In America, the Rogue is Nissan's compact crossover. The Qashqai (nicknamed Kumquat by Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear) is the Rogue's overseas fraternal twin (shared DNA with some substantial differences). Nissan is rolling-out a long wheelbase, seven-passenger version of the Cash Guy in the near future; pictures have hit the Internet. Does this development portend a rogue Rogue coming to the U.S. in a stretched version? Probably. Toyota's RAV4 offers a seven-passenger option; or reasons I can't quite grasp, American consumers seem fairly hung-up on the notion of three row vehicles. Nissan, of course, has made no official announcement re: the Rogue. The spinmeisters would probably tell you there are currently no plans to sell a stretched Rogue in North America and that it's always looking at new market segments. Admirers of Turik nomenclature are advised to watch this space.

[Click here for Photobucket Gallery]

The Seattle Times reports that the U.S. Secretary of Transportation wants to lower federal gas taxes. The bad news: Mary Peter wants to replace the taxes with tolls. "Peters aired her views Friday to the Washington Roundtable, a group of business executives who have backed transportation campaigns. She argued that Americans lack 'investor confidence' in higher gasoline taxes, because she said the money is spent inefficiently and hasn't reduced congestion." Reduced congestion? Since when was that the point of federal gas taxes? Since… "Her department is offering $139 million to launch congestion-price tolling on the Highway 520 floating bridge by September 2009. Peters said the federal government will yank a similar grant from New York City if the state fails on Monday to approve a toll for driving into Manhattan. And there's another unstated reason for the policy shift: as U.S. vehicles become more efficient (by law) and/or cash-strapped motorists drive less, Uncle Sam's fuel excise income will tumble. And just in case you thought toll taxes are regressive (they are), how about this? She praised an experiment on Highway 167 that begins April 26, when solo drivers will be able to pay to enter the uncrowded high-occupancy-vehicle lanes." [thanks to Ryan Kauzlarich for the link]

Buried in a Detroit News story about further disruption at GM– courtesy of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike at American Axle (AA)– we learn GM has "found" enough parts to restart production in Oshawa, Ontario and Fort Wayne, Ind. (Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups). This after GM announced that they'd "found" enough Malibu parts to hold-off a shutdown for an "extra week." Turns out the fortuitous happenstance comes courtesy of American Axle's Mexican ops. "[GM Spokesman Dan] Flores wouldn't specify where the parts are coming from, though several analysts have said GM is likely using parts from an American Axle plant in Mexico. The move is evidence American Axle's ability to get parts from Mexico gives it leverage in the dispute with the UAW, said labor expert Harley Shaiken of the University of California Berkley [sic]." So… why aren't the United Auto Workers bosses screaming bloody murder and threatening to strike GM in support of their members at AA? Maybe it's because The Star-Telegram reports "GM leaders have decided to divert the Arlington plant's supply of truck axles to other plants in order to augment production of pickups affected by the ongoing UAW strike against American Axle." We report, we're confused. 

Spontaneous road trips are a like a treasure hunt without the clues. The prizes always appear unexpectedly. Like Goldendale’s night-shift police officer. “No, Mr. Niedermeyer, your speed was just fine. But you seem to have your high-beams on. That’s against the law within city limits. But… you’re free to go.” With those words of affirmation, our road trip to Wenatchee resumed. Adrenalin flowing, we were alert to the next roadside attraction.

With its polarizing oddball looks, premium price tag and questionable need to exist, BMW's new "Sports Activity Coupe" (their PR speak, not ours) isn't for everybody. But with a choice of twin-turbo engines– a 306 hp 3.0-liter I-6 from the 335i or an all new 407 hp 4.4-liter V8– more electronic aids than Stephen Hawking and bigger rubber than a Z06 (315/20s at all four corners), the X6 is going to make some customers very, very happy. Here's the skinny on the Bavarian fat: both the Infiniti FX50 and the Porsche Cayenne Turbo have something to worry about. Despite the X6's bulk (more than 5k lbs of it), this X5-spin off can dance the dance. Grip is endless and there ain't no body roll either. Do I like it? Yeah. Is it perfect? Far from it. Get all the dirt, plus find out which engine's better, on Monday.

And that $60m does NOT include Bill Ford's deferred tens of millions. Anyway, United Auto Workers (UAW) Boss Big Ron Gettelfinger is not well pleased with Ford suits' '07 compensation– given his members' buyouts, two-tier wage deals and all. Automotive News [sub] gives the inside skinny on FoMoCo exec compensation for their five top talents and it certainly seems a touch… generous. Ford CEO Al Mulally is the conductor on the bank laughter express, pulling down $21.7m including "salary, bonuses, company-recognized expense for stock options and other stock awards, plus other compensation such as vehicle and travel expenses. CFO Don Leclair was Ford's second-highest paid executive, earning $11.7 million in total compensation… Americas President Mark [Tool Time] Fields was paid a total of $8.4 million. That included $1.3 million in salary and $2.9 million in incentive bonus awards." Apparently, Gettelfinger considers the pay-outs "excessive and unjustified." Well, The Blue Oval Boyz did lose $2.7b during the payment period. 

First, the good news. Automotive News [sub] reports that GM has found more American Axle-made suspension-related knuckles. That means the American automaker can withstand the knock-on effects of the American Axle (AA) strike and keep making the Chevrolet Malibu at its Fairfax assembly plant for an "extra" week– until April 18th. (The idea that GM doesn't have an accurate tally of its parts inventory is deeply worrying, but not, let's face it, entirely surprising.) Now, the bad news: Automotive News [sub]  reports that workers at three United Auto Workers' locals– Arlington, Texas (Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon); Delta Township, Mich. (GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook, Buick Enclave); and Parma, Ohio (metal stamping)– have filed five-day strike notices over… no one is saying. "GM spokesman Dan Flores would not comment on the specifics of the notices. But he cautioned that issues negotiated under last year's national agreement could not cause a local strike." The shot across the locals' collective bow indicates that local union members may be unhappy with new, two-tier wage demarcations– even though the labor bosses signed-off on them. We'll keep you posted.

According to Police Chief Magazine, the Los Angeles County (CA) Sheriff’s office is launching the Advanced Surveillance and Protection (ASAP) program, ASAP. It’s a combination of technologies: high-resolution night vision video surveillance, acoustic gunshot detection (for that grassy knoll moment), automated license plate recognition (ALPR), “and other advanced components.” If a suspect vehicle drives through an intersection equipped with surveillance cameras (ALPR cameras are also mounted on the roofs of patrol cars), the system will alert the sheriff’s command center. Live images of the fleeing vehicle are transmitted to patrol cars, which can then go into pursuit. Finally, the command center can take control of the local traffic signals to reduce the potential for collisions involving innocent drivers. So here’s the question: is all this electronic policing a good investment, or should we just put more boots on the ground (cops in cars)? And should there be additional limits to police electronic surveillance?

Corn prices hit an all-time high price of $6.025 per bushel yesterday, then settled to a not-much-better $6. Ethanol producers are feeling the hurt, as the corn they use is now costs more than they're currently getting for the ethanol they make from it. Earlier this week, Michael Jackson (no, not that one– the president of Syntec Biofuel) explained: "For years, corn was cheap and fermentation processes for ethanol production came to completely dominate the biofuel industry in North America. Now, with corn prices well over $5 a bushel, corn ethanol economics have gone out the window." That isn't slowing the ethanol producers though. The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates that about 20 percent of last year's corn crop went to ethanol production and predicts that'll go up to 30 percent for the next crop year. With 147 plants in production and another 61 planned, the situation will only get worse. In the meantime, corn growers are reaping record profits while consumers can expect higher prices for anything that's corn-based. Sounds vaguely familiar, doesn't it?

The central question of Nevil Shute's “On The Beach:" how does the human mind react to certain death? The Cliff Notes answer: it can't. As clouds of lethal radiation descend on the novel's protagonists, they cannot help but continue their lives as normal, learning shorthand and planting gardens they will never see bloom. Alas, life imitates art. While the Australian car industry swirls (counter-clockwise) down the toilet of unprofitability, a new report confirms that its government patrons cannot commit to either rehabilitating or killing off the once-proud industry. Their predicament offers a number of valuable lessons about the global car industry.

While "going green" is often little more than PR posturing, fuel-intensive businesses see alternative energy as simply a way to save money. But while electric, hybrid and other efficient drivetrain technologies proliferate in cars, commercial trucks have largely been left out of the green wave. Greentech Media reports that Electrorides, a green truck startup, is hoping to cash in on this absence by offering the first electric commercial-duty truck. The ZeroTruck is based on an Isuzu N-series platform, retrofitted with a UQM Technologies electric motor, offering 100-mile range when unladen. But commercial trucks aren't of much use when empty, and when loaded down the range falls sharply. That's why Electrorides offers a biodiesel engine which converts the vehicle to a parallel hybrid, adding another hundred miles to the truck's range. Like most new green vehicles reported in the media, the ZeroTruck is in beta testing, and is not yet available. Start watching out for the silent colossus this August (literally… this thing will sneak up on you!) .

YouTube has carried some hilarious footage of smart fourtwo crash tests (including hitting a wall at 70mph) for a while now. Well, the NHTSA has finally crashed a few smarts in the name of insurance ratings safety and the verdict is in: the smart is safer than you might think. The diminutive German car gets four stars for driver safety and three stars for the passenger in the frontal crash test. Side impact testing revealed five-star performance, although a door did open during the test, "increasing the likelihood of passenger ejection." Granted, "starflation" has been an issue for the NHTSA, but like an underachieving politician, the smart is simply playing the expectations game. The fact that the tiny ride didn't explode into a million pieces of wound-irritating fiberglass is probably enough to surprise the average American consumer, who likely sees the smart as a small step up from a Segway scooter in terms of safety. Bring on the Hummer side impact test!

Bloomberg reports parts maker Delphi's exit from bankruptcy has hit a snag. Appaloosa Management, one of the six investors working to get the former GM parts division out of Chapter 11, backed out of the deal. In the termination notice, Appaloosa claimed Delphi didn't meet the conditions of the $2.55b deal. Oh, and they asked for a $82.5m "breakup fee." It's not an entirely unexpected development; Appaloose had not been happy with GM's expanded role in the Delphi's exit strategy. They felt the automaker would have too much power as a result. When GM offered even more money to help cover Delphi's $3.8b pension fund shortfall, it was the proverbial straw/camel thing. Appaloosa indicated that they're still open to investing, but "in a capacity different than currently envisioned by the agreement." 

UPDATE – General Motors released a statement on this matter: "GM is disappointed in the decision by Appaloosa and the plan investors to withdraw their support for Delphi. There has been a tremendous amount of effort and progress made to establish the foundation that would enable Delphi to emerge from Chapter 11. GM will continue to work with the involved parties to facilitate Delphi’s efforts to emerge from bankruptcy." Meanwhile, the lawyers…

I've noticed that production cars from Lexus generally look better than their concepts. The show cars usually have exaggerated design features and all sorts of elements that intersect strangely or melt one into the other. Let's hope that this rule will be kept for the third RX (due for release next year). I say that because the LF-Xh concept car that was meant to preview the next RX features what seems to be a new Lexus design approach that could be called brick-finesse. Fortunately, the RX test vehicles that have been spotted so far show a sleeker silhouette that would be a natural and logical evolution of the model under their camouflage. From the LF-Xh concept I kept the few details that could be used and I added a pair of fresh headlights that fit with the Lexus family. In comparison with the current RX, note the bigger dimensions and the L-finesse accents.

 [For more Avarvarii photochopistry, click here]

German officials have de-boondoggled on the E85 front, withdrawing plans mandating a 10 percent bio-fuel content for the lowest grade unleaded fuel. For some reason, the government didn't check the stats (or did?) before establishing a threshold for making the switch. If one million cars couldn't run on the plant juice blend, they'd hold off on E10. Deutsche Welle reports the numbers: "The [auto industry] sources said that some 330,000 cars made by German manufacturers, as well as more than 2 million imported cars, could not run on the new fuel and that the cars' owners would be forced to fill up with higher octane, more expensive types of gas." The German association for technical inspection (GTÜ) reports [via The Local] that the country's cars may have enough problems without worrying about running on bio-fuels.  "A 2007 GTÜ study found that 8 million vehicles were found to have significant problems during general inspections. 'The finding is even more alarming when you consider that many of the vehicles had been repaired just before they were inspected,' said GTÜ chief Rainer de Biasi. His said the findings indicated that every sixth car in Germany poses an accident risk." Sobering stuff. Of course, one wonders about Germany's standards relative to, I dunno, New Jersey.