World Car Fans have posted the latest picture of the new SUV that Nissan has been developing for the world market. Considered to be a baby sister to the Murano, it will likely be positioned against the BMW X3. European reports have this “world car” being powered by both gas and diesel engines. It will be interesting to see if we receive the diesel here in North America. They had better change the name before it lands on our shores though. Some people still can’t figure out how to pronounce Murano.

As regular readers of The Garage may have noticed, we are suckers for vintage racing of any sort. Phillip over at Classical Drive has posted about the wonders of visiting a vintage weekend. He sends us to Axis of Oversteer, a great blog for vintage racing enthusiasts, and anyone who’s really into BMW’s and the Lotus Elise. They have some fantastic in car video and a really nice slide show of images from this year’s Monaco Historics race.

The funniest thing happened during dinner last night. We were enjoying pre dinner drinks at TGI Friday’s in Buffalo, when a large group of Amish folks were leaving the restaurant. A few of us were trying to figure out which cars in the lot might belong to them. I suggested the all black Liberty or the Chevy half ton work truck. One of our friends thought it would be either the plain jane Honda Civic sedan, or the black Escalade (oh the irony). It turned out that they crammed about ten people into a brown Toyota Sienna. I guess seatbelts (or seats for that matter) aren’t of much concern to the Amish.
The doors were still open, when a young lady, clad in a traditional skirt an little white hat, hopped out of the van and ran over to the big Chevy. When she fired it up, we could hear the rumble from inside and one of the guys at our table pointed out the chrome dual exhaust tips. The young driver then backed out of the parking spot & stopped behind the Sienna. At this point, she proceeded to LIGHT IT UP!!!

Now a bit of wheel spin might be construed as an accident, but what happened next was too cool. The big black truck again backed up across the lot. This time, it was quite obvious that the front wheels were locked, while the rear tires spun themselves silly, filling the air with blue tire smoke. When she released the brakes, the truck lunged forward as the tires bit & then they started to spin again, creating more smoke. The truck then stopped, the girl jumped out & ran around to the passenger side & a guy jumped in to drive away! It was one of those moments that you wished for a video camera, because nobody is going to believe you.

Ah…to be an Amish youth in Rumspringa!

Over on the other side of the big, cold pond, TopGear is reporting that Elton John’s Bentley Continental convertible is going on the auction block on May 24th in London. This car was delivered to the Knight way back in 1985. It’s distiguishing feature is a body colour front grille. Big Whoop! The estimated sale price is around 44,000 lb and for that price, who knows what sort of back seat history you are buying.

In a brilliant marketing move, ESPN2 has announced that past World Rally Chmapion Colin McRae & long time co-driver Nicky Grist will team up again for the X-games. Arguably the most recognizable name in rally (in North America) Mcrae is sure to draw more attention to these events. While motocross star Travis Pastrana has been spectacular, it will be interesting to see how his talent stacks up against McRae’s considerable experience. Expect to see the largest crowds ever seen at a North American Rally.

Thanks to Jalopnik for tipping us on this one.

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Nicky Grist

By using a “safety for everyone” approach, the new 2007 Honda Fit has earned a 5 star rating for frontal impacts from the NHTSA. Aimed at keeping adult & child passengers safe, this philosophy also works to keep pedestrians safe in the event of a crash. The hood and fenders are designed to absorb energy in an impact with an adult.

The Honda press release reads:

The 2007 Honda Fit has earned a “5-Star” safety rating for frontal crash performance from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today. A “5-Star” rating is the highest government safety rating.

Ninety-nine percent of Honda-branded vehicles on a sales-weighted average now achieve this top front impact rating under the federal government’s NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) program.

“The Fit has the highest level of standard safety equipment of any car in its competitive set,” said John Mendel, American Honda senior vice president. “Fit’s 5-Star rating demonstrates once again that Honda customers do not have to choose between safety, utility and fuel efficiency. The Fit has it all.”

Already a leader in vehicle safety as demonstrated by Honda’s “Safety for Everyone” initiative, Honda continues to implement leading airbag technology in all vehicles regardless of size or price. Dual-stage, dual-threshold front airbags, dual front side airbags and side-curtain airbags are standard equipment on all Fit models. In addition to its six airbags, Fit incorporates 3-point seat belts at all seating positions, as well as two Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) positions in the rear seats. Fit also utilizes active safety systems that include an anti-lock braking system (ABS) and electronic brake distribution (EBD).

Honda’s commitment to safety extends to pedestrians as well. To help reduce pedestrian injuries in the event of a collision, the Fit’s hood and fender areas are designed to help absorb energy if contacted by an adult pedestrian.

Honda will complete the first phase of its “Safety for Everyone” initiative this year by voluntarily putting extensive levels of standard safety equipment on all its vehicles, with the exception of two small volume models (S2000 and Insight).

Additionally, Honda is the first and only auto manufacturer to list the NHTSA crash test “star” ratings on all new vehicle window stickers. This is the same information available to consumers on the NHTSA safercar.gov Web site.

The 2007 Honda Fit, which went on sale April 20, is designed to take the subcompact market into new territory with its highly-refined and ultra-adaptable functionality, sporty driving demeanor and high levels of standard safety equipment. With a vast array of standard features - including a unique multi-configuration 60/40 split Magic Seat(R) and an estimated EPA fuel economy of 33 mpg city / 38 mpg highway (manual transmission) - the fun to drive Fit is a premium entry vehicle that emphasizes style, functionality, safety and value. In a seven-way comparison test drive, Car and Driver magazine selected Fit as its first choice among vehicles under $15,000.

In the spirit of Cars: The Movie, Goodyear has agreed to rebadge the Spirit of Goodyear for the premiere of the movie at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Workers have applied new lettering to the right side of the airship to match the Lightyear blimp featured in the movie.

The official premiere is to be held Friday May 26 at Lowe’s, with all the cast and a full slate of racing celebs in attendance. The movie opens for the public on June 9.

Source: PR Newswire

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Lightning Mcqueen Found

The upcoming, 18th Annual Robb Report has chosen the Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT as the winner of the Best of the Best sedan competition. The car won over some pretty spectacular machinery, including the Bentley Continental Flying Spur, Maybach 57S, Audi S8 and BMW M5.

This is the 2nd time the Sport GT has won the prestigious award (the first time being in it’s first year of production, 2004) making it the first ever two time winner.

Source PR Newswire

Poor Britney has gotten herself in trouble again, with pics of her spawn riding in a child seat that appears to have been installed improperly in her Mini cabrio. The life of a single mom has got to be hard enough, but imagine how tough it must be when you’ve got more boobs than brains and more money than you know what to do with!

The folks at the United Automobile Insurance Group and the Miami Children’s Hospital have invited Britney to South Florida to attend a safety clinic designed to teach the ins & outs of proper car seat installation.

There is no word if Britney and her puppies will take them up on the offer.

Source PR Newswire

Honda has just announced it’s future plans for north America, including a new US auto plant and a new Canadian engine plant that will be in operation by 2008. Also detailed in the press release are plans to improve fuel efficiency including a new hybrid car and clean diesel technology.

The plan includes:

• Construction of a new auto plant in the U.S. with an investment of approximately
  $400 million to begin production in 2008, with employment of more than 1,500 associates at full capacity.
• Construction of a new engine plant in Canada to begin production of four-cylinder engines in 2008 with an investment of $140 million and employment of 340 associates.
• Expansion of U.S. engine, transmission and powertrain component production in Ohio and Georgia, with additional investment of $125 million and additional employment of 80 associates.
• Introduction in the U.S. and Canada in 2009 of a new, more affordable, dedicated hybrid car.
• Introduction in the U.S. and Canada within the next three years of new diesel engine technology that meets U.S. EPA Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions standards.
• Establishment of a goal to increase American Honda’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) by five percent over 2005 levels by the year 2010.

This ties in with Honda’s plans to build more environmentally friendly vehicles world wide, by increasing fuel efficiency on exisiting models. Perhaps the best news here is the creation of new jobs at a time when many North American manufacturers are cutting back. Way to go Honda!