2014 Nissan Maxima Sv on 2040-cars

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Nissan Note getting a little louder with Nismo versions this fall

Nissan's Nismo performance division has been getting more chances to shine recently with tuned models like the Juke Nismo RS and GT-R Nismo. But its latest creation moves closer to the bottom of the Japanese brand's lineup to make a hot hatch out of the (Versa) Note. At least in Japan, the new model is due this fall, and Nismo is keeping a lot of the details about its latest creation a secret for now. What we do know is that it'll be available in two trims – the Note Nismo and the sportier Nismo S. "The development concept of this model was to build a car that makes you want to keep driving, no matter where your destination may be," said the division's chief product specialist, Hiroshi Tamura, in the company's announcement. Aesthetically, the Note Nismo looks the way a tuned Nissan should, with the division's signature red trim outlining the car. It also wears a new, mesh grille, lower air dam, red side sills and rear spoiler. Inside, the S gets standard sport seats with full Recaro buckets as an option. Nissan didn't release technical specs for either version, but it promises that the S also gets a tuned engine with a five-speed manual. But now, allow us to burst your bubble. Autoblog spoke to Nissan North America Product Communications Director Dan Bedore about the hot Note, and he told us, "There are no plans currently for a Nismo Versa Note in the US." That's too bad; if the specs turn out to be competitive, it could be an interesting rival for the Ford Fiesta ST. Scroll down to read the official announcement. NISSAN UNVEILS THE NOTE NISMO, SCHEDULED TO GO ON SALE IN FALL 2014 YOKOHAMA, Japan (July 23, 2014) – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. has taken the veils off the latest and sportiest iteration of the popular Note, called Note Nismo, which will reach dealer showrooms in the fall of 2014. Nissan also announced that the Fairlady Nismo will receive a minor model change, while a new Nismo RS grade will be added to the Juke Nismo in the fall of 2014. Ever since the release of the Juke Nismo in February 2013, the lineup of Nissan's specialty division, Nismo, has steadily grown. Soon after the launch of the Juke Nismo, the March Nismo, Fairlady Nismo and Nissan GT-R Nismo were added to the stable; thus allowing Nismo to offer a broad range of road-going cars to the public-from compacts to SUVs to sports cars-all armed with the sporty DNA derived from Nismo's motorsports activities. And now you can add one more to the list, the Note Nismo.

Junkyard Gem: 1996 Nissan Quest XE with 338,549 miles

When I hit the junkyard, I always look for vehicles with impressive final figures showing on their odometers. I find so many Hondas and Toyotas with better than 300,000 miles that I don't consider them especially noteworthy (the exception being super-low-spec cheap models, such as a Tercel or Civic VX), and it goes without saying that the bar is quite high for Mercedes-Benzes as well. It has been surprisingly difficult to find discarded Nissans that made it past the 300k mark; today's Junkyard Gem is just the fourth I've documented. The highest-mile junked Nissan I'd found prior to today's minivan is a 1994 Maxima with 364,238 miles, followed by a 1987 Maxima with 341,176 miles and a 1986 200SX with 309,222 miles. Keep in mind that Nissan didn't go to six-digit odometers on most of its US-market cars until the early 1980s, and then went to tough-to-read-in-the-junkyard electronic odometers in the early 2000s; this means the pool of potential high-mile Nissans is limited to about the 1983-2000 range of model years. Ford has just as much right to claim credit to this van's impressive mile total as does Nissan, since the Quest was a collaboration between Ford and Nissan that also produced the Mercury Villager; this van was built by Ford at the Ohio Assembly plant. The Quest/Villager platform was derived from the Maxima's, and the engine is pure Nissan: a 3.0-liter VG30 V6 rated at 151 horsepower. The only transmission available in the first-generation (1993-1999) Quest/Villager was a four-speed automatic. This one appears to have been sold new at Landrum Nissan in Pueblo. The rear glass has been painted flat black, possibly to keep prying eyes from seeing valuable cargo. The rear seats are long gone, so this van probably hauled cargo for much of its long life. The front interior seems to be in good shape. Why is this van here? There's body damage on the left rear and right front, suggesting a crash that may have bent the suspension past the worth-fixing threshold. Perhaps the crinkled metal just made this van too unsightly, or maybe some powertrain problem was the culprit. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. It's time to expect more from a minivan. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. It's all fun and games until the toddler takes the wheel.

Nissan to enter Formula E in 2018-19 season

Nissan is to become the first Japanese car manufacturer competing in Formula E with an entry in the fifth season of the electric car racing series, organizers announced on Wednesday. Formula E said in a statement that Nissan would replace one of the existing manufacturers in the 2018-19 season. Media reports have indicated that will be alliance partners Renault, allowing the French manufacturer to focus on its Formula One team. "To have a name like Nissan coming on board is a momentous day for the series," said Formula E chief executive Alejandro Agag in a statement. "It's great to see our first Japanese manufacturer entering the frame, showing truly how global the electric revolution is. Japan is a country at the forefront of new technologies with one of the biggest followings of Formula E." Manufacturers already involved in the electric series include BMW, Audi, Renault, Jaguar, Citroen and India's Mahindra. Mercedes and Porsche are due to arrive for season six, which is scheduled to start in 2019 and end in 2020. Reporting by Alan BaldwinRelated Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.