Autoblog

Click either image for a high-res gallery of the Subaru Exiga.

We received word from a little birdie last week that Subaru was gearing up to release its brand-new Exiga into journalist's hands in Japan. Coincidentally (or not), a teaser shot of Subaru's new pseudo-CUV popped up on the NASIOC forum over the weekend and it's clear from the darkened profile that many of the elements from the show car have migrated over to the production model.

The Exiga, which appeared at last year's Tokyo Motor Show as a lightly veiled concept, will likely form the basis for the new Outback, slotting in between the Legacy and the Tribeca CUV. However, it's doubtful that when the Exiga (or Outback) makes the trek across the Pacific it will be sporting seven full seats. Its closest competitor here in the States is the forthcoming Toyota Venza, which aims to define a new segment between wagon and crossover, but in reality, both vehicles own their inspiration to the AMC Eagle, the original wagon on stilts.


[Source: NASIOC via Straightline]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Ford Flex.

The SUV exodus means Ford's Flex has the potential to be a hit and it's gearing up for an onslaught of orders when sales begin this summer. Ford's group veep of marketing and communications, Jim Farley, told Automotive News that consumers leaving the full-size SUV fold and others who haven't considered putting a Blue Oval badge in their garage might be ready to give something like the Flex a chance. CUV sales have been strong over the last year, and Ford and Farley believe that the Flex could rack up 100,000 sales annually if the trend continues.


[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

There's probably a few clunkers in DaVinci's sketchbook, too. Looking more gnarled than Van Gogh's Potato Eaters hand studies, Ivan Volkov's Porsche Traveller concept picks up design ideas from the Matchbox Fandango, though it doesn't look like the spare wheel on the Traveller incorporates Rolamatic action. Rather than heap massive derision on Volkov's renderings, it would be interesting to get a deeper explanation of the design goals and features incorporated in this car. The SUV/CUV appears to have a pickup-like division between the front and rear body sections, and one thing's for sure, it's got absolutely no chance of seeing production without much further refinement. We'll grant that the Cayenne isn't the most classically handsome conveyance to roll out of Zuffenhausen, but Volkov's Traveller is exponentially more polarizing.


[Source: Concept Salad via Carscoop]

Ford sent but a single model into the roiling crossover market battle with GM's Lambda trio quartet. How did the Edge move 130,000 units alone while GM needed the aggregated sales of the GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, and Saturn Outlook to close 137,000 deals? Money. It's a simple case of throwing lots of bucks behind a product and making it hot. Ford backed the Edge with about $179 million in media buys, while GM spent less in total for all three Lambdas. Having three branches on the same tree doesn't give quite the same bang for the buck as you can get throwing it all behind a single product, too.

The advertising campaign for the Edge saw Ford hitting the web with a vengance, in addition to being placed well with several programming tie-ins. Viewers of American Idol and Extreme Makeover were treated to the Edge blitz, with snappy spots from David Mamet highlighting the Edge's speed and serenity. Overall, the crossover segment has been good for Detroit, with the Buick Enclave in particular zipping right off dealer lots, and the buying public embracing car-based, truckish-looking big wagons.

[Source: Advertising Age]

click above for more images from our first drive of the 2009 Nissan Murano

Nissan's original Murano was a successful and difficult act to follow. The elder statesman of crossover utility vehicles saw its sales increase every year since it was introduced in 2003, but with the segment going from crowded to standing room only, Nissan realized changes were needed to compete.

"Murano-ness" – that's what Jarrad Haslam, Nissan's product planner for crossovers, said the company insisted be preserved in the new version. Nissan invited us to Atlanta to sample this almost-totally-new Murano for 2009. You'll recognize the distinctive rounded nose, sharply-raked windshield, the side glass kicked up over the rear fender, a smallish rear hatch window topped by a sliver of a spoiler, and a lower rear bumper accentuated by dual exhaust outlets. But put the 2007 and 2009 (the Murano sat out the 2008 model year) side by side, and the differences become evident.

Continue reading about our first drive of the 2009 Nissan Murano after the jump.




Live Photos Copyright ©2008 Chris Tutor / Weblogs, Inc.

Click image for a high-res gallery of the Toyota Venza

Toyota just unveiled the Venza "crossover sedan," which is really another name for, you know, "crossover." With the Nissan Murano and Ford Edge obviously in its sights, the 5-passenger Venza neatly and stylishly fills the void left when the Highlander grew a third row and got bigger. Powered by either a 268-horsepower V6 or a 2.7L four-banger, the North America-designed and built Venza will be sold as a single trim level vehicle. The primary differences are that the six gets dual exhausts and 20-inch wheels, while the 2.7L has a single outlet and 19-inchers. Both engines are connected to a six-speed automatic with sequential shift, and the V6 has a towing capacity of 3,500 pounds, which exactly matches that of the Ford Edge and the current Nissan Murano. The front end clearly communicates Toyota's current styling themes while being Edgelike in its bright, large grille, and headlights that arc out towards the fenders. Inside, the Venza has an upscale, airy cockpit with niceties like contrast-piped leather seats. Storage is typical for vehicles in this class, and like its main competitors, it offers a panoramic glass roof. Pricing is to be announced, but if past performance is any indication, we expect to see a lot of Venzas filled with families on the road before long.

UPDATE: live video of the unveiling of the Toyota Venza is available after the jump.

Gallery: 2009 Toyota Venza LIVE

Gallery: 2009 Toyota Venza

FoMoCo never chromed out the Freestar and sent it to the Town Car division, but a version of Ford's new large wagon crossover called the Flex is reportedly headed to Lincoln. It would seem at first blush to be a better match for Mercury's product mix, but Ford wants Lincoln to become the volume seller under the L-M umbrella. What will power the Lincoln version is not yet known, but a variety of powertrains have been used in variants of the platform. Ford could snatch the 4.4-liter V8 from Volvo, but it's more likely to use some iteration of the new Duratec 3.5 or 3.7. The Lincoln badge is certainly befitting of some extra kick from the engine room for differentiation, and we'd expect a more luxe interior, too.

The Ford Flex will bow first, of course, and be allowed to hold court for about a year. The other version could be held back a full year, allowing Lincoln's seven-passenger alternative to vandom to get a solid footing. We're not sure what to think. A Lincoln version would definitely absorb some production capacity, but will it sell, or will Lincoln have a taste of the R-Class mystique? We think a better way to share the Flex would be to go retro and create a modern-day Volvo 245 GLT. A blacked out egg-crate grille, some different lights, throw in that force-fed V6 and there you go.

[Source: Car and Driver via Winding Road, Photo: Winding Road]

The MINI has been on a growth spurt since the introduction of the second-generation model. With the 3½-door Clubman wagon on its way to dealerships, the new convertible set to follow, and even a sports-coupe derivative rumored to be in the works, the BMW division is focusing on the development of a crossover based on the MINI.

No big news there, we've been watching the spy shots roll in for months now. The surprise, however, is that it won't be called the Colorado as previously thought. No, that was just a working title, an internal codename. It won't be called the Monte, either, as previous reports suggested. According to a recent interview in German publication Auto Motor und Sport, MINI's CEO Kay Segler said the retro soft-roader will likely be called "Crossman".

Magna-Steyr is expected to build 80,000 Crossmans (Crossmen?) at its factory in Austria each year, starting in 2010. The name, of course, combines Crossover with Clubman, the wagon variant on which it's based. Think it'll entice more buyers than "Colorado" or "Monte"? Leave your opinion in the comments section below.

[Sources: Auto Motor und Sport via Autoblog.nl and eGMCarTech]

When the BMW X6 concept was revealed in Frankfurt in September, we had mixed reactions to its oversized hatchback proportions. BMW made no bones about the fact that the sleek CUV was close to its production reality, and after seeing the motion pictures on YouTube, we tend to believe them. Video of the freshly-unveiled X6 in production trim is sitting out there for everyone to see, and from what we can tell, it's almost a dead-ringer to its Frankfurt forefather. As the scribes over at Carscoop pointed out, the b and c-pillars are now predictably visible, the side view mirrors are now larger, and the tail pipes have been modified. The high-end crossover shown in the video carries XxDrive35d badging, which means an oil-burner sits underhood. On the other hand, the start-up audio in the video sounds decidedly petrol-powered.

It's difficult to say if an expensive, less practical four-seat crossover from any other automaker would be a hit in the US, but BMW buyers tend to snap up whatever the Bavarian automaker dishes out. We look forward to taking in the X6 in Detroit next month. The complete video is available after the jump.

[Source: Carscoop]

Like a family of cockroaches living behind your kitchen cabinets, some rumors just won't die. No matter how ridiculous, they just won't go away. And so we waste our cyber-space reassuring our loyal readership of that they're nothing more than smoke and mirrors.

Here we're talking about the prospect of a sport-utility vehicle from Ferrari. We've seen different renderings and projections, and although we're not sold, apparently some people still think it could happen. Leave it to the Dutch, then, to get it right from the source. Holland's automotive magazine AutoWeek spoke with Ferrari's general manager Amadeo Felisa, who firmly denied that the company is developing – or even considering – an SUV. And we'll take him at his word, even if we have our doubts when they continue to refute the development of an entry-level model.

On that front, in lieu of the usual mantra that the company is not building a successor to the Dino, Felisa specified that Ferrari was not developing a six-cylinder model, which doesn't rule out the possibility of a new model to slot in below the F430 with any other type of powertrain configuration... say, a V8 for example.

[Source: AutoWeek.nl via Motor Authority]