Going on sale in December of 2009, will be the Special Edition Nissan Rogue Krom.  The Krom is a special version of the Rogue S compact SUV.  The main focus of the Rogue Krom is to stand out from the crowd with a visually stunning appearance.  Nissan is looking to take a page from the Scion xB book by creating a vehicle that expresses the feeling of the driver in an outward expression.

Starting with the exterior enhancements, the New  Nissan Rogue Krom gets a new front bumper with fog lights and a sweet chrome grill that adds a sporty look to the front of the SUV.  The outside mirrors are color matched.  And speaking of Paint, the Rogue Krom comes in 3 limited edition colors: Gotham Gray, Venom Red, and Wicked Black.  Out back the 2010 Nissan Rogue Krom get a new rear bumper with a cool exhaust that exits out the center, and a color matched rear spoiler.  Rounding out the modifications are a set of 17-inch alloy wheels.

While these changes may not seem like much on the surface, they go a long way in the looks department when you compare the stock Rogue with the Krom version.

Source: Nissan News

The 2009 SEMA show was packed with cool custom cars and accessories. This is to be expected from the most anticipated car event of the year. But there was a big surprise in the sea of automobiles and booths that was the SEMA show. Lingenfelter Performance Engineering or (LPE) has been tuning muscle cars, namely GM vehicles, for years. It is no surprise that they have taken a new 2010 Camaro and converted it to what would be a new Pontiac Trans-Am is Pontiac were to make said car.

So how did they get this Trans-Am Concept car? Well start with one brand new 2010 Camaro SS and an LS engine that measures 455 cubic inches! Boar that bad boy out and stuff it with some pistons and a forged crank, top it off with some ported and polished LS7 heads and you get a healthy 655 HP and 610 lb.-ft of torque.

The exterior features some classic elements from the 1971 Trans-Am. The most evident Trans-Am throwback is the edition of a Shaker Hood that was made so famous by Smokey and the Bandit. A new front bumper, fender vents, and rear spoiler round out the body modifications. Top this off with a cool blue sports stripe and viola we have a new trans-Am.

The interior is all retro throw back. Everything was custom made to look like the 71’ Trans-Am including the dash, console, seats, door panels, carpets, and instruments. Rounding out the changes are a set of 20-inch Honeycomb rims with Nitto tires.

The New Pontiac Trans-Am Concept by Lingenfelter Performance Engineering was one of the biggest hits at this year’s SEMA show.

Source:http://www.lingenfelter.com/engine-packages/camaro-gen-5-2010/lingenfelter-2010-camaro-lta-concept-car-sema-2009

The all new and redesigned GMC Terrain is the little brother to the Yukon. GMC is targeting the mid-sized SUV market with the Terrain and at the same time they are trying to get a piece of the pie that Honda and Toyota have long since ruled! The bold exterior of the Terrain is all GMC styling and the Crossover SUV is chalked full of cool features and technology. And of course GMC is sticking to the fuel economy wars offering a 4-cylinder engine that will net you 30 MPG on the highway. All in all the Terrain offers just about everything you would want in a mid-sized SUV.

The exterior of the 2010 GMC Terrain is very bold and truck like. The goal was to create a new look for GMC. The Terrain offers some Buff lines with a huge chrome front grill. But this grill is not just for looks alone, the surface area is so large as to provide proper cooling for the Terrain. The tires are also tucked behind the fenders as to reduce drag and increase fuel efficientcy. There are available 19-inch chrome rims that are a must on this ride.

The interior is clean and modern. The center stack is unique and is definitely the center piece of the interior. The leather heated seats are ultra comfortable and the car is very ergonomic. There is plenty of functional storage room and lots of cool ambient lighting. The backseat is roomy and cubic feet storage space is right in the middle for the class.

Base powertrain is a 2.4 liter 4-clyinder direct-injected engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission that will get 30 MPG on the highway and 22 in the city which will set the Terrian at the top of the heap for in class fuel economy. Front wheel drive is also standard on the Terrain. If you opt for the V-6 engine you will get 3 liters of direct fuel injected goodness producing 260 hp and 222 lb-ft of torque. Gas mileage for the V-6 is 17/24 city/highway. All wheel drive is available on both engine choices but your fuel economy will suffer.

Features and technology is where the Terrain really shines. Besides the USB, MP3, touch navigation, rear view camera, 40 GB hard drive, XM Radio, OnStar, and rear DVD entertainment; ever new Terrain comes with GM’s 100k mile/5-year warranty which covers the entire drivetrain!

Cost starts at just over $24k and the Terrain has a five-star crash safety rating from the IIHS!

What if you could drive every day without stopping at the gas station?  There’s a new electric car coming out soon: the Nissan Leaf. It’s not gas powered and it’s not a hybrid. It runs strictly on electricity. This means it has ZERO emissions. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

There are several reasons that electric cars have not already replaced the gas engine, and they’re challenging to overcome, especially in the short run. The first is range. How far away from home can you get, and will there be a place to recharge along the way? How much does the car cost to buy and operate? Does it have guts?

The new Nissan Leaf can drive up to 100 miles on a full charge. That’s a lot further than most people drive in a day. Drivers would plug it in at home to charge overnight. It only takes 4 to 8 hours to fully charge the battery. You can even program the car to charge late at night when demand for electricity is low. For those occasions when you need to go further than 100 miles in a day, Nissan is working with various cities to install quick charge stations that can charge the battery 80% in about half an hour. You could find these quick charge stations with the Leaf’s navigation system and charge your battery while you stop for a meal.

Before you invest in one, check for quick charge stations in places you might travel. Over time they’ll become more available. If coverage is weak in the places you drive, you might not want your new Leaf to be your only car. Still, in a two car family, an electric car would be an ideal day-to-day commuter car.

Because of the expense of an electric battery, electric cars haven’t historically been able to compete with gas engine cars on price. The Nissan Leaf hasn’t yet announced its retail price, but some experts anticipate a price of around $25,000, including the $7,500 tax rebate. That puts it within reach of the average family. The battery lasts about 5 years, so you’d have to figure in the price of a battery every five years against the gas savings.

What about power? We’ve all driven electric golf carts. Is that how an electric car feels?  Not this one. The Nissan Leaf accelerates like a V-6 gas powered car. Nissan’s U.S. tour will show these electric cars in Los Angeles in November. Mass production will start in the U.S. in 2012. The new 2011 Nissan Leaf will be available on a limited basis in selected U.S. cities in 2010. You should be able to buy one at many Southern California locations, since this is one of the areas where Nissan is working to offer quick charge stations. Soon you’ll be able to test drive a Nissan Leaf in Redlands, San Diego, or Los Angeles. Only time will tell if electric cars will become the norm, but the Leaf seems to have a good chance at breaking through that barrier.

The Cadillac SRX of Old was big, ugly, and got terrible gas mileage.  Well Cadillac has learned from the success of the CTS and totally redesigned the SRX with the consumer in mind.  Gone are the oversized dimensions.   Thrown to the curb is the big gas guzzling V-8 engine.  Audios to the exterior styling.  And in its place is a smaller, more nimble, and much better looking crossover SUV!  The new 2010 Cadillac SRX is a real head-turner.

You either love or hate the new styling direction that Cadillac has taken.  The sharp lines represent an automobile that makes a statement.  The chiseled lines of the 2010 Cadillac SRX are sure to catch second looks from those who can appreciate a good-looking car.

Of course with any Cadillac vehicle you purchase; the interior is as luxurious as any car on the road today.  Supple leather and interior amenities abound.  But the SRX really shines when it comes to Amenities.  You get IPod connectivity, XM Radio, On Star, Bluetooth, and DVD Navigation just to name a few.  The new SRX has lost the 3rd row seat in the name of cargo space.  The second row seat folds down to create even more room; up to 61 cu. Ft!

Although this SUV come standard with front-wheel drive; there is an available all-wheel option which uses Cadillac’s advanced torque transfer technology.  The standard engine is a 3-liter direct-injected V-6 that puts out 265-hp.  But later on this year there will be a turbocharged engine available that will put down over 300-hp!

The 2010 Cadillac SRX starts at $33,000 for the base model.   Build a Cadillac online for free!

The horsepower wars in the truck sector have been raging off and on over the past few years. We have seen 2 generations of the Ford F-150 Lighting which put down a mere 380-hp thanks to a supercharger. There was the GM Syclone which was a small pick-up that had 280-hp of turbocharged fury. And what I thought would be the pinnacle of trucks; the Dodge Ram SRT-10 which had the drive train from the Viper including the huge V-10 engine that roasted tires with 500 all-motor horsepower. Well Toyota has one-upped Dodge with the release of the TRD Tundra.

So how do you get 504-hp and 550lb.-ft of torque? Slap a TRD Supercharger and Intercooler on an already potent 5.7 liter 381-hp engine and you get ridiculous results. A TRD Dual Exhaust system frees up those spent exhaust gasses. 22-inch TRD Wheels hide the 16-inch cross-drilled rotors with six piston calipers. Wow! The suspension pieces are also TRD and lower the new Tundra about 2 inches.

Do you need a 504-hp truck? Probably not; but at $40k that’s not too far out of range for real horsepower lovers. And it sprints to 60 MPH in 4.6 seconds with a ¼ mile time of 13.5 seconds. I’m definitely going for a test drive!

Nissan Motor Company is coming out with a new electric vehicle. The electric concept, Nuvu, was introduced in Paris last year but Nissan has yet to release a concept that is closer to the production version of their new EV. Nissan reportedly stated that they wanted a bold design for the Nuvu that looks nothing like a hybrid.

The goal of the new design would be something that exudes environmentally conscious yet differentiates itself from the average “wedge-shaped silhouette” that is too often seen as a hybrid. Nissan wants the car to be so unique that when people see the car they realize it is an EV and not a hybrid.

Because EVs lack an outsized engine and gasoline tank, they open up new design possibilities.  The new EV is rumored to be comparable in size to the Cube or Versa.  Nissan has not released pictures of the car but is stating that the EV has no grille, a low hood (by lack of engine), a visible recharging plug in the front, and a profile that is flowing instead of triangular, but this spy shot is circulating the web.  The new EV from Nissan is scheduled to go on sale next year.

Hyundai Motor Company had HKS USA Inc. create a high performance Genesis Coupe 2.0T for the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show. HKS is the leading manufacturer of premium performance parts and is the second company to join Hyundai for the SEMA show. The Genesis Coupe already has a great chassis, rear-wheel drive, aggressive styling and design, and a charged up engine but these qualities provide the perfect opportunity for HKS to maximize the Coupe’s performance.

The new Coupe will showcase functional ground effects and emphasize on driver comfort and control with all HKS electronics. Some of which include, a CAMP2 which monitors up to 24 data signals from the programmable calculations for fuel cost, averaging the fuel consumption and fuel efficiency in real time. The HKS Genesis Coupe includes many new features like: a HKS GT Turbo upgrade engine (to maximize horsepower and torque), HKS engine intervals, HKS limited-edition turbo exhaust system, HKS Super Mega Flow Intake System, HKS Engine Management, and HKS Hipermax III with fully adjustable suspension.

Partnering with an industry leader like HKS is a excellent way for Hyundai to expand on the performance of the already great Genesis Coupe. This new vamped up Coupe is the ideal vehicle for driving enthusiasts. And the SEMA HKS Hyundai Genesis is a great car to showcase just what a Genesis can be!

Lexus has finally decided to dedicate to the world the first hybrid luxury vehicle; the HS 250h Lexus.  The HS hybrid was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show and marks new territory for Lexus entry level hybrid in the luxury class. When talking about a hybrid the first thing comes to mind is what’s under the hood.  Well a 2.4Liter four cylinder that produces 187horsepower.  Add the 40 horsepower electric motor and you have some nice acceleration.

The Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive System is mated to a power control unit that manages fuel consumption by recharging the battery when slowing down or braking and delivering an electric assist when accelerating.   According to Lexus, the HS 250h can accelerate from 0 to 60 in 8.4 seconds.  Lexus also promised that the HS would be the most fuel efficient luxury vehicle in the world with an EPA fuel economy rating of 35mpg city and 34mpg highway.  The Lexus HS250h’s’ 0.27 drag coefficient alon with a couple of spoilers and diffusers seem to support Lexus’ claim.