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Well, waddaya know… you really can find anything on eBay. We have no way of knowing for sure if this front bumper offered for auction on eBay Germany is really from a preproduction 2009 BMW 7 Series, but it sure looks the part based on spy shots and renderings that we’ve seen. We can’t imagine just how somebody would end up with this particular piece, but we’re having fun imagining a bit of dumpster-diving around the BMW design studio. One can’t help but wonder where the rest of the car may be. Didn’t anybody notice the missing front end?

The seller claims that the front bumper comes from a prototype next-gen 7 Series and prefers that the item be picked up in Munich. Want it? As of this writing, the high-bid is just 25.5 euros. Seems worth at least that much, assuming it’s for real.

[Source: eBay.de via Piston Heads]

Among the larger vehicles offered up at the Nissan 360 event that weren’t the large commercial offerings from yesterday were the Japanese and “General Overseas Market” Elgrand Van and the Euro- and Japanese-market Qashqai.

The Elgrand wasn’t a bad piece of kit for a great big honking van. While massive, the 3.5-liter V6 with 241 hp gets the thing up and going — even uphill — with an alacrity that feels almost driftworthy… for a great big honking van. The instrument panel is good looking and nice feeling, the three rows of seats can be moved every which way but loose, and the platoon-hauling mover weighs only 4,431 pounds. Nissan calls it “a first-class minivan fulfilling the dreams and aspirations of consumers for a relaxing experience.” We call it a pretty good van.

You can check out the Nissan 360 event site for more details on the vehicles and Nissan company stats. In the mean time, be sure to check out the gallery of hi-res photos below.

Driving a car on a racetrack, a controlled environment where the vehicle’s limits can be safely probed, is an experience that not only increases driving skills, but it builds confidence too. Recognizing this, and offering car enthusiasts a way to legally wring-out some of their hottest products, Audi has partnered with Emotive to launch their 2008 Audi Sportscar Experience. Unlike last year’s marketing-oriented Audi Driving Experience, or any other Driver Education event, the Sportscar Experience is focused on high-performance driving.

The program consists of several different one- and two-day programs held at Infineon Raceway in California. Drivers sign up for the event of their choice, and each one includes a high-performance Audi “S” model for flogging (yes, tires and brakes are included). The vehicles include the 420-hp Audi RS4, the 354-hp Audi S5, the 450-hp Audi S8, and the awesome 420-hp Audi R8. If there is a downside to all of this fun, it’s the price. The entry-level half-day “Introductory Program” runs $695. A full-day program in the RS4 will cost you $1,295. Want to improve your skills behind the wheel of the R8? That will set you back a cool $1,895 for a one-day program, $3,495 for two days. Having fun ain’t cheap.
[Source: Audi]

The Qashqai is a European-designed, Japan- and Euro-market crossover. We didn’t drive the gasoline version, but the diesel is doable, if a little slow off the line, and the steering is pretty crisp for a CUV. The Qashqai +2 adds a third row… but there really isn’t a lot of room back there, only suitable for new additions to the family. In a theme among all of the Nissan vehicles we drove today, the interior is quite pleasant. As ever, the Euros get mid-range vehicles with some really nice fit and finish. The leather in the diesel was especially nice, if a little puffy. The center console pleases the eye at a glance, but when you look closely at it you realize there are enough buttons and glyphs for a Sikorsky helicopter. It really takes scrutiny to decipher, and you don’t want to do it while you’re driving. But the panorama roof? Magnificent.

You can head over to the Nissan 360 event site for more details on the vehicles. But first, be sure to check out the gallery of hi-res photos below.

The Opel Corsa is small, cool, and like most other neat U.S.-automaker Euro offerings, unavailable to us — at least for now. As good as the current car would look wearing Saturn badges and slotted beneath the Astra, we’ll have to wait a good while until the next-gen Corsa arrives to see it in Saturn stores. Nifty though it may be in standard guise, it’s the OPC performance variant that really strikes our fancy. 192 horsepower, a 6.8-second 0-60, and fuel economy in the neighborhood of 30 mpg is a compelling combo.

Longtime Opel tuner, Steinmetz, has unveiled a suite of mods for the butched-up Corsa OPC. The factory hot hatch gets a new exhaust that adds ten horsepower, bumping its peak output to 202 ponies. Next comes a suspension upgrade that drops the car 30 millimeters, giving it a more athletic stance. Finally, Steinmetz closes the deal with a new front spoiler, replacement grille, side stripes, aluminum gas cap, and an upgraded wheel/tire package. Looks like fun to us.
[Source: Steinmetz]

Let’s just get this out of the way right now: this blogger is going to buy one of these cars when they come to America. And I’m a die-hard 385-plus-horsepower sports car owner for years now. And I live in LA. But the Cube is just that great. So Nissan, don’t pull a bait-and-switch, please…

The Cube is basic, and makes no attempt to dress it up. In fact, not only is the car not gussied up, but the entire interior of the car I drove was beige. And it was still hot. It’s basic done completely right, with tons of cubbies and comfort in an enormous (relatively speaking) cabin and a unified design theme inside and outside that ties it all together.

The 1.5-liter, 107-HP engine has got the giddy-up-and-go, and the car is so much fun to drive that you’ll cackle like an old hen every time you throw it around a corner. I admit I won’t be buying one in sky blue, and it won’t have the third row — that row is more than a bit optimistic — but I will have no problem showing everyone I know that “cool” is now spelled “cube.”

You can check out the Nissan 360 event site for more details on all the vehicles in Nissan’s lineup. In the mean time, be sure to check out the gallery of hi-res photos below.

Alfa Romeo undoubtedly offers some of the most beautiful cars available. While we’re anxiously awaiting the storied Italian brand’s return to the U.S. market, those in Europe get some added reason to place the aging Spider on their shopping lists. The new Limited Edition model comes equipped with heated seats swathed in Italian Frau® leather upholstery and Alfa’s Blue&Me™ (no, we’re not making these names up) voice recognition hands-free system. Available in four color combo’s and equipped with pretty 19-inch alloys, nobody is likely to kick the LE out of their garages. No power increase is present, but considering that at £25,500, all of this added goodness comes at no extra cost, we don’t expect to hear too much complaining. Besides, this car is really meant to be seen in, so the zip-to-sixty sprint of just under nine seconds is likely good enough anyway.

[Source: Alfa Romeo]

Thinking of trading your gas-guzzling SUV in for something smaller, a bit more fuel efficient? You are not alone. The rocketing cost of gasoline, and diesel fuel, is having a ripple effect on the SUV market. With consumers trading in their behemoths by the thousands in exchange for more frugal transportation, dealers are stuck with a surplus of unwanted sport-utes sitting on their lots with values dissolving.

Diesel-burning trucks aren’t immune either. As diesel fuel costs hovering about fifty cents per-gallon above gasoline, some of the bigger oil-burning SUVs and trucks are losing measurable resale by the day. Overall, according to CNW Marketing Research, used SUV sales were down 14% in March alone. With any surplus, come big discounts. It may be a ghastly time to fill a 30-gallon tank on an SUV, but it is the perfect time to negotiate with a dealer for that seven-passenger family truckster you’ve been fancying. No need to hurry — there will be an even better selection tomorrow.

Thanks to Jim for the tip!
[Source: U.S. News and World Report]

The Nissan Note was the smallest of the “big” cars we sampled at Nissan 360. Sold in — yet again — Europe and Japan only, the English-built Note hatchback has been on the market for just a year. The car is aimed at “parents who need a practical five-seater,” and the inside of the car feels like it’s custom made to handle bouncing, throwing, stomping little ones. The front seatbacks even have little tray tables with cupholders in them. It’s like coach class, but actually enjoyable.

The Note is basic, but nothing about it feels cheap. The only real issue we had was the tire noise that drowned out the four-cylinder, 110-HP mill. Due to that alone, the peppy little Note was the loudest car we drove all day. And while the super comfy fabric seats looked great, their coverings are perforated. The first time a McDonald’s shake gets spilled — or, heaven forbid, something that spoils — we wouldn’t want to be the ones who have to get the mess out of each little pore.

You can check out the Nissan 360 event site for more details on all the vehicles in Nissan’s lineup. In the mean time, be sure to check out the gallery of hi-res photos below.

Prodrive is in the process of developing a performance package for the Alfa Romeo Brera S, the first collaboration between the two since Prodrive campaigned a pair of factory-built Alfa 155s in the British Touring Car Championship in 1995. Based off the 2.2 JTS and 3.2 V6 models, between 250 and 300 special edition models will be released. The majority of the focus will be spent on the suspension, aero enhancements and (thankfully) some weight savings. 19-inch rollers are expected to fill the wheel wells, while a handful of driver-oriented improvements, along with some S-badging, will find its way inside. Beyond that, details are scarce, but anytime you mix one-part unobtainable Italian with another part British racing legends, good things are on the way.

[Source: Italiaspeed]