2016 Nissan Rogue Sv on 2040-cars

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2014 Nissan Rogue

When I first started in this whole automotive journalism biz, I held a sort of hodgepodge receptionist/gopher/production assistant role, and each morning as the staff filed in, I'd ask them how they liked whatever car they were assigned to drive the previous night. Most of my colleagues would regale me with anecdotes about how good or bad a vehicle was, but one co-worker, every single morning, would answer my query with the exact same phrase: "It was fine."
I always assumed this was just a brush-off, an "ask me again after I've had a cup of coffee" sort of response. But then I found myself in a similar moment of brevity following the launch of the 2014 Nissan Rogue earlier this week. After returning home, a friend asked me what I thought of the new Rogue, and I replied, word for word, "It was fine."
And, well, it was. Nothing worth wasting exclamation points over, good or bad. Aside from something like the interesting-to-drive Mazda CX-5 or funky-looking Jeep Cherokee, nothing in this class really tries to set the world on fire. And that, right there, is fine. Nissan doesn't need to do anything crazy with its second-generation Rogue. It just needs to offer a well-equipped crossover that's handsome, functional, efficient and priced right - sticking to the same formula that made the first-generation model so successful while offering the latest crop of creature comforts in a more modern package.

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 Juke Nismo RSnow is dashing through the snow

With much of the Northeastern US buried and shoveling out from under a think blanket of snow, the possibility of getting stuck is a concern for some drivers. However, Nissan is ready for the absolute worst winter can throw at it with the new Juke Nismo RSnow. This wild-looking off-roader is a nearly stock Juke Nismo RS with all-wheel drive and the Xtronic CVT. Of course, there are some very obvious changes – tracks replace all four wheels. According to Nissan spokesperson Josh Clifton to Autoblog, the Dominator Track Systems come from a company called American Track Truck. The only other alterations are tweaks to the fascias to fit the parts and reprogramming for the torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system. The top speed is estimated at around 62 miles per hour. "It was built as a support vehicle for an ice-driving event in Lapland, Finland," said Clifton to Autoblog via email. The automaker is releasing more info about the RSnow soon, but in the meantime watch the brief clip of this all-weather Juke blasting through some powder, below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery Nissan Juke Nismo RSnow News Source: TwitterImage Credit: Nissan Aftermarket Design/Style Nissan Crossover Off-Road Vehicles Performance Videos nissan juke nismo nissan juke nismo rs