The EPA has just released its fuel economy figures for the first mass-production electric car and the Nissan Leaf gets a very impressive 99-mpg. Better yet, that’s 99-mpg on average, with a 106-mpg city rating and 92-mpg listing for highway cruising. That number is well ahead of the former industry leader, the Toyota Prius, with...
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Rarely, if ever, does a mid-cycle refresh get the attention that it has with the new 2012 Nissan GT-R. But there’s a very good reason the GT-R is making headlines half way through its production cycle. A lot is new about this updated version of Nissan’s Porsche killer, and what’s most important might be the...
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A full four years before the Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder debuted, another Japanese sports car with a folding hardtop made its debut. You may not have heard of the Nissan 300ZX Spyder, partly because they only ever made one example. While the 300ZX came in either hardtop, t-top and convertible variants, the folding hardtop was a...
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Nissan has completely revamped its Quest minivan for 2011, getting away from its quirky ugly past and moving towards Toyota’s “Swagger Wagon” Sienna when it comes to road presence and interior luxury. Powered by Nissan’s 3.5L V6 (what else?) the van makes 253-hp and will start at a rather competitive $27,750. Features of the new...
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If you’ve been wondering what the replacement for the Nissan Altima is going to look like, we think we might have something that will interest you. At the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show today, Nissan unveiled its Ellure Concept, a front-wheel drive sedan that hints at future models. It’s probably safe to assume that Nissan...
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The 2011 Nissan Quest may not be the official holder of the “Swagger Wagon” title, but it looks pretty damn good. On sale in early 2011, the new Quest is a radical departure from the old model, which was as exciting as vegan meatballs. All the usual minivan conveniences are present, like flat-folding seats, power...
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Nissan literally pulled the cover off its 2011 Murano in Los Angeles today, unveiling for the first time on these shores the new open top version dubbed the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet. Painted seafoam green with a light interior, it looked ready for South Beach on the opposite coast. Nissan says they envision females in their...
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In an industry filled with me-too entries and uniform designs, the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet is a bold, unique product that is sure to find a home in the driveway of exactly nobody. Sorry, it’s true. We hate to punish anyone for taking a risk – hell, we love to see big gambles succeed, just like...
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The press release for Nissan‘s Ellure concept invokes the name of the sacred Datsun 510, but while the 510 was a diminutive, boxy sports sedan, the Ellure is swoopy and muscular, like a futuristic Maxima. With a front end supposedly inspired by the formal coat worn by Samurai, Nissan asserts that the Ellure makes no...
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Nissan is set to recall nearly 14,000 2010 and 2011 Sentras due to an engine malfunction that could cause the motor to cut out while the vehicle is running. NHTSA summarized the problem as “The bolt/washer surface on the positive battery terminal cable end may allow for a gap to occur in the contact area...
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Nissan continues to push forward with its no-holds-barred approach to automotive design, unveiling a new two-door convertible version of its Murano SUV. Named the Murano CrossCabriolet, this bizarre new model follows on the heels of the launch of the tiny Juke crossover – criticized for its styling, but praised for its impressive engineering package. Believe...
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Kia‘s Sedona minivan, an often ignored but solid bargain in the minivan segment, gets a new grille for 2011, along with an upgraded powertrain. The Sedona’s new V6 puts out 271 horsepower and 248 lb-ft of torque with power being put down through a 6 speed manual transmission. This gives the Sedona a 27 horsepower...
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Nissan is set to recall 605,000 vehicles over defects with the steering system and vehicle batteries. The recall will comprise of 303,000 Frontiers, 283,000 Xterras and 18,500 Sentras from the year 2000 to the year 2010. The affected vehicles reside in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, with 85 percent of the cars...
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Generation Y has come of age and are now setting their sights on what new car to buy. And according to research firm AutoPacific, younger car buyers are choosing vehicles made by Toyota, Honda and Ford. Also among the top 5 brands are Chevrolet and Nissan. Making their way onto the 2010 Gen Y (people...
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Despite the harsh criticism leveled at the Nissan Juke, Nissan‘s…. erm…distinctive crossover is off to a pretty good start, according to sales data from Timothy Cain over at Good Car Bad Car. In it’s first month on sale, Nissan sold 2103 Jukes, significantly more than the Honda Eelement or Volkswagen Tiguan, while closing in on...
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Our second installment of the Best In Show series profiles the cars that made SEMA what it is – sport compacts. Yes, some of these cars push the boundaries of taste, but others are fairly creative and actually enhance the looks of the stock car. The dominant cars this year seemed to be the Mitsubishi...
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Despite its huge throngs of worshipers, the Nissan GT-R is a rarity at this year’s SEMA Show. The few we did cross paths with were, however, seriously impressive machines, representing some of the biggest GT-R tuners in the world. Among them we count AMS and Switzer as two of the biggest. The AMS Alpha 9...
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While most of the aftermarket likes to overwhelm consumers with excessive amounts of horsepower, some companies like to refine the finer details, making the driving experience a more fulfilling one. Take Umbrella Auto Design for example; they began their business by focusing on Acura’s flagship supercar, the NSX. They built a wickedly clean demo car,...
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Nissan has announced a recall of 2.14 million vehicles worldwide relating to an issue with the ignition system that could cause the cars and trucks to stall. Included in the recall are models sold outside the U.S., like the March, Micra and Note, while here at home vehicles affected include the Titan pickup, the Versa...
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Ernie Manansala is no stranger to building cars. Most well known for his NOS Lexus SC300, it looks like Manansala has moved on to bigger and better things, teaming up with Wraptivo to build one menacingly good looking Nissan GT-R for SEMA. On the outside, it looks like the GT-R has received a full flat...
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The reality of a fully streetable 8-second Nissan GT-R just got a whole lot closer. AMS took their Alpha 10 GT-R demo car back to the quarter mile after their 9.33 pass to lay down an amazing 9.192 @ 163.12 mph track time. Now obviously going from 9.33 to 9.192 is easier than going from...
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While a car’s 0-60 time is far from a perfect metric for evaluating performance, it does act as a heuristic, giving us a quick and easy method to judge how a car does in a straight line. Electric cars, by this same logic, are often thought of as slow cars for timid drivers more concerned...
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Nissan‘s Oppama plant, located south of Tokyo, began producing the Leaf electric vehicle, with exports commencing in November. Nissan is also building plants in the United States and Europe to help with production, but initial vehicles will be built in Japan. Nissan’s Smyrna, Tenn. plant will have the capacity for 150,000 units, while the Sunderland, England...
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Green Car Journal has announced its candidates for its Green Car Of The Year award, with the five car field being composed of some pretty serious competition, Naturally, the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf are the leading contenders, with the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Hyundai Sonata Hybrid rounding out the field, and the Ford Fiesta being...
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