Edmund’s Inside Line just broke the news about the new Nismo version of the new Nissan 370z. With power bumped up to 350hp using a new intake, exhaust and ECU reprogramming, this version of the Z should be one of the fastest to hit our shores. Pics are below.

Last week JD Power released the latest vehicle dependency ratings. On top are Buick, Jaguar, Lexus and Toyota. Suprising this year is that both VW and Suzuki rated lower than Land Roger, who was dead last last year.

CanadianDriver just posted an interview of Randy Rodriguez, the designer of the new Nissan 370z. Born in Surrey, BC, he now resides in California and works for Nissan Design America. He currently owns an original 1971 Datsun Z and based a few of the design elements on that car, and a shark. See the full interview for the details.

In the US, new roof strength laws are being passed that will make sure that all cars meet a certain minimum level of strength, which will protect occupants in rollovers. However, these laws are still in the process of being created and passed, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has gone ahead and started grading cars based on their own standard.
A good rating is strength-to-weight ratio of 4+. Acceptable is 3.25-4, and marginal is 2.5-3.25.

The following scores were measured on small SUV’s:
Volkswagen Tiguan Good
Subaru Forester Good
Honda Element Good
Jeep Patriot Good
Suzuki Grand Vitara Acceptable
Chevrolet Equinox Acceptable
Pontiac Torrent Acceptable
Toyota RAV4 Acceptable
Nissan Rogue Acceptable
Mitsubishi Outlander Acceptable
Honda CR-V Marginal
Ford Escape Marginal
Mazda Tribute Marginal
Mercury Mariner Marginal
Kia Sportage Poor
Hyundai Tucson Poor

Surprisingly, not many people realize what cars are made in Canada. More importantly, that many GOOD* cars are made in Canada – ones that I would recommend. Here’s a full list of all the cars I know of that have final assembly here in the great-white-north:

Acura

• CSX*
• MDX*

Honda

• Civic*
• Odyssey
• Ridgeline
• Pilot*

Toyota

• Corolla
• RX350*
• Matrix

Chrysler

• Dodge Caravan, Chrysler Town & Country minivans
• Chrysler Pacifica
• Chrysler 300
• Dodge Magnum
• Dodge Charger
• Dodge Challenger

Ford

• Ford Edge
• Lincoln MKX
• Ford Freestar
• Ford Crown Victoria
• Mercury Grand Marquis

GM

• Chevrolet Camaro
• Chevrolet Impala
• Chevrolet Monte Carlo
• Pontiac Grand Prix
• Buick Allure/LaCrosse
• Chevy SIlverado
• GMC Sierra
• Chevrolet Equinox
• Pontiac Torrent
• Suzuki XL7

Volkswagon

• Volkswagon Routan minivan

I’m not sure how it happened, but collectively the auto industry has started offering the same type of car all at once: the cube. It started with the Scion Xb in the USA and the Honda Element here, now Kia and Nissan have jumped into the mix offering a tiny cube-like car to the market. I can’t imagine there is enough demand for all this supply, but we’ll see. the Kia and Nissan are being offered for sale here this year.

Kia Soul

Nissan Cube

Honda Element

Scion XB

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.

The new 370z, the replacement for the 350z, is coming to North America. Already on sale in Japan, here are a series of commerials from there:

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.