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NHTSA opens investigation into Nissan's handling of airbag recall

In March of 2014, Nissan recalled eight models among its Nissan and Infiniti brands, totaling more than one million vehicles, over faulty occupant classification system software controlling the passenger airbag. The company discovered a variety of factors that would interfere with the system's ability to detect an adult passenger in the shotgun seat, resulting in an illuminated warning on on the dashboard and the passenger airbag not deploying in an accident. Yet 124 complaints submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since the recall allege that the dealer-installed fix hasn't actually fixed the problem; some consumers say the problem persists after multiple trips to the dealer. The Detroit News reports that NHTSA is opening an investigation into the matter to determine whether a new recall is needed. The occupant sensor has been a bugbear for Nissan over the past couple of years; a much smaller recall for the issue in 2013 covered five of the eight vehicles that were recalled in 2014, and that earlier recall also continued to generate complaints after the issue had supposedly been fixed. At the same time, the company learned that in two instances there was another twist, where the dashboard warning wasn't illuminated but the passenger airbag still didn't go off in an accident. Nissan isn't alone, though, with airbag recalls on a steep upswing across the industry even before the Takata debacle.

Will Nissan's Cummins deal upset Ram's marketing mojo? [w/poll]

Ram has used Cummins engines in its heavy duty trucks since 1989, and it is the only pickup truck brand to use products from the Indiana-based engine maker. With the announcement that the next Nissan Titan will also use a Cummins powerplant, and a Nissan spokesman having already said "We will definitely leverage the Cummins brand name," a piece in Automotive News wonders whether the deal will affect the way Ram markets its tie-up with Cummins.
The question really is, how intense is this competition? While it is the first time that trucks from two different brands have used Cummins engines, they'll be two different engines in two different kinds of trucks; Nissan is going to put a 5.0-liter turbodiesel in a non-heavy-duty Titan, Ram only uses its 6.7-liter, inline six-cylinder turbodiesel in heavy-duty offerings. The diesel that Ram will offer in its light-duty, half-ton 1500 is a 3.0-liter V6 EcoDiesel with 240 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque - compared to about 300 hp and 550 lb-ft expected from the Titan's Cummins - and its marketing so far has focused on the fuel economy gains.
If Nissan was going to prove its commitment to the segment, it had to do something compelling. If we're talking about sales competition between Ram and Nissan, Ram has sold 201,633 trucks as of July this year, up 24.2 percent, 31,314 of those sales coming last month; Nissan has sold 10,020 Titans through the end of July, down 21.1 percent, and just 1,168 in July itself. Nissan's new truck boss - who hopped there from Ram - said that buyers have asked for a powerful turbodiesel in something other than a heavy duty pickup, and from what we've read on various comment boards, the pickup truck crowd is excited about Nissan's move.

2014 Nissan Leaf price climbs $180 to $28,980*, Ghosn predicts sales doubling

A year ago, Nissan changed the fortunes of its all-electric Leaf in the US market by lopping a serious $6,400 off of the price. The entry-level 2012 Leaf started at $35,200, and the 2013 Leaf S instantly became a much better deal since it started at $28,800. For 2014, the trend is in the opposite direction, but only just. The 2014 Leaf S will start at $28,980. The other two trim levels will start at $32,000 for the SV and $35,020 for the SL. Oh well, we can't get a $6k drop every year, can we? What do you get for your extra $180? Well, as described in July, the 2014 model has the rear camera as standard and there is an available voice command navigation system and text message reader. We've got the full specification breakdown and pricing press release below. We doubt the small extra cost will do much to dent the Leaf's current sales upswing. December 2013 was the EV's best sales month ever, and a grand total of 22,610 units in 2013. That's more EVs than Nissan sold in 2011 and 2012 put together. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said earlier today that he thinks US Leaf sales will double, but didn't say when. "We are now on a trend of 3,000 cars a month in the US, which is about 36,000 cars" a year, Ghosn told Automotive News. "The next step is moving up to 4,000 a month, which is going to be approximately 50,000." The prices listed above do not include Nissan's $850 destination fee, but all Leaf EVs can qualify for the $7,500 federal income tax credit, as well as state and local incentives in some areas. NISSAN ANNOUNCES U.S. PRICING FOR 2014 LEAF™ NASHVILLE, Tenn. (January 8, 2014) – Nissan today announced U.S. pricing for the 2014 Nissan LEAF™, which is on sale now at Nissan dealers nationwide. The 100 percent electric LEAF continues to offer outstanding value, with prices comparable to similar gasoline-powered vehicles after applicable tax credits. Sales of the zero emission LEAF in the U.S. and around the world set all-time records in 2013. The 2014 Nissan LEAF is available in three trim levels: LEAF S, SV and SL, along with option packages offering advanced systems such as Around View® Monitor and 7-speaker Bose® audio. Enhancements for 2014 include the addition of the RearView Monitor as standard equipment on all models (previously part of the Charge Package) and one new exterior color – Gun Metallic (seven total available colors).