2008 Nissan Rogue, the car of your dreams

The Toyota RAV4 established the compact crossover segment way back in 1996, but Nissan is only now fielding an entry, the Rogue. Although the name might suggest an aberrant or at least atypical approach, the Rogue rides comfortably in the wake of the RAV4 and the Honda CR-V.

2008 Nissan Rogue

Unlike the trucklike-and-proud-of-it Xterra, which had been Nissan’s sole effort to net shoppers of lower-priced SUVs, the Rogue takes a mainstream approach, with a car-based, unibody chassis, a four-cylinder engine, and front- or all-wheel drive. No V-6 is offered, lest the Rogue crowd its (slightly) bigger brother, the Nissan Murano, even more than it does already.

Like the Murano, the Rogue’s sole transmission is a CVT. Nissan embraces this technology more so than any other automaker, and the example in the Rogue is one of the best we’ve driven-you could almost forget it’s not a conventional gearbox. The Rogue’s electric power steering is also commendably conventional-feeling, with just-right efforts. Nissan has tuned its small crossover for responsive cornering, but the downside is a ride that delivers sharp kicks over bumps.

One can see the Murano family resemblance in the Rogue’s exterior design, but to our eyes the Murano is the handsome first-born and the Rogue is the somewhat dorky younger sibling. Both have an upswept beltline that limits rear quarter visibility and a rounded, sloping rear end that constricts cargo space. People-space, though, is adequate, and the driver faces a rounded dashboard that’s pleasantly sporty looking. The judicious use of padded surfaces and some nice graining on the dash and door panels offset the cheap plastic on the console. Overall, the interior is not a bad place to be.

2008 Nissan Rogue

The Rogue’s position in the market, though, is tougher. Nissan’s entry is an agreeable vehicle, but it’s a latecomer to this segment. Without any real standout quality, the Rogue has a hard time making a case for itself in the panoply of competitors. The Rogue goes on sale September 18, 2007, and the front-wheel drive S model will start at under $20,000.

2009 Dodge Journey crossover will debut in Frankfurt

2009 Dodge Journey

Meet the 2009 Dodge Journey, a new crossover from the crosshairs brand that will debut early next month at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany. Why the international debut? The 2009 Journey will be an international vehicle, sold both in the U.S. and Canada, as well as markets outside North America. The new Journey is one of those vehicles that wants to look like an SUV, haul stuff like a station wagon and ride like a passenger car.
Known by the code name JC49 for months, the Dodge Journey is actually based on an Avenger chassis with a wheelbase lengthened 4.9 inches. That provides extra room for an optional third-row seat for “occasional use”. The Journey also includes some clever features like a large storage bin beneath the front passenger seat cushion, as well as two in-floor bins behind the front seats big enough to carry a 12-pack each and some ice.

Dodge designed the Journey with a traditional crossover look, eschewing the amped up machismo look of many recent Dodge looks. Of course, the monochromatic R/T looks the best, especially wearing 19-inch wheels. The interior of the 2009 Journey is also not traditional Dodge fare. While we can’t comment on how the materials feel, it does appear the Journey is sporting new switchgear, and a lot of it. The audio and HVAC controls are a barrage of buttons that could be intimidating to some.

More info after the jump, along with VIDEO, Dodge’s full press release and the gallery of high-res pics below.

BMW Z4 begins to take shape

BMW Z4

BMW Z4, the small but potent bavarian roadster is heading towards a new generation in 2009. Until then the photographers keep us interested with some cool spy photos.
Of course many details are still to pe perfected but these pictures are showing the basic characteristics of the next Z4, as the front grill, the agressive headlight’s line and the tail lights, although most of the car is covered in camouflage.
About the new gadgets and technologies the new BMW Z4 will have we can’t say anything because its interior hasn’t yet been photographed.
But we await impatiently…

Source : Leftlane

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The 2009 Opel Vectra uncovered

The 2009 Opel VectraThe 2009 Opel VectraThe 2009 Opel Vectra

Mistake, industrial espionage or marketing? The answer is less important, it is certain that the new car has been photographed a few months ago as a well desguised concept.
The car’s look seems to imprint a wining pattern nowadays: the coupe. The new Vectra has a slight taste of coupe inspite of its generous size. The car will be constructed on a GM platform.
The Vectra will be marketed in 3 different body styles: sedan, hatchback and break. There will be a wide arrange of engines, both on petrol and diesel. For the US GM will use the V8 but for Europe the petrol V6 will still reign supreme.
The Vectra will hit the markets in 2009 and in America it can also be bought as a hybrid.

Source : motrorauthority.com

Citroen C-Airscape, official informations and pics

 

Citroen C-Airscape

As we expected , Citroen had published an official press release regarding the C-Airscape future concept. At the exterior of this concept we notice the new form of the front and back opticla blocks and the 19 inches rims. The innovation that Citroen prepares to unveil at the german salon is the collapsable roof made of carbon fiber , that covers a very roomy space enough for four people.
Under the hood of the concept , Citroen prepared a bio-disel based engine , V6 of 2.7 litres and 208 HP , equiped with innovative technologies capable to reuse the delivedered energy.
These systems allow the bord equipment , such as air conditioning or the audio system , to work with regenerated energy. Let’s wait for the german salon to see and find out more about this new and interesting concept.

Seat going back spanish

seat leon

A group of spanish investors want to buy the Seat brand,a part of the Volkswagen group.The corporation formed arround the Berge group,a spanish impoeter for Lexus, Hyundai, Subaru, Bentley and Chrysler announced that it is in the middle of negociations with VW officials for the aquisition of the spanish brand.
Ferdinand Piech,the VW boss said that Seat isn’t a priority for the germans anymore and that they want to focus on Skoda because the produsction costs are lower in the Cech Republic.
According to german officials the Seat facilities don’t aren’t worth any VW investments and that is another clue that they want to sell it.
VW had offers to sell Seat from a coreean group and the Fiat group.
The people involved in the spanish corporation already met with Piech to discuss a posible tranzaction but the VW boss that he won’t give any details by the end of the year.

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