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'Qashqai' so hard to pronounce even Nissan is poking fun at it

In the US, there aren't a lot of vehicle names that are very difficult to pronounce. Maybe the Volkswagen Touareg might trip up a few people, but by and large, we've got it pretty easy. Our friends in Europe, though, have a bigger challenge, thanks to vehicles like the Nissan Qashqai. Yes, Qashqai.
Like the Touareg, the Qashqai draws its name from a nomadic people. While Nissan isn't making up words, then, it's still not an easy name to pronounce. Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson routinely calls it a kumquat, for example. According to Nissan, though, it's pronounced "Cash'kai".
To get its point across as the second-gen Qashqai, the close cousin of the US market Rogue, prepares to launch in Australia, Nissan set up a little event at a coffee shop. Customers would place their orders, only to have the spelling of their names butchered rather badly. On the other side of the cup, there's a message from Nissan and the Qashqai.

Nissan ZEOD RC on track and from behind the wheel

The Nissan ZEOD RC hybrid racecar has had mixed success in its competition life. It was invented to do a completely electric, high-speed lap at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which it was able to do in practice. However, when the big event actually came, the car lasted less than an hour before it had to bow out with transmission issues. Nissan hasn't completely given up on its experiment, though. The experience (and possibly some of the tech) is going to help with the GT-R LM racer next year, and now the ZEOD is getting its chance to see how it handles the Top Gear test track.
Unfortunately, it's not The Stig piloting the ZEOD; instead, the magazine's motoring editor Ollie Marriage is the lucky man for the job. The car's sharp shape seems to be a good metaphor for how it handles because it just seems to dart around the track. Its tiny, turbocharged 1.5-liter engine with 400 horsepower and two electric motors put out a claimed 750 horsepower, and that seems like plenty for the relatively short Top Gear course.
As usual of Top Gear, the cinematography here is fantastic, and a second video shows off a single lap of the course from around the car. It's amazing to watch, especially with its big screen constantly showing the camera view out of the rear. Scroll down to see both.

Nissan exec talks about smaller Leaf, and maybe a CUV EV as well

The Renault Zoe is a popular electric vehicle in Europe, and it gives buyers on the continent a zero-emissions option that's smaller than the Nissan Leaf. Here in the US, Nissan only offers its one all-electric passenger vehicle, but the company might be taking a page from its corporate partner to offer a smaller Leaf in the near future. According to Gareth Dunsmore, Nissan EV European head, Nissan is thinking about both a smaller EV based on the Zoe and larger, all-electric SUV/CUV. "We've invested $5.4 billion in electric cars such as the Leaf, so we need to ensure we're satisfying as many types of customer as possible," he said. "In Europe, that could mean looking towards B-segment hatches and SUVs or crossovers," according to Auto Express. "If we look towards crossovers or the B-segment for the next car, those could make perfect sense." As for what we actually know about the next-gen Leaf, details are scarce. We did get confirmation that a 200-mile range update is in the works, but information on timing and other details are still something we're waiting for. Let's throw the idea of a smaller Leaf into the rumormill and see when Nissan starts talking. The gallery above shows off the Nissan IDS concept, which was shown at the Tokyo Motor Show last year. Related Video: Featured Gallery Nissan IDS Concept: Tokyo 2015 News Source: Auto ExpressImage Credit: Copyright 2016 Sebastian Blanco / AOL Green Nissan Renault Crossover SUV Electric renault zoe nissan ids