2007 Nissan Qashqai - US may see it in the near future

Yesterday, Nissan presented its all new compact crossover the Qashqai which will attempt to capture the imagination of 100.000 European buyers annually. According to Nissan, the Qashqai's clientele will spring from a variety of segments, including premium C-Segment cars like the VW Golf & Audi, lower D-Segment models such as the Toyota Avensis & the Ford Mondeo and of course, compact SUV's like the Hyundai Tuscon and the Suzuki SX4.

Although Nissan's attempt to lure buyers from a variety of standardized categories is somewhat new in Europe, this is a common practice for car makers in the US. See an example: the B-Segment supermini Honda Fit (Jazz in Europe) is considered to be an alternative to the C-Segment Nissan Versa (Tiida).

Having thus in mind, it makes absolute sense for Nissan to bring the Qashqai in the USA. Nissan know's this but there is a one very big obstacle: the Qashqai is manufactured solely in Britain, where 1 pound equals to $1.88 (September 7 exchange rate).

So does that mean that the Qashqai won't see the US shores? Well according to a top Nissan official I spoke to, if you're asking whether the Qashqai will be imported to the US from Britain, the answer is no. But, if the question is, will Nissan's USA line-up see a Qashqai based model, then the answer is "watch the space, you might see something very interesting in the near future".

Given the fact that the Qashqai is based on the Renault Megane II derived, Versa platform, then the Dodge Caliber may very well find a worthy emulator sooner than it thinks.

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Exclusive Paris Sneak Peak: 2007 Nissan Qashqai Production model Teaser Video

Get a first sneak peak at Nissan's 2007 Qashqai production model that will be officially unveiled at the 2006 Paris Motor Show. According to the teaser video, Nissan will release the preliminary photos and specs on September 6th.

Based on the homonymous concept which was revealed at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show, the Qashqai is a compact crossover that combines characteristics from various categories (C-segment hatchback models like the VW Golf /Rabbit, SUV's and MPV's). If that doesn't sound like a perfect match for the Dodge Caliber I wonder what does.

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Nissan Qashqai Picture Leak

The first totally uncovered image of Nissan's upcoming Qashqai submerged into to the net, a month before its official unveiling at the Paris Motor Show.

Based on the homonymous concept which was revealed in the 2004 Geneva Motor Show, the Qashqai will try to grab the attention of European buyers who find C-segment models like the VW Golf and Opel Astra a tad compromising and boring. According to Nissan, the Qashqai will combine characteristics from C-segment hatchback, SUV and MPV models (sounds very familiar to the Dodge Caliber concept, doesn't it ?).

Although the production version seems to stay very close to the concept iin terms of design, it is not sure yet if 4wheel drive will be standard on all versions of the Qashqai.

Practically, the Qashqai, which is named after a southern Iranian nomadic tribe, will take on the role of the Almera & Primera in Nissan's European line-up. This is the second model in Nissan range that tries to lure buyers from different categories. The first one was the mini-MPV, Note which aims at buyers who want a B-segment sized car (Fiat Punto, Renault Clio etc) with C-segment interior space (Peugeot 307, Opel Astra etc).

In other words, Nissan has accepted its defeat in mainstream segments in Europe, focusing now on more niche -and less competitive, categories. After seeing what happened to companies like Fiat, who can blame them ?

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