– Base prices for the 2007 Toyota Camry Solara coupe start at $19,930 for an SE with a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine and manual transmission. Automatic transmission adds $830. An SE with a 3.3-liter V-6 and automatic is $22,260. Prices for the Camry Solara convertible, which comes only with the V-6 and automatic, start at $27,190. The prices do not include the $580 destination charge. The 2007 models are due in dealerships in early June.
– Saturn has priced the 2007 Vue Green Line hybrid sport-utility vehicle at $22,370, not including the $625 destination charge. The Vue Green Line uses a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder gas engine and an electric motor/generator to produce 170 horsepower, 27 more than a Vue with a conventional 2.2-liter gasoline engine. EPA fuel economy estimates for the Green Line are 27 m.p.g. city/32 highway. A conventional 4-cylinder Vue is rated at 22/27. The Green Line, available only with front-wheel drive, has a “mild hybrid” system that shuts off the engine when the vehicle stops, cuts off fuel during deceleration and provides an electric boost on acceleration. The Green Line is due at dealerships in August.
– Ford plans a January launch for its redesigned Super Duty pickup. The Super Duty, sold as the F-250 and F-350, among other designations, is a heavy-duty version of the F-Series and accounts for about 40 percent of Ford’s pickup sales. GM will release its new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups in the fall, with heavy-duty versions going on sale in the first quarter of 2007. Toyota says it will release a new Tundra pickup early next year.
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Quick Trips are compiled from the notebooks of Jim Mateja and Rick Popely, and from Tribune news services.
