Nissan 350z With Low Mileage on 2040-cars

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Nissan backing off IDx, BladeGlider and Infiniti Eau Rouge amid focus shift

Nissan and Infiniti are officially under the microscope after their presentations at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show focused on the new Titan pickup and Q60 Concept, but lacked any and all mention of allegedly production-bound examples of the Q50 Eau Rouge, IDx and BladeGlider EV concepts. Automotive News reports that the lack of info on the three concept cars, which had previously heralded a more performance-minded Nissan/Infiniti, has signaled a shift in priorities at the Japanese company. Instead of driver-oriented models, emphasis is seemingly being focused more on volume offerings. Nissan was subject to a pair of high-level executive departures last year, with both Andy Palmer and Johan de Nysschen departing for Aston Martin and Cadillac, respectively. Both execs were strong proponents of more driver-oriented offerings, with Palmer championing the compact, rear-drive IDx coupe and de Nysschen backing the high-performance Q50 Eau Rouge. While Palmer has been mum on his former employer's alleged move away from performance, de Nysschen made headlines last month after calling out a Nissan vice president in a Facebook post saying he "heard a rumor that Noboru Tateishi is going to cop-out and shelve the Eau Rouge project now that I'm not there to pressure him," while adding that the VP has "more enthusiasm for 'driver's aid's,' apparently, than 'driver's cars.'" AN reached out to Infiniti, with North American VP Michael Bartsch telling the publication that no decision had been reached about the Eau Rouge and that the company was more focused on rebuilding its core portfolio. Featured Gallery Nissan IDx Nismo View 34 Photos Related Gallery Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge Concept View 24 Photos Related Gallery Nissan BladeGlider Concept View 22 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Nissan, Infiniti Rumormill Infiniti Nissan Coupe Luxury Performance Sedan infiniti q50 infiniti q50 eau rouge nissan bladeglider concept

Wards names its 2015 10 Best Interiors list

Wards Automotive has named the winners of its 10 Best Interior awards, covering a wide but affordable array of vehicles. Where last year's list contained two six-figure vehicles, including the $372,800 Rolls-Royce Wraith, this year's is, well, a whole lot more reasonable. The publication lists the Mercedes-Benz C400 at $65,000 (which seems off), making it the most expensive vehicle here. That said, we'd argue that the entire C-Class line deserves to make this year's list, owing to its varied and high-quality selection of materials. The other vehicle to break the $60,000 mark, meanwhile, is the $60,675 Ford F-150 King Ranch, which has 327,000 pounds of leather lining its interior. Only one other German car, the BMW i3, and one other pickup truck, the GMC Canyon, managed to make this year's list. Here's the full list of this year's winners: 2014 BMW i3 ($52,550) 2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum ($51,175) 2015 Ford F-150 King Ranch ($60,675) 2015 GMC Canyon SLT ($40,465) 2015 Honda Fit EX-L ($21,590) 2015 Jeep Renegade Limited ($33,205) 2015 Kia Sedona SXL ($43,295) 2016 Mazda6 Grand Touring ($33,395) 2015 Mercedes C400 ($65,000) 2015 Nissan Murano SL ($41,905) See what we mean about the mainstream vehicles? Not only is there a distinct lack of luxury brands, it's the price of some of the vehicles that surprise. The Honda Fit, Jeep Renegade and Mazda6 are very reasonably priced, especially when you compare Wards price with the starting price. The Renegade Limited starts at less than $25,000, the Mazda at less than $22K and the Fit at under $16,000. Head over to Wards for a more detailed explanation of why each vehicle won. Featured Gallery 2015 Ward's Automotive 10 Best Interiors View 10 Photos News Source: Wards Automotive BMW Chrysler Ford GMC Honda Jeep Kia Mazda Mercedes-Benz Nissan Truck Crossover Hatchback Sedan nissan murano gmc canyon Interior jeep renegade WardsAuto kia sedona wards 10 best interiors mercedes c400

Nissan EV design is diverging in three directions

As the movie awards season kicks into high gear, Nissan design chief Shiro Nakamura appears to be implying that his company's electric-vehicle design prospects are about to go from Philomena into The Wolf of Wall Street territory. Nakamura, speaking with Motor Authority at the Detroit Auto Show last week, allowed that the design of the five-seat Nissan Leaf is fairly conservative and will remain so given that the model continues to be the most practically-minded EV from the company. In the near future, though, Nissan is planning to head in different directions. Specifically, an all-electric sports car and a two-seat commuter vehicle that could come with in-wheel electric motors that will allow the designs to get more radical. How radical? Well, we've heard Nissan may bring the BladeGlider concept (pictured) it unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show late last year to production. It has a narrow front and wider rear and a 1+2 seating arrangement. Beyond that, Nissan has the two-seat Esflow concept vehicle it showed off in 2011 that could provide some hints, since it's expected that some of the design components from that car will be worked into the upcoming production models.