2014 Nissan Sentra Sr on 2040-cars

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Chinese-designed Nissan Lannia Concept debuts in Beijing

Nissan showed off a stylish new concept car to the assembled crowds of media at the Beijing Motor Show. The Lannia Concept is... well, it's not that easy to describe. It's kind of a sedan, only it looks a bit like a fastback from the rear. But for a twist, it has an ever-so-small rear deck. Regardless of how we'd classify it, it's a seriously sharp piece of styling, thanks to its unique shape and flowing character lines.
If the Lannia's styling appears familiar, it's because we've sort of seen it before. There's more than a little bit of inspiration from the Friend-Me Concept. The Lannia's overall shape is similar to the Friend-Me, while both the front and rear clips look decidedly more production ready. Considering this evolution, we shouldn't rule out a production Lannia in the next few years. And if Nissan's product boss, Andy Palmer is any indication, the new model might not be limited to China.
"It was designed by Chinese, built by Chinese for the Chinese people, and ultimately, for the world," Palmer said in a statement. If Nissan can keep this sharp styling, this could prove a compelling buy in a number of markets.

Ghosn predicts autonomous cars on the roads by 2018, if laws allow

Things appear to be going well inside Nissan's autonomous vehicle development program. Until now, the automaker believed that self-driving cars would be ready for major markets like the US by 2020. However, Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is now speeding up that prediction to 2018 in some places, assuming that local laws are ready to accept the computer-controlled vehicles.
"The problem isn't technology, it's legislation, and the whole question of responsibility that goes with these cars moving around," said Ghosn in a speech in France recorded by Reuters. He predicted that the first sales could begin in France, Japan and the US by 2018 and expand elsewhere in 2020.
The alliance has been among the forefront of automakers working on self-driving cars. Nissan has an autonomous Leaf (pictured above) test car that is licensed to drive on Japanese roads. Renault showed off an version of its Zoe EV earlier this year called the Next Two, that could pilot itself at speeds up to 18 miles per hour, and that the company predicted would be ready by 2020.

NHTSA investigating 200,000 Sentra, Versa models over brakes

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a second investigation into Nissan in May. The first covered inaccurate fuel gauges in the 2007 Quest minivan. The latest affects the Sentra and Versa from the 2013 and 2014 model years and the 2014 Versa Note, because of complaints of long brake pedal travel. If NHTSA finds a problem, it could affect an estimated 200,000 vehicles.
At the moment, this is still only a preliminary evaluation "to asses the scope, frequency and safety-related consequences of the alleged defect," according to the report, but it could lead to the full recall. NHTSA is still trying to find whether or not there are accidents, injuries or fatalities related to the problem. At this time, much of the data in the document is still marked Confidential or TBD. Nissan told Reuters in a statement that the company is working with the agency on the investigation and supplying the regulator with further information.
According to NHTSA, its Office of Defects Investigation has received eight complaints about long pedal travel in these models. They allege that the brake pedal goes all the way to the floor when pressed in some cases and doesn't sufficiently slow the vehicle. Autoblog has contacted Nissan for its reaction to the investigation. We will update this story when we receive a reply. Until then, scroll down to read the current investigation report.