HABITAT FOR HORSEPOWERAt last, help for wealthy urbanites who need to house their automobiles. Park Place Car Condo (www.park placecarcondo.com) is offering climate-controlled garages of up to 1800 square feet at prices starting at about $140,000. Locations in Fort Lauderdale and Miami are due to open next summer, with sites in four more cities, including Las Vegas and New York, set to follow.
NO RSX IN THE CHAMPAGNE ROOMAs part of a plan to move upmarket, Acura is killing off its lowest-priced model, the RSX. The 155-hp RSX is hard to justify next to the similarly priced, 197-hp Honda Civic Si.
DON'T TEASE US, SERGIOFor what seems like the umpteenth time since leaving the U.S. market in 1995, Alfa Romeo is said to be returning to America. As announced by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, the latest plan has Alfa using Maserati's dealer network and launching in late 2007. We'll see.
THE NAME IS NISSANTo the chagrin of Infiniti dealers everywhere, Nissan has announced that the new Skyline GT-R sport coupe will be badged as a Nissan in North America, just as it is in the rest of the world. The car arrives here in spring 2008.
THE MANTA! WE LOVED THE MANTA!Recent reports suggest the soon-to-be-discontinued Saturn Ion will be replaced by the Belgian-built Opel Astra. Yet another Saturn-badged Opel begs the question: Will Saturn succeed in selling Opels to Americans where others (i.e, Cadillac, Buick) have failed?
H IS FOR HYBRIDSeveral sources are confirming Honda's plans for hybrid versions of the Fit and the CR-V. The Fit is due next year; the CR-V, late 2006.