I’m pretty surprised by the way that Nissan has chosen to price the new Nissan 370z. Starting at only $39,998, it represents a much cheaper entry point than the previous 350z did when it debuted in it’s last model year.

The 2008 350z had the Grand Touring model as it’s lowest price point at $49,948. The 2009 370z Touring comes in at $39,948. Equipping the 370z with the Sport Pack includes better brakes, spoilers front and rear, and 19″ forged rims, bringing the final price to $43,948 before taxes – still $6,000 cheaper than the outgoing car!

The 370z car configurator is available on their website.

When the new Mustang came out in 2005, it shocked the North American car industry. Both Chrysler and GM scrambled to come up with a suitable market offering but were years behind Ford. Now the Mustang had it faults, but something everyone agrees on is that it’s 2005 redesign revived a dying brand, and became a symbol for Ford that they could do something right.

Now Chrysler has come up with the Challenger, and it’s most potent version – the only version available in 2008 – is the Challenger SRT8. In Canada only 500 were made and featured a 6.1L Hemi V8. An automotive journalist, Jil McIntosh reviews it and ended up purchasing one! Her review is at Canadian Driver.

Every Challenger that rolls off the line is made in Canada – up in Brampton, Ontario. Curiously, GM’s product in this category, the Chevrolet Camero, will be arriving next year and is made in Oshawa, Ontario.

What is Honda Canada thinking? The 2009 Honda Fit is an excellent subcompact. It improves on the previous model by making it roomier and more fuel efficient. However in the weirdest country-oriented marketing move ever, they removed the paddle shitters from the automatic versions.

Here we have a car known for it’s sporty handling and performace and Honda Canada decides to remove one of it’s coveted features. To add insult to injury the feature remains in the US versions.

Based on the July/August 2008 Automotive Lease Guide (ALG), Forbes listed the top ten vehicles with the highest resale value in the U.S.

1. 62.7% Mini Cooper
2. 60.6% Infinti G37
3. 59.6% BMW 1 series
4. 59.0% Jeep Wrangler 4×4
5. 58.8% VW R32
6. 57.9% Honda CR-V
7. 57.8% Scion XB
8. 56.8% Honda Civic Hybrid
9. 56.4% Nissan Rogue
10. 56.4% VW Beetle Convertible (Tie)
10. 56.4% Audi S5 (Tie)

The G37 is surprising since it isn’t exactly a fuel efficient car. And the S5 is too, as the only car with an eight-cylinder engine. The Audi S5 seems to be enjoying a better resale market than the BMW coupes.

J.D. Power has released their latest dependability ratings for 2008. It ranks the nameplates that are producing cars with the least amount of problems per 100 vehicles. Not only is Land Rover last, they are last but have 42 more problems per 100 cars than the 2nd last brand, Suzuki.

It’s always a big deal when Ferrari creates a brand new model. The Ferrari GT will be introduced at the low end of the Ferrari range, below that of the F430. There’s not much to know about the car now, except that it’s definitely official. Ferrari created their own “countdown site” where you can hear the sound of their latests creation. In nine more days, pics will be released.

The Ferrari GT preview site is here.