2002 Nissan Xterra Xe Sport Utility 4-door 3.3l on 2040-cars

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Renault wants to merge with Nissan, then go after Fiat Chrysler

The late Sergio Marchionne used to say consolidation would be the only way to compete against the biggest global carmakers. The company looks certain to fulfill that goal, but perhaps not in the way he intended. The Financial Times reports that Renault wants to begin merger talks with Nissan in the next 12 months. Assuming a merger gets completed, the plan is for the combined company to then pursue another merger, with Fiat Chrysler a prime target. Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi have been busy since cutting ties with ex-alliance boss Carlos Ghosn. They formed a new alliance board with Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard at the helm, Renault has shrunk the size of its board while Nissan added more outside directors, and the two agreed to a new governance structure to ease operational decision making. All three automakers have walked away from Ghosn-era goals to sell 14 million cars and find 10 billion euros in savings by 2022. New strategic plans for all three car companies are in the works. With stability in sight, it's said Senard wants to succeed where Ghosn failed — a full-fledged merger between Renault and Nissan with talks to begin "as soon as possible." Ghosn's pursuit of a merger last year in attempt to make the 20-year-old alliance "irreversible" is part of what led to his downfall, with Nissan executives including CEO Hiroto Saikawa against the push. The new effort is presented as larger scale being the only way for the alliance to take on companies like Volkswagen and Toyota. But the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi trio sold 10.76 million cars around the world last year, second to Volkswagen with 10.83 million sales, ahead of Toyota with 10.39 million. If Nissan hadn't suffered a 2.8 percent dip in sales, the alliance would have taken the top spot. If a little scale is good that means more is better, right? Pulling Fiat Chrysler into the alliance would add around 5 million annual sales, and would be another move in Ghosn's footsteps. The former honcho is said to have "held talks with FCA" about some kind of union within the past three years. The French government, which has a 15 percent stake in Renault and double voting rights, shut down the initiative. It's not clear if FCA will be an independent company by the time a potential Nissan-Renault merger closed, though.

Nissan's Le Mans prototype V6 to power next GT-R

You can debate all you want about whether racing has any relevance to road cars. And while you're doing that, Nissan will be getting the most out of its GT-R LM Nismo. In fact, the latest reports indicate that the Japanese automaker will use the engine (or some version thereof) in the next-generation GT-R. The Nissan GT-R LM Nismo, for those who may have missed it, is the company's radical attempt to take on the Audis, Porsches and Toyotas of the top-tier LMP1 class in the FIA World Endurance Championship. And to do so at its flagship event, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Only unlike its rivals, it's not a mid-engined, all-wheel-drive design; both the engine and the driven wheels are at the front end. That engine, however, isn't actually all that radical. It's a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 producing 550 horsepower. Potent, but nothing earth-shattering. In fact it's not far off from the 545-hp 3.8-liter unit in the current production GT-R. And according to Top Gear, in speaking with the racing program's director Ben Bowlby, it will be essentially the same engine that will power the next road-going GT-R. Now if you're thinking that something's missing here, you're right: the GT-R LM Nismo packs a lot more than 550 horses. It actually has over 1,250 on tap. The remaining 700 hp are kicked in by the electric component of the racing prototype's hybrid powertrain. The next GT-R is widely expected to incorporate hybrid technology as well, but it won't be good for 700 hp all on its own. And it will almost certainly be driving all four wheels like the current version. Related Video:

Renault-Nissan zero-emissions car sales whir past 100,000 [w/video]

The electric vehicle has gone gold at Renault-Nissan, clocking 100,000 sales in a three-year period that began with the first Nissan Leaf being sold in Silicon Valley, California in 2010. Since then, the Leaf has become the EV champion of the world, selling more than 71,000 units so far, the majority of those in the US. The 100,000th EV sold by the Alliance was also a Leaf and also sold in the US, but on the other side of the country, in Georgia.
By comparison, Renault has sold 30,000 electric vehicles since late 2011, looking after other segments of the EV market with the Kangoo Z.E., Zoe, Twizy and Fluence Z.E. The alliance estimates that its efforts have been driven 5.2 million ion-powered miles and saved 14 million gallons of oil since they appeared. For a bit of sobering context, the US averaged 18.83 million barrels of oil per day in 2011, which is almost 791 million gallons. Per day.
So we're getting there, albeit slowly. Quietly. There's a press release and a video below with more details on the achievement.