Variance

Suzuki and Nissan Partner Up Frontier: the next Suzuki. Well, one of them anyway. Number 2 of Japan's Big 3 is pairing up with Japan's biggest little car maker. This collaboration will involve Suzuki providing Nissan with minicars in Japan and Europe while Nissan gives Suzuki their Frontier midsize pickup to play with in the States. Should do better than the Dakota/Raider. Oof. Read "Suzuki May Rebadge Nissan Frontier in U.S. Under Model-Sharing Plan" @ Edmunds

It just seems like a lot of guys here are having their cars broken down, damaged or destroyed in some way lately. It's kind of freaky...

May 2006 Sales: Audi of America AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Audi of America, Inc. reported May sales of 7,120, representing a 10.3 percent increase over May 2005 sales of 6,455. AUDI OF AMERICA, INC. REPORTS MAY SALES

May 2006 Sales: BMW Group WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI brands combined) reported strong demand for its vehicles in May, with sales of 28,360 vehicles, up 5.3 percent over the 26,926 vehicles sold in the same month of 2005. BMW Group Reports 5 Percent Increase in May Sales

May 2006 Sales: Volkswagen of America AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Volkswagen of America, Inc. today reported May sales of 22,100, a 35.6 percent increase over prior year sales of 16,297. VOLKSWAGEN REPORTS MAY SALES

May 2006 Sales: Hyundai Motor America FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor America announced sales of 42,514 vehicles for the month, which represents the best May sales in company history. Hyundai Reports Record May Sales

May 2006 Sales: American Honda Motor Co. Torrance, Calif. 06/01/2006 -- Posting robust sales of its best-selling Accord, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced record May results of 141,810 Honda and Acura vehicle sales. Honda Division Posts Best May Ever

May 2006 Sales: Nissan North America NISSAN HIGHLIGHTS · May sales for Nissan-brand vehicles of 76,881 units decreased 10.5 percent on a daily sales rate basis when compared to last year with 82,440 units sold. · Murano saw record sales for May, with 6,662 units sold marking a 3.4 percent increase from one year ago. · Frontier pickup saw solid sales of 7,409 units in May, a 39.4 percent increase from year-ago. INFINITI HIGHLIGHTS · Sales for Infiniti were down 15.2 percent with 9,786 units sold as compared with last May’s 11,079 units. · The QX56 saw strong sales momentum, with 1,265 units sold marking a 5.6 percent gain over one year ago. Nissan Announces May Sales

May 2006 Sales: Chrysler Group * Dodge Caliber Sales Surge 15 Percent Over April 2006 Results * Dodge Charger Sales Improve 15 Percent Over Last Month; Sales Rise 459 Percent Year-over-year * Minivan Sales Keep Pace with Previous Year Results * Jeep® Grand Cherokee Diesel is Announced with First Quarter 2007Availability * Jeep Commander Sales Show Continued Strength; Sales Rise 20 Percent Over Prior Month Results Chrysler Group Reports May 2006 Sales Decline 14 Percent

May 2006 Sales: Ford Motor Company -Fusion sales were 14,940, up 18 percent from previous best month. -Fusion, Milan and Zephyr sales totaled best ever 20,267. -Focus sales (20,391) highest since last August. -CUVs up 12 percent; Escape and Mariner hybrids up 132 percent. -Total car sales up 6.4 percent; truck sales down 6.6 percent; total vehicle sales down 1.9 percent. -Ford announces third quarter North American production plans. FORD FUSION SALES SOAR IN MAY; CUVS AND HYBRIDS ALSO ADVANCE

May 2006 Sales: General Motors Corp. DETROIT - General Motors dealers in the United States sold 345,157 new cars and trucks in May, down 16 percent compared to year-ago levels, reflecting continued strategic reductions in incentives and daily rentals, which were down 28 percent. GM Delivers 345,157 Vehicles In May

You kiddin'? Except for the rounded fender flares, they have nothing in common. Besides, the Durango looks like an ugly pig with a fat lip. The Pathfinder has a much cleaner design and is leagues better-looking.

Faceoff: Nissan Xterra vs. Toyota FJ Cruiser The Nissan Xterra is a two-time winner of Motor Trend's SUV of the year award. The Toyota FJ is a new retro-insipired product poised to go head-to-head with the Xterra. Edmunds is an automotive website featuring car news, reviews and comparisons such as the one between these two machines. Read "2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser vs. 2006 Nissan Xterra Off-Road" @ Edmunds

Sheesh, talk about red tape. You need to read a booklet and fill out a form to make a suggestion that they may or may not take into account?

One million? Some sources only say about 565,000 worldwide.

I know the first photo has been slightly digitally touched-up; it says so in the article. The other photos are not as they still have camo on them.

The Car Connection on the Saab 9-5 Very nice. I love the nip/tuck that Saab performed on the 2006 9-5's skin. I've never seen anything as menacing as the gouged-out eyes look with the chrome outline. They also performed surgery on the 9-5's interior, structure and powerplant. Is this enough to satisfy the critics of TCC? Read the 2006 Saab 9-5 Review @ The Car Connection

I'm unhappy. New photos: http://www.worldcarfans.com/spyphotos.cfm/...w-x5-spy-photos

Sometimes I drive my mother's RX. If the engine and transmisson are cold, it will absolutely refuse to upshift until it warms up. Plus, I'm not sure if this is a function of the AWD or traction control but if you take your foot off of the accelerator, it doesn't exactly coast. It's like it slightly applies the brakes; it slows itself down.

You need to correct the address of your avatar. Currently you have it as: http://http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i...ox9/45_1_b2.jpg You need to remove the extra "http://" portion: http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i149/redfox9/45_1_b2.jpg It should work then.

A word of advice: Take vehicle renderings in Japanese car magazines with a grain of salt.

Update: There's a good interior shot on the front page of Edmunds' Straightline blog. http://blogs.edmunds.com/Straightline/.ee919e4

Grading the GL Anita Lienert also took the time this week to give the new Mercedes GL the once-over. The GL being a competitor to the Escalade and her being a Lienert, you may expect her to totally praise it and pan the Caddy. Well...no, actually. As it turns out, Anita has quite a few gripes concerning the big Merc. Read "Handsome Mercedes-Benz SUV has room to grow" @ The Detroit News

The Lienerts Have a Fit The little Honda with the wierd name was in the possession of the Paul and Anita this week. The short of their evalution: High on value, low on serious drawbacks. Read "New Honda fits with buyers on a budget" @ The Detroit News

In passenger cars, I'm not entirely sure what the fate of the V8 is. They've only just recently come back and I can't see Dodge or Chrylser getting rid of theirs any time soon as the V8 is part of those cars' appeal. They were built around the muscle car image; they look like they were designed to have V8s from the start. The Impala and Grand Prix on the other hand do not. Their designs can accommodate V8s but looking at them you don't get the sense that they were meant to have them. The Grand Prix especially, went through generations without V8 power. What I'm getting at is that the GM V8 passenger cars are special edition vehicles and there's no guarantee that they will always have V8 power. Something tells me the DCX cars are more likely to. If a car was designed to around the idea of being a family car first and foremost (the aforementioned GMs) don't bet on the V8 being an integral part of the car's DNA. It's just a novelty. I hope I didn't ramble on too much.