Dacia officials just announced today that they are preparing for the first SUV in their history to compete with Korean rivals Hyundai Tucson or Kia Sportage, with price its main argument.

Jaques Daniel with Dacia said that the company will release the SUV by the end of 2009 and it will be built on the Logan version we know.

Rumors also say that it may also be built on the Dacia Logan MCV version that could use Renault Kandoo technology and 4 x 4, but this may not be that cheap as opposed to using the Nissan Qashqai platform. Read more »

The hummer is one hot 4wd that generates alot of attention both on and off the road.

The hummer H3 has been design especially for off road driving with a 216mm of ground clearance it makes it easy to clear those offroad obstacles.

The hummer has execellent fuel consumption for a big car it is able to get 13.5L/100km from manual transmission and 14.5 L/100km from automatic transmission. Read more »

While the recent success of the Wrangler Unlimited bodes well for Jeep and its continued domination of all things off-road, NHTSA is in the midst of investigating a series of complaints claiming that the iconic Jeep is stalling at highway speeds, and in some cases, losing electrical power.

All Wrangler models are under the agency’s watchful eye, both the two- and four-door models, regardless if they’re equipped with four-wheel drive or the standard two-wheel drive. NHTSA says that only 53 complaints have been filed, with 12 reporting a loss of lighting and electrical power.

NHTSA’s investigation will include approximately 35,000 vehicles total, and at this point, no crashes or fatalities have been attributed to the issue.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

Apparently tough and muscular are favored by truck and SUV buyers. Who knew? In a Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch poll, active car shoppers picked the look of Ford’s trucks and non-luxury SUVs over the competition.

Though the poll was done in April, current sales numbers seem to prove it, with some of Ford’s pickups seeing more than 50% sales increases over last year despite rising gas prices. Ford recently increased its sales predictions of the Edge, and says its new Expedition had its eighth consecutive month of higher sales in April. Ford’s May sales overall were down 10.4%, a drop the company blamed on a cutback in fleet purchases.

The KBB report is good news for Ford, of course, but KBB says it should be very interesting to other carmakers.

“As vehicle reliability reaches near-parity in the market, we predict that exterior styling will play an even bigger role in building new-vehicle sales and brand equity,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst, Kelley Blue Book. “The results of the Brand Watch study demonstrate that the industry is, and should be, placing great emphasis on what their vehicles look like.” Read more »

BMW has unveiled its new M Sport package for all members of the X5 range, giving the SAVs a sportier look and feel inside and out. A new bodykit gives the X5 a more aggressive appearance, with updated fascias, flared fenders, black low-profile roof rails, and a choice of different 19″ and 20″ wheels.

Inside, electrically-adjustable sport seats and an M steering wheel can be augmented with any number of customization options from BMW Individual, and the X5’s already-sporting character is further enhanced by a retuned suspension that reinforces the “sport” in Sport Activity Vehicle (hey, that’s what they want to call it, so who are we to argue?). A variety of available paint finishes complete the deal.

German pricing for the M Sport upgrades is €6,350 for the X5 3.0si and 3.0sd, and €4,840 for the more-powerful X5 4.8i. There’s no word yet on if or when the package will be available stateside.

[Source: BMW]