February and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. And also, the Chicago Auto Show.

As part of their gimick, Dodge held their “Journey of a Lifetime” contest where winners will get an all-new 2009 Dodge Journey and an all-expense paid wedding. Winners Blake Humphrey and his future bride Jackie Rohner, from Rock Island, Ill. will be tying the knot on a Valentine’s Day wedding ceremony in Chicago. For added kicks a live Journey cover band will be playing in their wedding.

The contest required participants to answer the question: “Why should Dodge select you to start your ‘Journey’ of a lifetime together at the Chicago Auto Show on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2008?” As always, the couple with the cheesiest answer wins.

The Dodge Journey features a 173hp 2.4L 4-cylinder engine (a 3.5L 235hp V6 option is also available). It’s MSRP starts at $19,985. The vehicle debuted last year in Frankfurt.

Source: Dodge

Kei cars are quite popular in Japan. Some manufacturers like Daihatsu has made a killing with these minicars and probably that’s why the rest have also devoted time and effort to create their own. And with all the environmental craze over ditching hulking gas guzzlers and cute minicars are now in.

But Nissan is having second thoughts as to whether their cute (for some reason, I have a quirky liking for boxy stuff) Nissan Cube has a space in SUV, truck and muscle car loving America. For those of you who have just heard of the Cube just now, Nissan released it way back in 1998 for the Japan market and with much success. No need to ask why it’s called that. You can tell why by just looking at it. The second-generation Cube sports a 1.5L engine mated to either a 4-speed automatic or a CVT tranny.

Due to be out soon is the third-gen Cube and that’s the one on which Nissan is contemplating. Should they box and ship the Cube all the way to the US? Well, it might get some buzz with the design but as to whether it will bring anything new to the market? Not much. Quite understandable Nissan’s second take.

Source: Motor Trend

You just really have to identify a bad investment and cut your losses short. Isuzu will be pulling out of the light-vehicle market in the US and will focus its efforts on commercial trucks. However, even the i-series and the Ascender SUV will not see US daylight anymore. Parts and services will be available though.

The reason cited by the company is based on the lack of product expansion. The i-series and the Ascender being based on GM platforms (Chevrolet Colorado and TrailBlazer respectively), and GM isn’t planning to update any of the two. Isuzu doesn’t want to churn out much resources on developing them independently.

Isuzu’s figures in the US market is quite dismal with something like a 50% drop from 2006 to 2007. This move will then cost Isuzu to spend $37M in dealership buyouts and other expenses to make the transition.

Source: Left Lane

Aside from the Suzuki Equator, Porsche will also be bringing something overseas with the Cayenne GTS. The GTS is dubbed to be the best performing Cayenne in on-road performance aside from the already-known prowess off-road.

Under the hood is a 405hp 4.8L v8 engine - a development from the V8 found in the GTS’ brother, the Cayenne S. Considered more robust, the engine can be mated to the automatic Tiptronic S or a six-speed manual (a first in a Cayenne V8). The GTS also features better handling courtesy of the powertrain and suspensions with Active Suspension Management.

The Cayenne GTS will hit the market this February and the pricing is pegged at $69,300 (Might say a bargain given the new offerings and the Porsche badge.)

After Detroit, it’s Chicago. However, since Detroit got most of the unveiling and debuts, Chicago might be a little ho-hum. Only a few companies will be launching new ones and one of them would be Suzuki with the 2009 Suzuki Equator.

Now this is quite interesting since Suzuki isn’t really known for trucks and the Equator is classified as a mid-size pickup very much like the Nissan Frontier. This comes a less surprise than say, Daihatsu suddenly creating SUVs. Probably a matter of shaking things up by diversifying one badge’s line-up.

Truck Trend magazine got this picture out spoiling what Suzuki intends to be a grand unveiling.

Source: Inside Line

Ah, one of the great people cars of automotive history. The Toyota Corolla has surely some glory years in its history. But with all the new cars rolling out the factories nowadays, it sure has a lot of competition.

Toyota released their MSRPs for several vehicles including the Corolla. The 10th gen still is one of the most decent sedans in the market and its MSRP wouldn’t break the bank with the feature-rich one selling for just $15,250. It comes in five different trim levels - Standard, LE, XLE, S, and the XRS. The sporty S and the performance set-up XRS come with body kits designed to improve aerodynamics.

And don’t think that just because of the price, they won’t offer a lot in terms of the performance with a choice of two engines. The 1.8L 16-valve DOHC produces a 132hp at 6,000 rpm. It uses VVT-i. The 2.4L engine produces 26 more horeses and is redesigned for the use in the Corolla XRS. Both can be mated to either an automatic or manual transmission. As for comforts, features vary with every trim level but expect the common goodies.

The MSRPs are as follows - Standard: $15,250, LE: $16,050, XLE: $16,650, S: $16,320 and XRS: $19,950.

Source: Toyota

Italians really have a great grasp of design. Blame that probably on their heritage of artistry (hey, Da Vinci’s Italian). Just take a look at this Maserati Chicane concept which was conceptualized by a team of students from the European Institute of Design in Turin. It has the shades of the GranTurismo but with undeniable modern stylings.

The Chicane Concept is a 2+2 concept that’s smaller than the GranTurismo and the Quattroporte with the following dimensions: 4.4m long, 1.85m wide and 1.25m tall. Imagine a car that small propelled by a V8 and power will be channeled to the rear wheels.

No word yet whether this will hit productions but if the Chicane concept offers anything, it just might be the preview of an entry-level sports car from Maserati.

So Tata is trying to put every car maker into shame by releasing the Nano. “The People’s Car” that would only cost a mere fraction of what you’d pay for any other brand new car with the price pegged at $2,500. It is considered to have much potential to sell really huge in India and if it decides to export to neighboring developing nations.

But will Toyota (which claims to be numero uno, and latest figures show that they are) have none of that? Bet your ass they won’t.

With the battle between GM and Toyota on who’s really the top dog of auto manufacturing based on sales, both are finding ways to dominate each and every market around the globe. The challenge posed by Tata is for them to create and release a car that’s cheaper than any of the cars they have rolling out of the line. GM, in a Chinese tie-up, will be creating a mini car that will be priced at $3,500.

Toyota is now doubling its investments in India and will be entering the market for small cars. The Yaris (pictured) is Toyota’s smallest in the line-up right now and it doesn’t come cheap with an MSRP starting at $11,000. One primary concern for them in this heating battle is how to maintain quality and be cheap at the same time.

Source: World Car Fans

Call it whatever you like. Mazda6. Atenza. While the name game actually rides on whether its the Japan domestic market or elsewhere, the fully redesigned Atenza/Mazda6 offers more than just the “bold and exquisite” design. Offered in 3 different body styles, buyers have a choice between a sedan, a wagon and a sport hatch. And it’s available starting today.

The Atenza/Mazda6 comes with the newly-developed MZR 2.5L in-line four-cylinder engine that can be mated either to a five-speed automatic trannies featuring Mazda’s Active Adaptive Shift control. The new design is quite larger than the old one but weight reduction applied to the new model helped keep the weight down. The aerodynamic design also helps in giving the Atenza/Mazda6 better performance and fuel economy.

Depending on the body style, the car costs somewhere from $19,500-$24,000 converted from yen. Actual US MSRPs wouldn’t be that far.

Source: Mazda

The Tesla Roadster has set out to be the performance electric car of choice in the market, prompting a lot of orders for production. And for those in the US who have already put down their money for the orders, they can already rest easy as Tesla received the US FMVSS Certification (not without crashing some) meaning the Roadster can be sold in 50 states. And production will now commence by March.

With that milestone achieved, Tesla is now considering a track-ready version of the Roadster but engineers need to solve one problem - heat. The current designs feature and air-cooled system. A liquid-cooled system is an option, however, this might cause problems with all the electronics strapped on the car and getting that to work would mean the track car is a possibility.

The intended track-ready version reported to be dubbed as the Roadster 120 is planned to shed around 500 lbs. from the curb weight. Weight reduction will improve performance with regard to acceleration, handling and engine load reduction.

The prototypes can do 0-60 in sub-4 seconds but the production version is limited to 5.7 seconds. I wonder how will the track car do?

Source: Autoblog