Editor's note: Around the offices here at Winding Road, we're making a concerted effort to increase our number of posts about some of the vehicles we host in our press fleet, so you're likely to see some articles authored by unfamiliar names. In this case, our Art Director, Nate Luzod, has chimed in with a few words about Nissan's Armada:

In an open parking lot with nothing nearby, the Nissan Armada looks like an average enough SUV: it appears outwardly similar to the Pathfinder or Xterra. The size isn’t as immediately obvious as when you compare, say, an Explorer to an Excursion. Not until you're right next to it or more so—behind the wheel, did I realize how massive it is.

The Armada’s 317 horsepower V-8 gives it enough push on the highway to cruise comfortably at 80-plus miles-per-hour, though you’ll pray for a wide open left. Navigating in-and-out of traffic from your 77.8-inch high, 78-inch wide perch keeps you wondering who’s hiding in your blind spots, or if you’ll even feel that Chevrolet Aveo being gnashed beneath your 5,675-pound behemoth as you cross over...

Here at WINDING ROAD, we rarely frown upon the arrival of a Volkswagen into our fleet. Hence, when our Eos 3.2 graced our offices last week, we were all hoping (in vain) for warmer weather so that we could put the tin-top VeeDub through its paces. However, while we love these German autos, we continue to experience trouble with niggling electrical issues that Volkswagens seem to be afflicted with on an all-too regular basis.

Last Tuesday, we took our Eos to the car wash to clean it up before heading out for a night of driving. Upon exiting our local car wash, we rolled down the drivers' side window. However, due to the car’s leaky roof, some water from the car wash had worked its way inside of the car, forming a small puddle near the driver’s side rear quarter window (had there been a rear-seat passenger, it’s quite likely they’d have gotten an unintended hair-washing).

And that's where the fun began....

Michel Barelli, 54, a French motoring journalist was killed on Highway 78 in San Diego County at the wheel of a 2007 Opel GT. A writer for the French daily Nice-Matin, Barelli was on a press drive when he lost control going ‘round a bend, flipping his convertible and sliding down an embankment about 100 feet.

As with most media ride-and-drives, Barelli was traveling with a passenger, someone by the name of Patrick Louis, 47, though he survived with facial lacerations and is expected to recover fully (we’ve been unable to discern what—if any—publications he writes for).

Brake-check time. It’s part-and-parcel of the business to flog cars quite hard during press events, which is admittedly quite dangerous given that the majority of the time, drivers are on unfamiliar roads in vehicles they likely haven’t driven before. Add in the potential for traffic and bad weather on public roads, and it’s easy to see why this type of possibility isn’t ever completely out of the minds of many motoring journalists.

Our hearts go out to Barelli and his family, and we hope this is the last time we report anything like this.

The new Jeep Wrangler has come our way, bristling with new technology, but still the same no-nonsense Jeep that has been capturing the national imagination since WW II.

I’ve just returned from Santa Barbara, where I had the pleasure of driving the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer in a couple of different trims. Although the Embargo Game prevents me from disclosing driving impressions or releasing images of the actual car at this time, I can report coming away rather impressed.

2007 Chevrolet Tahoe 4WD LT Z71
Price as tested: $49,890
Total miles during test: approximately 450

I drove the 2007 Tahoe 4WD LT with “Z71

Let’s get right to it here. The “Panda Model Year 2007