2009 Nissan 370z Touring Coupe Sport Package on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Nissan Friend-Me Concept is cooler than its name

Here is the Nissan Friend-Me, a swoopy - and let us emphasize that word "swoopy" - sedan-with-a-hatchback developed specifically for Chinese youth in their mid-twenties, the ones born in the '80s mainly bereft of siblings due to China's one-child policy. The exterior is meant to be most imposing at night, when Nissan figures these single children will be getting together with their friends. The sheetmetal looks like it was shaped by waves, and the details like lighting and vent openings could have been penned on Krypton.
The real show is inside, where peers are made equal and can interact with one another via the "oracle stone." The concept is that instead of a driver and three passengers, everyone gets access to the same information and the ability to alter the ambiance of the car - dash readouts are provided for all of the occupants, and anyone can move content from their phones to the in-car screens to be shared throughout. As Nissan says, it's the end of anyone being a "music dictator."
Designed by Nissan Design China for a specific market-within-a-market estimated to contain 240 million potential buyers, Nissan says the wishes of these customers and the ideas in this car could shape automotive offerings for decades to come. So read all about it in the press release below and take some long virtual looks in the galleries of high-res photos.

37K miles in a 1967 Datsun Roadster

When we think of comfy, long-distance road cars, there are a few obvious choices. A Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Bentley Continental GT or, assuming fuel efficiency isn't paramount, a Range Rover are all good options for a road trip. But what if that road trip was 37,000 miles? Maybe something more reliable but still comfortable, then, like a Honda Accord. What about a 1967 Datsun Roadster?
As insane as it sounds, Scott Fisher is doing just that, running a Datsun 1600 Roadster across North America and racking up 13,500 miles in his first three months on the road. His total journey will see him pile over 37,000 miles on his red convertible. The car is lightly modified, but most of the work is for the sake of reliability and comfort, with a five-speed manual 'box, an upgraded radiator and electronic ignition.
Fisher's trip hasn't been all smooth, with a few typical bits of trouble. He also ran into some deer in Utah, quite literally, clipping one of the animals, which delivered quite a bit of damage to the passenger's front fender (hence the rear three-quarter view in our lead shot). Still, the car seems to be holding up well, as shown in this latest video from Petrolicious.

Nissan could have bought a stake in Aston Martin as early as 2012

Aston Martin has a very interesting future ahead of it. While the British brand appeared to be struggling with aging tech for a while, fresh investment from Daimler may have shown a light toward the future with the brand getting engines and electronics from them. Also, former Renault-Nissan top exec Andy Palmer has jumped ship from the French/Japanese automaker to become CEO of the much smaller sports car company. Interestingly, though, new reports from unnamed Nissan sources have indicated that Palmer has been pushing to work with AM for years.
Three unnamed company insiders told Reuters that Palmer made attempts to convince Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn in 2012 and 2013 to invest in Aston Martin, but his proposals were shot down both times for unspecified reasons, according to Automotive News. "We looked carefully at the proposal but we passed on it," said one of the sources.
You can easily see why Palmer was eying Aston Martin even back in 2012. It's no secret that the British sports car mavens were in need of extra funding, well before the Daimler investment. Building vehicles these days is only getting more expensive with stronger safety and emissions requirements. Just look at the brand's desperate hope to get a side-impact crash exemption to keep selling its models in the US as an example.