The first of the new name-plates, DUALIS (launched in Europe as the QASHQAI) is a totally new vehicle designed to shake up the small hatchback market.

Due to go on sale in the last quarter, the Nissan DUALIS will be a catalyst for change in a segment made up of conventional hatchbacks and sedans like the Volkswagen Golf and Mazda 3.

The clear combination of sporting attitude with the space and ability offered by a traditional SUV makes DUALIS stands out in a segment of the market full of worthy but conventional rivals.

Nissan�s second new model will be the Micra, a car which is distinctively different and designed to stand out on the road.

Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe - 2.0 Sport Review

Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe - 2.0 Sport- I wonder if, back in 1983 when the designers in the Mazda camp started work on an all new two seater car, the MX-5 they would ever believe it would still be going stronger than ever 24 years later. Not content with one entry to the Guinness Book of records in 2000 for Worlds Best Selling Open Top two Seater Sports Car, another entry was added in 2006 updating the number of units sold to 700,000.

The third generation MX-5 won Japanese Car of the Year 2006 and was runners up in the World Car of the Year 2006.

But things were changing in the world of open top motoring. Many manufacturers were turning to hard tops so Mazda, keeping up with the Jones’s decided to produce the MX-5 Roadster Coupe which is a virtual replica of the highly successful MX-5.

Custom Style! Mazda AZ-Wagon arrives in Japan

Behold Mazda's new kei car, the AZ-Wagon. Like its predecessors, the new AZ is simply a rebadged Suzuki Wagon R. In this case, the donor vehicle is the just-introduced Wagon R Stingray, which eschews the standard Wagon R face in favor of a more squared-off ,Toyota bB/Scion xB-like (last-gen, that is) appearance. Since the AZ-Wagon is a straight rebadge, all the features of the Stingray can be found here, including HID headlamps, black cloth interior, premium audio system (for the turbocharged, direct-injected Custom Style DI model), and keyless entry and start. Unlike its Suzuki twin, the Mazda gets only two kei-spec engines. The Custom Style DI gets the top-end 64 horsepower direct-injected 4-banger, while the Custom Style X receives a normally-aspirated 54-horse 3-cylinder with VVT. (Suzuki buyers get the added choice of a non-direct-injected turbo engine.)As is always the case, 2WD and AWD are available for both trim levels.

temperatures fall, car thefts spike

It was bitter cold, so Jocelyn Cramer left her car's engine running while she dashed into a Unity Township store to pick up a few beauty supplies.

But when Cramer, of Derry, returned to her warm 2005 Chevrolet Impala parked outside Sally's Beauty Supply in the Latrobe 30 Plaza about 4 p.m. Valentine's Day, the car was gone.

Cramer isn't the only victim of vehicle theft this time of year.

On Sunday morning, an unidentified employee of Pennsylvania Settlement Service left his company car running outside a residence on Green Street in Brownsville, Fayette County, according to state police at Belle Vernon. When the worker went back outside to check whether the 2001 Mazda 626 sedan was warm, the vehicle was missing.