The previous generation Sentra SER Spec-V was a bit of an odd little beast. Stiffly sprung and with bags of horsepower through the front wheels, it was a torque steering nightmare. The fit and finish inside and out was haphazard at best. Overall, it felt like some tuner had gone wild adding performance bits to a basic Sentra and had built a car that handled like it was on rails and went like a scared cat, but really wasn’t a very nice car otherwise.
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Looking up and down the pit lane at Pocono Raceway, it was tough to make a choice for my first drive of the day. I wanted a platform that I was comfortable in and I wanted a front driver. Something from the Nissan world made sense and I took note that the 350Z convertible was available, but that would have gone against my plan of spending the morning with front wheel drive cars. Sitting there all alone, was the 2008 Altima Coupe 2.5S. Perfect. Not too much power in a family of cars that I’m familiar with.
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The cute ute class originators, Honda’s CRV and Toyota’s RAV4 both seem to have lost a bit of their distinctive style with their latest redesigns. That’s not to say that they aren’t great vehicles, but they seem to have lost a bit of personality as they’ve matured. Even still, any newcomer to this market is fighting a bit of an uphill battle as brand loyalty runs deep with owners of these vehicles.

While the old standbys may be having a bit of an identity crisis happening, Nissan’s first entry into the segment is unquestionably a Nissan. Perhaps you could call it the Rogue child of the Murano, as the 2008 Nissan Rogue shares so many styling cues and tech details with it’s older brother.
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These days, most new cars leave the factory with a pretty decent sound system. While they may not always satisfy the audiophile, they do just fine for the majority and they are pretty reliable to boot. Working in the industry, I’ve come across plenty of aftermarket stereo installs that made a total mess of the functionality of the vehicle. From butchered fitments, to botched wiring it is often a nightmare for the tech who is asked to fix some installer or owner’s mistakes.

For all of these reasons, I usually stay away from replacement radios but the used Xterra we picked up a couple of months ago had been fitted with a Pyle radio that really was a pile. FM was the only function that worked, though even that was a bit of a crap shoot as the display did not work. I’m not an audiophile, so I went on a hunt for an inexpensive basic radio that included a CD player. A search through a few major chain sale flyers turned up the Sony cdx-GT110 for a great deal. As an added bonus, it also has a front jack for and mp3 player.
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Those kind folks at the GTR Owner’s Club in the UK not only provided the world with photos of Nissan’s upcoming supercar, but now they’ve posted video! As the test driver mentions, Porsche is going to be worried!

Video after the break
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Welcome to the Canada Day edition of the Carnival of Wheels! It’s been a busy couple of weeks in The Garage. We are in the middle of three weeks of track action and we’ve picked up a new to us SUV, so our work here in The Garage has been pretty self centered. Don’t worry though, our selfish posting will continue, as there are still tons of photos yet to be edited from the VARAC festival and next weekend is a double header. First we’ll have 2 days in the pits at the Steelback Grand Prix for Champ Cars and then on Sunday, Miss Shelby has her first race of the season. Elsewhere online, autobloggers have been busy churning out all manner of hot content, so sit down, strap in and get ready for a smoking hot lap of the blogosphere while you watch the French Grand Prix.

First up we’ve got another visit from Hello Kitty Hell, with a truly frightening tuner mod. This poor guy’s wife has actually installed this happy feline exhaust tip on their car! Be afraid, be very, very afraid.
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More and more consumers are realizing that they want to drive something with a bit more pizazz than a minivan these days. While we might all want to drive a sports car, for most of us reality dictates that we need something with a bit more utility. These opposing needs are what has fueled the growing CUV market. Smaller than a full size SUV, less seating than a minivan, this niche offers good looking, sporty vehicles that can haul some gear. The newest player is the attractive 2007 Ford Edge which combines a sporty look and feel with a healthy dose of utility. In fact, the Edge offers more utility than the FX-35 that we spent time with earlier this year.
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It’s been a while since I’ve posted on the challenges of buying a used up car. Given that we’ve just had a new addition to The Garage, it might make some sense to touch on used car buying again. This time though, we’ll go over how you can educate yourself about a specific car and save a bunch of cash along the way, without using the help of a sales pro.
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Attention all Nissan enthusiasts! The GT-R has made a real life public appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Ok, so it’s still sporting front and rear bras, but those bras look to be holding up some pretty special goodies. The GT-R has been the source of tons of spy shots as the car is developed, so it looks like Nissan is once again choosing to show off a new model prior to it’s official launch.

More pics from NAGTROC after the break
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When I first saw the new Ford Edge, I couldn’t help but think that Ford had set their sights squarely on the successful Nissan Murano. Visually, designers have taken a decidedly Japanese shape and moulded it into a package that there is no mistaking for a Ford product. The 5 door crossover sport utility looks great from every angle and from the reaction we’ve gotten around town it seems to have made it’s presence known with the public.
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