2006 350z 6 Speed on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2013 Nissan Juke Nismo

Scratching All The Right Itches
Say what you will about the unconventional aesthetics that Nissan employed on the company's Juke. I love the thing. The universe has no shortage of ambiguously styled CUVs, and while I can't exactly say I would have turned to the amphibian world for design inspiration had it been me with the charcoal in my hand, I can certainly appreciate the fact that the Juke isn't just another box-on-box design.
And then there's that engine. The turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder under the hood is one of the best powerplants in the company's toy box, offering plenty of low-range torque and comical levels of thrust. Hell, it even makes the optional continuously variable transmission tolerable. Praise be to the deities of forced induction. But something has always been missing from the mix. From the first moment I got my hands on the Juke, I couldn't help but think how much better the machine would be if Nissan ditched an inch or two of ground clearance and sharpened up its suspension. Think more "hot hatch" and less "Kermit goes to Kroger."

Renault-Nissan has sold more EVs than its next two competitors combined

Nissan may not be doing so hot with sales of its Leaf electric vehicle in the US this year, but the Japanese automaker and its France-based partner Renault still remain the gold standard of electric-vehicle sellers. Thanks to numbers crunched by the good people over at EV Sales, we learn that the Renault-Nissan Alliance has moved more than 265,000 electric vehicles around the world. That accounts for more than a quarter of all the EVs sold worldwide and is more than Mitsubishi's 11 percent share and General Motors' 10 percent share combined. Nissan and Renault surpassed the quarter-million electric-vehicle mark in June. There are shifts afoot, though. Renault-Nissan's global EV market share is only 18 percent this year, and the Alliance is losing share to companies like Volkswagen, BYD, and, to a lesser extent, BMW. That shift can be seen in this year's US sales numbers, where the Nissan Leaf has pretty much plunged down. In fact, with VW and BMW broadening their inventory of plug-in models, Germany can claim the third-place spot in the list of countries with the most "electric" automakers, after China and Japan. The US is trailing, even if many people associate electric cars with California's Tesla. On that note, both Ford and General Motors have lost electric-vehicle market share this year, while Mitsubishi has essentially tread water. GM's numbers (and Nissan's, for that matter) need some context because Americans have been holding off on purchasing a first-gen Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in while the automaker readies a new and improved version. All told, Japanese companies have produced the most plug-in vehicles, accounting for 39 percent of the world's market so far, while the US is responsible for about one in four electric vehicles ever made. Sales '15 % Total Sales % Renault-Nissan 44,003 18 265,205 27 VW (VAG) 28,480 12 42,743 4 BYD 25,592 11 51,338 5 Tesla 24,867 10 83,587 9 Mitsubishi 24.117 10 108,883 11 BMW 15,469 6 31,822 3 Ford 11,548 5 65,696 7 GM 11,617 4 100,818 10 Featured Gallery 2015 Nissan Leaf View 12 Photos News Source: EV Sales Green Nissan Renault Electric ev sales renault-nissan

Toyota, Honda, Mazda and Nissan recall 3.4 million vehicles for faulty airbags

Most vehicle recalls that take place these days are a result of some problem that happens during the manufacturing process by the automaker, but as we see here, parts suppliers can also factor in to problematic safety issues. Automotive News is reporting that a total of 3.4 million vehicles produced by Japanese automakers between 2000 and 2004 are being recalled globally due to faulty airbags produced by an outside supplier, Takata Corp.
According to the report, vehicles from Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda are being recalled because of passenger front airbags that do not inflate properly. Globally, Toyota is said to be recalling around 1.73 million cars including 510,000 in the US composed of Toyota Corolla, Matrix, Sequoia and Tundra as well as the Lexus SC430 for the 2001 through 2003 model years; this is the second time this year the 2003 Corolla and Matrix have been recalled for an airbag problem. Honda is recalling 1.14 million models, Nissan another 480,000 and Mazda 45,463. The article says that Takata supplied faulty airbags to non-Japanese automakers, but it did not specify which ones.
Honda and Toyota have released information on their own websites about the recall, while Nissan and Mazda have not yet commented. Read official press releases from Honda and Toyota, below, and look for updates as we have word from the others.