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Datsun debuts new seven-seat Go+ in Indonesia [w/video]

The Datsun name may have long since been replaced by Nissan, but the old brand is making a comeback - in certain markets, at least. Nissan relaunched the Datsun brand in July as its new budget brand for developing markets with the debut of the Go hatchback, and has now followed up with the addition of the larger Go+.
Set to be built in Indonesia at Nissan's plant in Purwakarta, the Go+ debuts today in the capital of Jakarta as the second model in the new Datsun lineup. The seven-passenger minivan features flexible seating in a compact form 13 feet long, powered by an unspecified 1.2-liter engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission.
Nissan isn't saying much else about the model, but hopes the new Datsun twins will account for half of its sales in Indonesia within three years. The low price target for both models - set to come in at less than 100 million rupiah ($8,700) - ought to help it get there. The lineup is then scheduled to reach other markets, starting with India, Russia and South Africa next year.

Next-gen Nissan Leaf will look more mainstream, have more range

The next-generation Nissan Leaf battery-electric vehicle will look better and go farther on a single charge, company executives tell Automotive News. How much better and how much farther remains to be seen, as does the timing on when the new version will be available to the public. Nissan executive Andy Palmer, speaking recently at the Beijing Motor Show, implied that an electric vehicle would need to have a 185-mile single-charge range to be competitive with hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, once those arrive in larger numbers. While Nissan boosted its single-charge range by about 15 percent for the 2014 model-year Leaf, the automaker would need to double it to reach that competitive threshold. This seems unlikely for the next-gen model, but we can start making our guesses as to how many more miles Nissan will put into the pack. Regardless, the next-generation Leaf, which may come out around 2017, will at least look a bit more mainstream while it reaches for more range, Automotive News says, citing Nissan global design chief Mamoru Aoki. Indeed, the car, which will keep its hatchback layout, will likely look less angular, said Aoki, who complimented Tesla for the way it styled its Model S luxury electric sedan. Nissan's Infiniti arm could also debut its delayed luxury electric vehicle in 2017, complete with the improved battery pack. Angular looks and all, Nissan continues to increase sales in the US. Leaf sales through April were up 33 percent from 2013, to 7,272 units after more than doubling sales last year to 22,610 vehicles.

Nissan does its best Google Glass impression with 3E headgear [w/video]

The jury may still be out on whether it'll be legal to drive with Google Glass on your nose, but that doesn't mean automakers are going to sit around waiting to see which way the wind blows in one jurisdiction or another. Mercedes-Benz, for example, is already working on ways to integrate its infotainment system into Google Glass, but Nissan is taking things a step further by developing its own wearable tech.
The device is called Nissan 3E, and we don't have much information to go on at this point - just a couple of images, a terse press release and the highly stylized (and rather painful-looking) video below. The Japanese automaker lists internet connectivity and communication as the primary features. But we'd have to assume that, if an automaker is developing it, the device would have some relevance to, you know... driving.
The possibilities are endless, extending from turn-by-turn directions and track information to vehicle metrics and intuitive control of the car's auxiliary controls. We'll have to wait until we get to Tokyo to find out more, but between this and the smartwatch concept it revealed in Frankfurt, Nissan seems to be on a bit of a gadget streak lately.