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Pickup sales may hit 2M units for first time since 2007

Even as fuel prices creep back up, trucks are still a hot item among new-vehicle shoppers. To see how popular pickup trucks still are, you don't have to look any further than how much effort automakers put into the continual one-upmanship of their trucks. Backing this fact up, USA Today is reporting that the segment could top two million sales this year - a total not matched since 2007, though still far from the pre-recession, three-million-unit levels.
Through August, the Ford F-Series continues to be the segment leader with almost 500,000 units sold, but the Chevy Silverado (328,269), Ram 1500 (234,642), GMC Sierra (122,232) and Toyota Tacoma (110,293) are all seeing at least 20-percent sales increases, helping to account for around 1.44 million truck sales so far this year - not including possible outliers like the Suzuki Equator and Chevy Avalanche.
This year alone, General Motors has completely redesigned its fullsize trucks, Ram and Toyota have significantly updated their offerings, the next-gen Ford F-150 will be out next year and Nissan is promising an all-new Titan around the same time with an eventual Cummins diesel under the hood. It would seem, then, that truck sales are poised to continue their upward trend.

Renault taking Alpine endurance racing, enters 24 Hours of Le Mans

Renault isn't letting up with the return of its Alpine brand. After announcing a partnership with Caterham to bring a new Alpine to market by 2015 (now expected by 2016), the French firm has announced it is taking Alpine racing again in the European Le Mans Series this year - and that includes The 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It has been 35 years since Alpine last competed in Le Mans, when it won the race outright and dropped the mic as it left the pits, never to return. Before that, in the 11 years it campaigned in the most famous endurance race on the planet from 1963 to 1978, it took seven class wins.
Caterham won't be involved with the race team, however; that will be an effort spearheaded by the Signatech-Nissan team that has been running GT Academy winners in LMS racing. Alpine is preparing an LMP2 chassis that will get a 500-horsepower Nissan engine for this year's championship, with the first two named drivers being Nelson Panciatici (above right) and Pierre Ragues (above left). The third driver for Le Mans will be announced later this month when the racer is launched at the Le Castellet race track in southern France.

Nissan's current Rogue renamed Rogue Select, will live alongside next gen

Despite the fact that an all-new generation of its Rogue crossover goes on sale in November, Nissan will continue to sell the current model alongside its replacement. The existing C-platform-based Rogue, which will be renamed Rogue Select, will start at less than $20,000 when it goes on sale in January 2014. At present, a base 2013 Rogue S prices out slightly higher, from $20,310, but we wouldn't be surprised to see the 2014 Rogue Select come to market with more standard equipment and simplified trim options. It will continue to be built in Kyushu, Japan.
According to Nissan, the unusual move is "to satisfy demand for the popular compact sports utility vehicle, currently second-highest seller in Nissan's lineup, as well as provide customers an additional choice in the segment." It's hard to hard to argue with the numbers: Nissan cites 2012 calendar-year sales of 142,349 Rogue units in the US, with 2013 sales increasing 16 percent through August despite the vehicle's age.
The strategy may also give Nissan the chance to ask for more money for the second-generation model (which is based on a new Common Module Family platform shared with partner Renault) while keeping it clear of residual-value-damaging fleet sales. The new Rogue looks to be both larger and more luxurious, with an available third-row seat, and it should be more economical to produce, as it will be built in Nissan's Smyrna, TN plant.