Luxury Insider.

[Source: Jalopnik]

[Photos taken from: Luxury Insider]

Tonight I talked about car buying advice, new and used. I lay out the best ways to buy a new or used car. Since I was a new and used car salesman, I wish the buying public were a lot more educated so they didn’t have to be afraid of getting ripped off. I help to teach you a few things in this video.

The one from the other night went well, and I’m just trying to do this a few more times to work out the kinks before I start officially doing live webcasts two to three times a month. I don’t know, though, it’s up to you guys.

So go to the RawAutos Ustream page, and watch me in all my glory. Remember, I’ll be going live at 8:30 PM ET. At that point, you can be logged in as an audience member where you can comment, ask questions, or talk smack.

Tonight I’ll talk about whatever comes to mind, but I will be talking a lot about buying a new or used car. That’s something I forgot to address the last time I was on.

I would like to try and keep these webcasts to no more than 15 minutes, but if the audience will determine how long it is by what they want to talk about. And don’t forget, if you can’t watch it tonight, don’t worry! It’ll be on RawAutos right after I’m finished doing it.