Yonkers, N.Y. - Consumer Reports - infoZine - The redesigned Nissan Altima accelerated to the top of Consumer Reports' ratings of family sedans in tests for the March 2007 issue. Rated "Excellent" overall the Altima now ranks alongside CR's top-rated Volkswagen Passat, Honda Accord, and Toyota Camry. The Altima 3.5SE virtually ties with the Honda Accord V6, Consumer Reports' top-rated family sedan. Among four-cylinder sedans tested by CR, the Altima 2.5S ranks just behind the Volkswagen Passat 2.0T. "The redesigned Altima is a well-rounded family sedan in both 2.5S and 3.5SE trim levels," said David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports' Auto Test Center in East Haddam, Connecticut. "Both the 2.5-liter four-cylinder and 3.5-liter V6 engines deliver very good performance while getting good fuel economy." For the March issue, Consumer Reports tested basic and uplevel versions of five family sedans-the Altima, Kia Optima, Saturn Aura, Pontiac G6, and Chrysler Sebring.

2 BREAKS COVER

- The 2 (called Demio in Japan) is a B-segment (sub-compact) hatchback that debuts in Geneva next month. It will share many engines and many internal giblets with the Ford Fiesta that breaks cover in all-new form later this year.

- There should be a variety of four-cylinder engines displacing under 1.6 litres. Diesel version would be the 1.4-litre unit co-developed with PSA Group, meaning that there will now be five brands using it: Ford, Mazda, Peugeot, Citroen and Mini.

- The 2 is positioned as a stylish hatch to match the Toyota Yaris, instead of a practical alternative to the Honda Jazz which, however, is still a rival to the 2.

- There could be more body variations of the 2 possibly three-door hatch, five-seat MPV and high-body (SUV style with 2WD).

Press Snoop: Blaney gives Toyota first Busch pole.

DAVE BLANEY gave Toyota its first Bud Pole Position in the NASCAR Busch Series on Saturday afternoon at California Speedway.

His lap of 180.410mph was set early on in the qualifying session and confirmed the opinion of JEFF BURTON that his then pole time wouldn't hold. Blaney now has seven Busch poles in 95 Busch starts.

"We could see it coming somewhat," he said, "The cars have been really fast and really impressive. In race trim the car is really fast. Later tonight, it's going to be dark by the time the race ends. It will be a lot different than what we practiced in. We'll see how it goes."

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Nissan releases more images and info on trio of 2008 trucks

Perhaps looking to increase the buzz factor before the 2007 Chicago Auto Show next week, Nissan has released even more images and info on the trio of trucks it will be debuting, which includes the 2008 Titan, Armada and Pathfinder. To recap, the Titan gets a new long-wheelbase version with a 7-foot bed, as well as an off-road PRO-4X trim. The one and only engine is an updated 5.7-liter V8 now producing 317 horsepower and 385 ft-lbs. of torque, which is good for a top tow-rating of 9,500 lbs. that falls below that of the domestics and Toyota's new Tundra. The Armada gets a refreshened face up front, but the bigger news is on the inside where a new dash makes this full-size SUV an easier ship to sale. Finally, the Pathfinder also gets styling tweaks inside and out, but it's big news is under the hood where a 300-horsepower 5.6L V8 is now an option.

Sensible, sizzling, zesty, and cool

There may be no more perfectly executed line of affordable automobiles on the planet than the BMW 3 Series, from design to handling to fit and performance.