Official Info: 2008 Dodge Viper ACR - Car News

Tested: 2007 Nissan Nismo Z - Short Take Road Tests
Good looks are never cheap.

BY TONY SWAN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON KILEY December 2007


2007 Nissan Nismo Z

The Highs: Impressive high-speed cornering, mongoose reflexes, outstanding brakes.

The Lows: Package benefits hard to exploit without a racetrack, boy-racer colors.

For all the smokin’ special effects that glorify the tricked-out rides in filmic fantasies such as The Fast and the Furious, the most common element of the Asian-hot-rod phenomenon is a lot of cosmetic add-ons that look menacing but have no other function. We cite this here because the Nissan NISMO package (for Nissan Motorsports International), offered as a specific 350Z model, does not fall into the plastic-tiger category. The aero pieces were sculpted in a wind tunnel, and there are hardware upgrades to augment them: front-shock-tower bracing and radiator supports, extra body-shell welds at the A- and B-pillars, a heftier brace spanning the rear shock towers, higher spring rates, firmer dampers, and a bigger rear anti-roll bar.


The NISMO Z rolls on Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires—245/40R-18 front, 265/35R-19 rear—mated to NISMO aluminum wheels, and the brakes are the same big Brembos that come with the Grand Touring version of the Z.

Although the stiffening hones the Z’s responses to an even sharper edge, the aero elements were the prime focus of the NISMO engineering effort. The front fascia, with a deeper chin spoiler shaped to vector underbody airflow, was developed to provide high-speed downforce, as opposed to the slight lift in other Zs. Similarly, the large rear wing and the underbody diffusers help keep the stern firmly planted. According to Nissan, the base 350Z produces almost 18 pounds of rear lift at 75 mph, whereas the NISMO’s aero tweaks generate more than 33 pounds of downforce.

At $38,695, the NISMO Z costs about $2000 more than a Grand Touring model. Considering all the elements in this package, that seems like a reasonable premium. However much we appreciated the NISMO’s no-nonsense reflexes, though, we were unable to quantify the benefits of the package in our standard testing. At 5.2 seconds to 60 mph, the NISMO Z was no quicker than the last Z car we tested [“Four of a Kind,” June 2007], and its quarter-mile run—13.8 seconds at 103 mph—was a hair slower, probably owing to increased aero drag. Braking was good—159 feet from 70 mph versus 169 feet—but the June car, a base Z, pulled a better skidpad number, 0.93 versus 0.92. The bottom line: This is a sincere and thorough effort by NISMO, but its virtues will be tangible only on a road or track with very fast turns.

2009 Nissan Murano - Auto Shows

2009 Nissan Murano - Auto Shows
The all-new Murano is designed to refine the funk of the original ute.

BY ALISA PRIDDLE, November 2007

The Nissan Murano was an icebreaker back in 2003 when the 2004 model signaled the fact that mid-size utility vehicles could be funky, stylish, and car-like. Since that time, the segment has become flooded with worthy competitors.

Into the fray, Nissan launches the second-generation Murano that breaks cover at November’s L.A. auto show.

Larry Dominique, Nissan North America vice-president in charge of product planning, told Car and Driver earlier this year that because the current Murano has been so successful, the second gen would be evolutionary in exterior design, as opposed to revolutionary.

But the all-new five-passenger vehicle, riding on the automaker’s new D-platform that debuted with the 2007 Altima, allowed Nissan to address current weaknesses. “The interior can be better, more useful,” he says.

To that end, the Murano now has new, heated seats; an available fold-away cargo organizer that pops up with the push of a button; a power-folding 60/40 rear seat; and multiple storage cubbies. The 2009 Murano also offered the chance to enhance the materials used, said global design chief Shiro Nakamura.




The CVT Sequel
Nissan also upgrades the powertrain and the continuously variable transmission (CVT). The original Murano has Nissan’s well-regarded 3.5-liter V-6. The ’09 Murano continues to use the 3.5-liter VQ (as opposed to the 3.7-liter being rolled out in such vehicles as the Infiniti G37), but it has been tweaked to 265 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque from its original 240 horsepower and 244 pound-feet.

The CVT is second-generation technology, with adaptive shift control. Dominique says the Murano is “more about refinement and family, not power” and that it makes more sense to strive for better fuel efficiency and delivery, as opposed to making it the baddest ute in the segment.

The Murano is a front-wheel-drive vehicle with available all-wheel drive. It also has a slew of systems to keep the vehicle under control, including standard vehicle dynamic control, traction control, and yaw moment control on AWD models. It has a new four-wheel independent suspension.

The Murano rides on 18- or 20-inch aluminum alloy wheels, and it has such goodies as a Bose audio system, an iPod connector, a nav system with a hard drive for onboard digital music storage, satellite radio, and a DVD system.

Style-wise, there are a bolder grille and wider headlamps, a revised front fascia, a new hood, and pronounced wheel arches, plus a second-row skylight and an available power liftgate in the shape of the backlight in the redesigned rear end.

The SUV, built in Kyushu, Japan, will be offered in five trim levels—S, SL, S AWD, SL AWD, and LE AWD—when it goes on sale in the U.S. in January.

No Volkswagen Scirocco for the U.S. - Auto Shows

No Volkswagen Scirocco for the U.S. - Auto Shows
The return of the Phaeton could be the consolation prize.

BY ALISA PRIDDLE, PHOTOGRAPHY BY KGP PHOTOGRAPHY November 2007

The decision has been made: no Volkswagen Scirocco for North America. Stefan Jacoby, president and CEO of Volkswagen of America, revealed the decision to Car and Driver in an interview at the L.A. auto show.

The four-passenger coupe will go on sale in Europe in mid-2008. But the U.S. already has the GTI and the R32, which are enough halo vehicles for what is a niche segment, Jacoby says.

“We need to focus on our core products,” he says, namely, the Rabbit (Golf), the Jetta, the Passat, and the launch of the Tiguan compact SUV. “The [2009 Scirocco] is lovely, but we can’t have everything.”

Meanwhile, Jacoby confirmed that the launch of the 2009 Jetta TDI is being pushed back from spring 2008 to late summer due to problems with the emissions system.

“We have a solution and are working on it,” Jacoby says. Part of the delay is that the car must go through emissions testing and validation again, but in the interim, VW can begin dealer training to be ready when the vehicle is okayed for sale.

“We need to launch with proper emissions and quality,” he says, noting the vehicle is essential to development the TDI brand. Jacoby says even with the delay, VW still will be the first manufacturer to offer diesel technology compliant with emissions regulations in all 50 states. And VW will use its fleet to promote diesels in general in the U.S., he says.



Diesel-Powered Phaeton
One such statement: If the VW Phaeton returns to the U.S., it is likely to have a diesel engine—and only a diesel engine. Although the initial expectation was that the luxury full-size sedan would not be sold again in the U.S. until the next generation bows, Jacoby now tells us the current sedan might make a comeback.

The Phaeton has been on sale in Europe since 2002. A long-wheelbase version of the sedan, which marked VW’s first foray into the high-end luxury segment, went on sale in the U.S. a year later, but was pulled in 2006 due to slow sales.

“There is no reason to relaunch with the same as what we had before,” Jacoby says of the 335-hp, 4.2-liter V-8 and 420-hp, 6.0-liter W-12 engines in the original U.S.-spec Phaeton. “We need something to stand out from the old one. It needs a unique selling point. What else do we have but diesel?” he asks, in describing the kind of bold move VW would need to relaunch the flagship sedan.

As for avoiding past pitfalls of trying to sell a VW-badged luxury sedan, Jacoby’s unsatisfactory answer is that with the right products the brand can successfully broaden its lineup and achieve widespread appeal.

Built in the U.S.A.
As for VW’s exploration of building a vehicle-assembly plant or an engine-assembly plant—or both—in the U.S. as a currency hedge, Jacoby says the decision will be made in the first half of next year. The automaker’s only North American plant is in Puebla, Mexico, where the New Beetle and the Jetta (the Bora in other markets) are built.