Nissan Qashqai: UK 2011 changes

The Nissan Qashqai n-tec 2011 with its posh new alloys We reported last week on the changes revealed for the 2011 Nissan Qashqai in Japan (the Nissan Dualis), and speculated that some of these, and perhaps others, would spill over to the Nissan Qashqai in the UK and Europe. So it was no huge surprise to get an email from Nissan this morning detailing changes to the Qashqai for 2011 in the UK. Stop/Start turns up as an option for the first time on the 1.6 litre petrol Qashqais (for £200) which, if you can get in to the habit of sticking the car in neutral and foot off the clutch every time you grind to a halt in traffic, can yield decent fuel savings.

Wait, is the WhaleMobile still for sale?

In 2009 -- which is about 40 years ago in Internet time -- the motor-mad, mountain-dwelling master-mechanic known to Autoweek readers as Murilee Martin took to the pages of Jalopnik -- yes, it was printed back then -- to describe an ad he found on Craigslist. Here's the full text of the original ad: WhaleMobile *UNIQUE* This one of a kind "WhaleMobile" is for sale. It needs new tires, but otherwise starts right up and runs fine.

Kia to reveal ‘Stunning’ Sports concept at Detroit Auto Show

‘Stunning’ Sports car concept teased by Kia It may be almost Christmas, but car makers are looking a bit further ahead than that with the current crop of teases and expectations for the 2014 Detroit Auto Show in January. Today’s offering comes from Kia, with the first teaser photo of a new concept heading for Detroit. Kia describe their car as a “stunning sports car concept” which has been designed by Kia’s California design team in Irvine, and is a 2+2 Sports Car which, say Kia, will make heads turn and provide superb driving enjoyment on road or on track.