Auto blog

Nissan testing experimental dealer with no desks or offices

Nissan thinks it has found a better way to sell cars, and it involves stripping showrooms of everything but the cars and sales team. The brand calls the experiment the Nissan New Retail Concept, and it might get tested in the US in a few years.
The concept is relatively simple. Showrooms ditch offices, reception counters, cubicles and desks. Instead salespeople walk around inside and outside the dealer with mobile devices to assist customers and even complete sales. Associates are trained to take immediate responsibility for each visitor they encounter. For example, if owners comes inside with a problem with their vehicle, the employee escorts them to the service department and introduces them.
A dealer in London has been testing the new layout for the last nine months, and so far it reports better customer satisfaction, loyalty and most importantly higher sales. Nissan next plans to launch test stores in Moscow and Stuttgart. Then it will broaden out to more of Western Europe and finally will be tested in the Japan, the US and the Middle East, according to Automotive News.

Mitsubishi Motors to relocate North America HQ to Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mitsubishi Motors announced on Tuesday that it is relocating its North America headquarters from California to Tennessee, a move that will bring the Japanese automaker closer to its sister company Nissan and strengthen Tennessee's growing reputation as an epicenter of the automotive sector. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe — who made the announcement with Mitsubishi Motors North America — say the headquarters move from Cypress, California, to Franklin, Tennessee, will result in an $18.25 million investment in the region and approximately 200 jobs. Lee and Rolfe added that they met with Mitsubishi's global executives last week to convince them to move to Tennessee while in Japan during the Republican governor's first trade mission. It is unclear what financial incentives state officials offered Mitsubishi to move to Tennessee. "As we drive toward the future, this is the perfect time for us to move to a new home. While we say farewell to the Golden State with a heavy heart, we're excited to say hello to Music City," Fred Diaz, Mitsubishi Motors North America's president and CEO, said in a statement. Franklin is located just south of Nashville, also known as "Music City," and is home to the state's most powerful Republicans, ranging from Gov. Lee, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and House Speaker Glen Casada. "Over the years, Tennessee has become the epicenter of the Southeast's thriving automotive sector, and I'm proud Mitsubishi Motors will call Franklin its U.S. home and bring 200 high-quality jobs to Middle Tennessee," Lee, who took over the office this year, said in a statement. Mitsubishi Motors' North America headquarters has been located in California since 1988. The company expects the relocation will begin in August and will be completed by the end of the year. Initially, a temporary office will handle operations to allow the company time to identify a permanent office. Company officials say the move is part an ongoing effort to "reinvent every aspect of Mitsubishi Motors in the U.S.," as well as strengthen the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. Nissan has a production plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, and owns a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors. Last week, Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

Nissan Juke-R [w/video]

The Other Brother
The handler strapped into the carbon fiber race bucket next to me is the only other person outside of yours truly who looks like he thinks this is a bad idea. I've just finished situating myself in the cabin of the very first Nissan Juke-R ever constructed. There are literally thousands of man hours in this single prototype and only four examples of the car total in the entire world. Each one carries a price tag of around $656,400 at current conversion rates, making this both the rarest and most expensive piece of machinery anyone has ever let me get close enough to sniff, let alone drive.
And that's exactly what I mean to do.