Autos
*Base price for the 2008 Nissan Altima coupe is $20,490 for a 2.5 S model with a 4-cylinder engine and 6-speed manual transmission. The 3.5 SE with a V-6 and 6-speed manual starts at $24,890. A continuously variable automatic transmission is a $500 option on both, which go on sale May 25. The prices do not include the $625 destination charge. At 182.7 inches, the coupe is 7.1 inches shorter than the Altima sedan; the hood is the only body panel they share. Standard equipment includes anti-lock brakes, side air bags upfront and side-curtain air bags front to rear.
*Nissan will introduce a diesel version of its Maxima sedan in the U.S. in 2010, says CEO Carlos Ghosn. Ghosn says the vehicle would meet emissions standards in all 50 states and provide improved fuel economy and lower carbon dioxide emissions. “The launch of the Maxima will mark the start of a broader diesel strategy in the United States,” Ghosn says, adding the company was studying diesel vehicles in other markets as well.
*GM says it will spend $4.2 billion on the next generation of its Opel Astra. Saturn uses a version of the Astra as its new entry-level car.
*Volvo has priced its C30, which goes on sale in October, at $22,700 for Version 1.0 and $25,700 for Version 2.0.
Sailing
*US SAILING, the national governing body for the sport, has chosen six sailors for the new U.S. Elite Youth Development Sailing Team. The six, from a pool of 60 candidates all younger than 21, are Olympic prospects in the Laser and Laser Radial classes. They are: Emily Billing of Clearwater, Fla.; Anne Haeger of Lake Forest; Sarah Lihan of Ft. Lauderdale; Luke Lawrence of Palm City, Fla.; Kyle Rogachenko of Collegeville, Pa.; and Fred Strammer of Nokomis, Fla.
People
*Pilot Chuck Yeager will join Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and several TV actors in the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade May 26. Yeager broke the sound barrier when he piloted a Bell X-1 rocket plane over the Mojave Desert Oct. 14, 1947.
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Quick Trips are compiled from the notebooks of Jim Mateja and Rick Popely, and from Tribune news services.
