The United States is a diverse country of nearly 325 million people, but Americans are nonetheless sometimes broadly stereotyped as being a bit boorish, or at least less cultured than, say, some Europeans or Canadians. So when Nissan revealed it was bringing the Qashqai compact SUV to the U.S. market while at the same time renaming the car the Rogue Sport here, some casual observers wondered if maybe Nissan felt ?Qashqai? (pronounced KASH-kay) was too much of a mouthful for Americans.
Christian Meunier, Nissan North America?s senior vice president of sales and marketing, said the decision had more to do with the slightly larger Nissan Rogue?s growing success in the U.S. market than with concern that Americans might stumble over nomenclature. Meunier was with Nissan in Europe about a decade ago, and he saw the development of the compact Qashqai up close. The little crossover?s purpose was to find a way to break through and capture a chunk of the compact-car market that had been dominated by the Volkswagen Golf in much of Europe.
?That was a very successful venture,? Meunier told us at the 2017 Detroit auto show. He added: ?The product basically delivered the functionality of an SUV or a crossover, so more functionality than a hatchback or a compact car. It was all-wheel drive, with all kinds of things, with a price point and fuel economy that were very similar.? These, of course, are also reasons the compact-crossover craze has taken hold in the United States. And ...