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Nissan reveals the face of the new Qashqai

Last week Nissan revealed the first teaser image previewing its upcoming new Qashqai. That one was wearing a big sheet and showed us little other than its basic shape and a few highlighted details, but now the Japanese automaker has released the first undisguised-ish image of the new European-market crossover.
From the image above we can tell the new Qashqai will carry the familiar face of Nissan's latest crossovers well, with the U-shaped grille and angular LED accents in the headlamp clusters. The sharp creases in the hood also make it stand out as quintessentially Japanese, particularly in a crossover market where they can all start to look the same.
We'll have to wait just a few more days to see the full thing, with the reveal set for November 7, but Nissan also released a tidy infographic showing just how successful the outgoing Qashqai has been for it in the European market. Check it out below.

Nissan shows self-cleaning car coated in nano paint

Washing the car is an activity like mowing the lawn that some people love and others find to be an absolute chore. For the latter group, Nissan may have an answer. Nissan is testing a nano-paint coating that could make the car wash a very infrequent place to visit.
Shown on a European Note hatchback, the key is a special layer of super-hydrophobic and oleophobic material called Ultra-Ever Dry that is sprayed over the paint. It creates a protective layer between the body and environment, and it means that when dirt or water come into contact with the car, the gunk just sheets away.
Nissan admits that the coating is still early in testing. The key will be if the stuff can actually last for the long term, and the company will be analyzing it over the coming months to see how it will react in different conditions. At the moment, the automaker has no plans to offer Ultra-Ever Dry as a standard feature, but it may make it available as an aftermarket addition in the future. Scroll down to watch the video of Nissan testing the stuff in some very dirty conditions.

Nissan rolls Versa Note inside world's largest zorb [w/video]

With features like lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring and moving object detection bundled into its Safety Shield suite, Nissan touts the Versa Note as among the safer vehicles on the road. And to highlight that, the Japanese automaker has taken its diminutive hatchback Zorbing.
Zwhat now, you ask? Zorbing. It's a sport (really more of a recreational activity, if you ask us) that involves getting into a giant inflatable ball, rolling down a slope and, well... that's about the extent of it. It's the same thing we did on hills as kids, only with more plastic. And ridicule.
The CarZorb which Nissan had crafted for the Note measures 60 feet around and weighs a metric ton. Nissan tested the device, which took two months to make, at a "top secret military training facility in the UK," then placed the hatchback inside and rolled it down a hill, all for the sake of the two-minute video clip below. So we hope you enjoy.