Auto News 5

Not so long ago, General Motors was able to justify having at least one brand for every day of the week. In postwar America, Oldsmobile lay comfortably in the middle of GM's brand hierarchy as the maker of cars for middle-class folks who enjoyed the latest features but wanted something more reserved than a Cadillac or a Buick. Oldsmobile's dignified customers still appreciated horsepower, as evinced by the famous overhead-valve Rocket V-8 of 1949, but the division's performance image was in decline by the early 1960s. In April 1964, though, just six months after the historic release of the Pontiac GTO, Olds boosted its reputation with its own big-engine package -- the 442 -- for its newly redesigned F-85 series, which shared its platform with the GTO as well as the Chevrolet Chevelle and the Buick Skylark.

I'm amused that a cargo net is a $59 extra. Really, Lexus, you can't throw in a $59 cargo net as part of the $45,700 base price?

The GT-R, while new to the US, has its origins In the Nissan Skyline, which has been in production in Japan since the 1960's. The GT-R now gives Nissan America a supercar to tout. It is a 2+2 coupe that can hang with the best in the world in virtually all of the merits that make a supercar, super. This road going rocket is one of the most comfortable of the cars in its class with a decent amount of interior space and a wealth of available options. While its ride would be considered stiff, it's still not as bad as some of its competition.

The Nissan Frontier is Nissans newest pickup and is now in its own second generation. It competes in the dwindling midsize truck segment. Once this was one of the most contested genres, but of late, there are only a few auto makers who remain to compete in this class. The Nissan frontier is one of the main competitors here.

After the success of the company's Scion XB, the cube takes over as Nissan's box on the road. This class includes the Element from Honda and Kia's Soul. The Cube does its best to standout from the pack by utilizing unique styling cues, such as a wraparound rear window, a side opening rear door and a spacious cabin offering a reclining rear seat and high style headliner.

The Armada is Nissans full sized (and I mean FULL sized) SUV. By most Japanese SUV standards, this is a monster. Imparting many of the favorite aspects of big trucks, such as it's towing capacity of 9100 lbs. and true off the road performance, it is still able to hang with the best of them on the streets. It can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6.8 seconds and stop from 60 miles per hour in 128 feet. Either of these an amazing feat for a vehicle this large. It handles well too, posting a .76g on the skid pad. All this combined with the castle on wheels size of its interior, which can seat 8 people. The price from all this has to come somewhere and as one might well expect, the highest price is to be paid in fuel consumption. You just can't move a leviathan like this around with authority and get even decent gas mileage doing so.

The Xterra, aimed at younger, more active buyers, try's to blend style, toughness, and both on and off road performance. It won Motor Trends Sport/Utility Vehicle of the year in its first model year. Now in its 6th year of generation 3 continues that legacy into the new decade. It shares some parts with the Titan, the Armada, and the Pathfinder. These help contribute to the real off road prowess. Not just a vehicle for those who want to look like they've seen the outdoors, it will actually take you there. The Xterra is a viable rival to such rugged off roaders at the Jeep Wrangler and the Toyota FJ Cruiser. With its tough body on frame construction and live rear axle, little has changed since the Xterra won its second Motor Trend Sport/Utility vehicle title in 2006.

The Rogue, which is Nissans long overdue entry into the compact crossover category, is based on the C platform. This is the same chassis as the Sentra sedan. Its agility and over the top styling have helped it wedge into a market where such perennial leaders as the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 dwell. The rogue is both longer their either of these two alternative and yet shorter vertically and narrower than both of them.

Since its introduction in 1986 as a body on frame two door, the Nissan Pathfinder has come a long way. It has grown larger over the years. Late into its first generation it added a second set of doors and switched to a more modern unibody construction. In its second generation, it dropped the two door option all together. Now into its 3rd production generation with a fourth on the way. It is in some ways a jack of all trades and master of nothing. Able to appeal to a more general crowd than most other SUV's. It retains much of its off road prowess while appealing to those who will never get mud on the fenders as well. It's grown large enough now to fit a 3rd row of seats. Also of note is the unusual process of going back to a more truck like body on frame, though it's likely the next generation will reverse that trend yet again and return to a unibody construction.

A class leader, and rightfully so. The 2010 Nissan Altima is the brands global sales leader. This made in America Nissan competes against the likes of the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry in the US's largest car segment, the midsize sedan. Especially with its optional V-6 engine, the Altima allows for the kids to be hauled around and still affords the driver some semblance of fun behind the wheel The Altima is available in Sedan, Coupe, or Hybrid formats. The V-6 included sport tuned suspension giving it better handling at a small sacrifice in ride quality. The four cylinder is more softly sprung but both are firmer rides than, say, the Camry. Another boon to the Altima as a driver's car is that in coupe form, the manual transmission can be mated to either the four cylinder or the V-6. This is a rarity in this segment as the V-6 option usually demands an automatic transmission.