2015 Nissan Altima 2.5 S on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: No Tesla Gigafactory deal with California, BMW i3 recalled

Before the Nevada announcement was hinted at, a deal to incentivize a Tesla Gigafactory in California fell through. Tesla was looking for around $500 million in incentives, which the California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development was willing to offer in tax breaks along with making the permit and environmental processes easier. According to Senator Ted Gaines, there still remained "a gap between what Tesla wanted and what California was willing to offer," the contents of which were undisclosed. California could still be chosen for another of Tesla's battery plants, should those ever materialize. Read more at The Desert Sun. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will consider allowing a bit of compliance flexibility to its Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) regulations for some automakers. CARB will hold a hearing to discuss giving intermediate volume manufacturers (IVMs) - carmakers that do between 4,501 and 60,000 new vehicle sales in the state - some leniency catching up to the larger manufacturers when it comes to clean vehicle production. The ZEV regulation changes take into account the amount of revenue IVMs have available for developing the cars, particularly plug-in hybrids. Read more at Green Car Congress or see the notice from CARB here. Certain units of the BMW i3 are subject to an airbag recall. For cars built March 31, 2014, the passenger airbag inflator may have been assembled incorrectly, which could keep it from deploying when needed. Owners will be notified by BMW, and the problem will be fixed for free. The recall also affects certain 2014 Mini Cooper models. Learn more at the NHTSA website. The Renault-Nissan Alliance is providing 200 electric vehicles to telecommunications company Orange in France. The cars, which will include the Nissan Leaf, Nissan e-NV200, Renault ZOE and Renault Kangoo ZE, will be used mostly for carsharing. Through the program, Orange employees can book a car for work or personal travel using a smartphone. The Alliance will also help Orange install charging stations for the new cars. The addition of the EVs to the fleet will help Orange achieve its goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 20 percent by 2020. Read more in the press release, below. Jianghuai Automobile Company (JAC) is delivering its first 100 EVs to the US. The shipment is part of a larger order of 2,000 cars to be sold by GreenTech Automotive in the US market. Read more at ECNS.

Nissan releases GT-R Nismo N-Attack Package workout video at Fuji

Nissan grabbed headlines last year when it debuted the GT-R Nismo and did a blistering 7:08.679 lap around the Nürburgring's Nordschleife. As it turns out, the GT-R that did that round made use of parts that lowered its weight and improved handling. Nissan calls the extras the N-Attack Package, which stands for Nürburgring Attack, and here is a video showing what its upcoming model can do.
The pack makes a variety of changes to make the Nismo GT-R a better handling car. The suspension and brakes are overhauled with Öhlins adjustable dampers, new stabilizer bar and new front brake pads. As you can see the outside is quite different with carbon fiber components replacing the front fenders and hood gurney, plus an adjustable carbon fiber rear wing with angle adjustments and two height settings. The interior gets a carbon fiber rear bulkhead to cut weight as well.
The release date or price for the N-Attack pack hasn't been revealed, but chief vehicle engineer Noboru Kaneko says that the test in the video at Fuji Speedway was to complete "final checks." So the package might not lag too far behind the standard GT-R Nismo. Scroll down to see the Nissan's pinnacle performance car testing on a cloudy day in Japan and read a brief press release about it.

2014 Nissan GT-R [w/video]

Chasing The Legend
There are only a handful of vehicles in existence that can change you permanently - ones that have the power to rewire your concept of speed to fit their definition. Some five years after the Nissan GT-R legally touched down here in the US for the first time, the coupe is still bending perceptions of what it means to be a supercar in the modern age. For 2014, engineers reworked the GT-R's twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 engine for more power, tweaked the transmission and massaged the suspension for ever more speed. Yes, that's right, I said more speed.
The changes have sharpened one of the best performance buys on the market into a weapons-grade track assault vehicle that just so happens to be street legal. More than ever, this is a car that rankles established supercar players with names like Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche, and does so with a Nissan badge on the hood.