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Nissan to build Golf-fighter in Spain

Nissan hasn't had a proper European entry in the ridiculously popular compact hatchback segment since it stopped offering its somewhat staid and uninspiring Almera (above) in 2006. According to Automotive News Europe, the new machine, which will not be called Almera, will be marketed against the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus - two extremely popular models in Europe. Production is slated to begin in July of 2014.
The new compact will be built in Barcelona, Spain, at the factory that currently builds the Pathfinder, Navara pickup and NV200 commercial van. An investment of $178 million will be made to assemble the compact car, and an additional $27 million will go to the plant to create more trucks and transmissions for electric vehicles.
The decision to invest in Spain comes after the automaker successfully renegotiated contracts with local unions. Similar talks are underway in France, where Nissan partner Renault is based, but as of yet no new agreements have been struck. Feel free to browse through the official press release below.

Nissan to make 85% of the vehicles it sells here in US

We could be in for a big push from Nissan in the manufacturing realm if Vice President of US Sales and Marketing Fred Diaz has anything to say about it. Speaking to the Automotive Press Association recently, Diaz (above) expressed a desire to build some 85 percent of the vehicles Nissan sells to Americans in the US, claiming it will happen "in the very near future." Nissan has already moved to increase exports of its US-built products, and in 2013, it built just over 76 percent of the models it sold in this market within our country's borders.
"Any issues of us taking advantage of the value of the yen, we want to dispel that," Diaz told reporters, pointing out the contentious issue of currency manipulation. There's also the obvious goal of positive PR - Americans like things made in America, and they like companies that invest in America. Diaz is quick to point out that Nissan had done just that: "While a lot of people retrenched [during the recession], instead we leaned into it and we continued investing and in fact made over $5 billion in investments, bringing a lot of production from Japan to the United States and to Mexico," Diaz said, pointing out that Nissan has helped create 8,000 jobs through its investments.
Nissan runs three factories in the US, two in Tennessee and one in Mississippi. Between the three, production is up 22 percent, while the overall exports from the facilities have increased by 100,000 units, Diaz told reporters.

Nissan recalls 3,065 Pathfinders for transmission fluid leak

Nissan is recalling 3,065 units of the 2013 Pathfinder equipped with the CVT, due to a potential transmission fluid leak. On crossovers built from April 18, 2012 to October 3,2012 "inadequate clamping force" on the hose connected to the internal oil cooler can cause the hose to come loose and let fluid escape. A severe loss of fluid can cause the transmission to stop working properly.
The recall is the result of a safety investigation begun last September, when it was thought a recall could involve 110,000 units of the Pathfinder and Infiniti JX35. Asked for comment about how such a large number of vehicles potentially involved could end up with just 3,065 being recalled, Nissan rep Steve Yaeger told Autoblog that Nissan initiated a service campaign for the issue last year - a service campaign notifies owners to take their vehicles to the dealer for repair of "what is generally not a safety issue" - and that there was a "production improvement" that addressed the clamping issue. The service campaign included the vehicles being recalled, but the recall is limited to just those vehicles that were built before the production-line fix.
Nissan will begin informing affected owners next month, at which time owners can take their vehicles to dealers to have the hose clamp repaired. The press release below from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has more information.