2014 Nissan Murano Sv on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Renault-Nissan at COP22, BMW launches Cruise e-Bike

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has been chosen to provide a fleet of electric cars for the UN's COP22 Climate Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco. The group will provide 50 passenger EVs – the Renault Zoe, Nissan Leaf, and Nissan e-NV200 – to shuttle delegates to and from conference venues. The Alliance will also provide more than 20 charging stations to support the shuttle fleet. The group provided electric shuttles for the historic COP21 summit in Paris last year. Read more from Renault-Nissan. FCA, Iveco, and gas grid company Snam have signed an agreement to boost natural gas as a cleaner alternative fuel for Italy. Under the Memorandum of Understanding, FCA and Iveco will work together to develop CNG vehicles, while Snam will invest in CNG supply facilities like filling stations to support a growing fleet. Italy leads Europe in the amount of natural gas consumed for transport, with 1 million vehicles currently on the road. Read more at Green Car Congress. LG Chem has officially announced it will build a battery plant in Poland to the tune of about $340 million. Located near Wroclaw in southwestern Poland, the plant is expected to produce 100,000 batteries a year for 200-mile EVs beginning in 2019. The plant could help Poland in its goal to reduce pollution by introducing a million EVs on its roads by 2025. "We will turn the Poland EV battery plant into a mecca of battery production for electric vehicles around the world," says UB Lee, President of LG Chem's Energy Solution Company. Construction begins in the second half of 2017. Read more from Automotive News Europe. BMW has introduced the Cruise e-Bike. Its Bosch Performance Line electric motor provides electric assistance at speeds of up to 15 mph. The battery can be either be removed or remain on the bike for charging, which takes 3.5 hours for a full charge. "BMW aims to be the leading provider of premium mobility services, and our bicycle collection furthers that mission," says BMW Accessory and Lifestyle Manager Eric Riehle. "As we enter the holiday season, these bikes make the perfect present for those wishing for their first BMW." The BMW Cruise e-Bike costs $3,430. Read more from BMW.

Nissan Altima and Sentra to get Murano-inspired design redo

The Nissan Altima and Sentra sedans are both very competent, economical, comfortable and well-equipped ways of getting from A to B. They're also both decidedly boring to look at, which is not a good trait in their increasingly style-driven segments.
To rectify this, Nissan is planning design overhauls for its mainstream, with the Sentra adopting the sportier, Euro-style looks of the Pulsar, according to The Car Connection. While that (sadly) won't mean the five-door Pulsar will come to the US market, fitting the European stylings to the Sentra should go a long way towards broadening the car's appeal.
That parcel of information comes from Nissan design boss Shiro Nakamura, who spoke to The Car Connection at last week's Paris Motor Show.

Nissan GT-R and Ferrari 458 Speciale in track battle by Evo

Supercar slayer. That's what they call the Nissan GT-R. And in many ways it is, even though its price and performance over the years have risen to put it squarely in supercar territory of its own right.
In fact, as Evo magazine has been compiling a list of its fastest cars - using the Anglesey Circuit in Wales as its common ground - the GT-R has came out on top... that is, until Evo tested the Ferrari 458 Speciale. The two are about as different as you can get within the supercar segment: one has a turbo six up front driving all four wheels in a 2+2 configuration, the other a mid-engined, rear-drive V8 two-seater. In fact the only common ground you're likely to find between them comes down to their two doors and dual-clutch transmissions. Though they serve it up in different ways, both are class-leading performers.
We're looking forward to watching Evo populate its leaderboard with more entries like the McLaren 650S and more potent Nismo GT-R, but in the meantime the British enthusiast magazine, by popular demand, has released side-by-side in-car footage of both supercars putting their best lap forward around the seaside circuit.