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Nissan Leaf becomes least expensive 5-seat EV with massive price drop

In a roundtable interview today at the North American International Auto Show, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn announced a $6,400 price drop for the base-model 2013 Nissan Leaf. Last year's base model was $35,200, while the new base-level 2013 Leaf S starts at $28,800. Ghosn says the new prices make the Leaf the least expensive five-seater electric for sale in the US.
Some of the lower cost is due to a difference in content from last year's low-end model to this year's. But a sizable portion can be chalked up to the Leaf's production moving from Japan to Tennessee. The 2013 Leaf is not only assembled in the US now, but its lithium-ion batteries and the car's electric motors are manufactured in the same southern state.
The Leaf SV will be priced from $31,820 for 2013 compared to $35,200 last year. The high-end Leaf SL now starts at $34,840, down from the 2012 model's $37,250. These models also have differences in content. One big one is a new 6.6-kWh charger that reduces charging times pretty dramatically.

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 moving next-gen Murano production from Japan to Mississippi

Celebrating 10 years of operation at its Canton, Mississippi assembly plant, Nissan has announced that it will be adding a seventh vehicle to the plant's portfolio. Starting in 2014, production of the next-generation Murano will move from Japan to Mississippi alongside its platform mate, the Altima, which is a part of Nissan's plan to build 85 percent of its US products domestically.
In addition to the Altima, the Canton facility also produces the Armada, Xterra, Titan, Frontier and NV vans, and back in June, production of the Nissan Sentra production was moved to Canton creating an extra 1,000 jobs. At this point, there is no indication about how many jobs the Murano line will add, if any.
This is the second announcement this week of production being added in the US as Honda said that the Accord Hybrid production would move to Marysville, Ohio where the standard Accord sedan is currently built.