BY ALISA PRIDDLE

Does Nissan need a Miata fighter?

Nissan is trying to figure out if there is room in the market for an entry-level sports car that is smaller, more lightweight, and more affordable than the 350Z.

The Japanese automaker is interested in a front-wheel-drive sports car that could compete with the Mazda MX-5 Miata, Pontiac Solstice, and Saturn Sky, Nissan North America vice-president in charge of product planning and strategy Larry Dominique tells Car and Driver in an interview. (more…)

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BY JARED GALL

As promised, Ford will deliver a full run of anniversary H-D trucks in 2008.

When we first drove the 2007 Ford Harley-Davidson F-150 Supercharged, we reported that the supercharged engine”originally planned for production in 2008”was a last-minute addition to the line for 2007 in response to consumer interest in the F-150 FX2 Extreme truck shown at the 2006 SEMA show. (more…)

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BY STEVE SILER


What’s the Mercury version gonna be called?

Perhaps it’s a sign that Ford plans to throw Mercury off a cliff. We’re talking about the Ford brand’s having usurped one of Mercury’s most storied monikers”albeit slightly altered with a British accent”for its upcoming mini-ute, the Kuga. Yup, Kuga. Koo-gah. Seriously, say it aloud. Someone at Mercury has to be pissed. (more…)

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BY ALISA PRIDDLE

An SX4-based concept for sports-bike enthusiasts.

American Suzuki Motor Corporation continues to show offerings in its Suzuki LIVE Series, launched last year as a line of concepts for life huggers and as a way to promote the fun quotient of the vehicles from which they are derived. Of the four rolled out this year, two are on Suzuki’s stand this week at the New York auto show. (more…)

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BY STEVEN COLE SMITH, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE VALENTE

A new, old-school coupe for the high and mighty.

Interesting that in the literature for the new Bentley Brooklands, a limited-edition, even-more-upscale version of the Arnage, there’s little mention of the last Bentley Brooklands, a sedan sold from 1992 to 1997 that replaced the Mulsanne as the marque’s flagship. (more…)

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BY STEVEN COLE SMITH, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE VALENTE

It’s not nearly as fast as it looks.

You wouldn’t know there’s a Fiat Panda 100 HP under all the Bertone Barchetta’s glistening aluminum, but to celebrate the company’s 95th anniversary, Bertone wanted to create a Geneva show car that salutes the Fiat 500 with Barchetta bodywork that was created by Nuccio Bertone in 1947 as a one-off for his own racing career. The decision to celebrate the company’s 95th anniversary with a minimalist yet sophisticated model is perfectly in keeping with the Bertone philosophy, the company says. (more…)

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BY JARED GALL, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE VALENTE

Peugeot’s first-ever SUV comes from the unlikely pairing of Peugeot-Citroen and Mitsubishi.

Perhaps inspired by the mountain vistas surrounding the Geneva show, Peugeot is going soft-roading with its first-ever sport-utility vehicle, the 4007. Based on the Mitsubishi Outlander, the 4007 retains most of the look of that trucklet from the A-pillar back, but with a Peugeot face planted between the Outlander’s bulging, flared fenders. (more…)

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BY STEVEN COLE SMITH

Fisker ditches luxury and heads toward sportiness with its latest car, shown in Geneva.

Yes, there’s a little Porsche Cayman there, and the Artega GT does have a 3.6-liter Volkswagen-sourced V-6 engine, so there is sort of a link to the family. But the styling, penned by Henrik Fisker, is cleaner than a Cayman. Fisker is, after all, the man responsible for much of the current look of the Aston Martin portfolio. Hardy Essig, a former Porsche engineer, helped develop the drivetrain. (more…)

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BY STEVE SILER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE VALENTE

A new car and a new naming system, neither of which we’ll see here.

Hyundai’s fetching new C-segment hatchback, the i30, is yet another cool hatchback that we won’t be getting here. But that’s okay, we pretty much already have it in sedan form as the Elantra. (more…)

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BY STEVE SILER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE VALENTE

Alfa Romeo will relaunch its sales operations in the United States with the scrumptious 8C Competizione coupe.

The 8C, designed by Alfa Romeo, is directly derived from the concept car that set loins astir at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show, and is the first car we’ll see that comes out of the new Alfa Romeo-Maserati partnership. (more…)

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