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Nissan's Dacia Duster-based Terrano revealed

The new Nissan Terrano has appeared in production form after an apparent August 20 launch in India, but the small sport utility vehicle remains sadly aloof from the US market. We've had our eyes on the Terrano ever since we learned it would be produced as an upscale alternative to the Dacia Duster on which it's based, but currently Nissan has no plans to import it here. Blame safety and perhaps emissions laws - the Duster was never designed for our market.
Even with these less-than-high resolution images, it's clear that the beyond the obvious badges, Nissan's signature trapezoidal grille and a slightly altered rear end with new taillights are the biggest visual clues that this is the Terrano, but those with astute eyes will also notice a slightly redesigned hood and blacked-out door pillars instead of the Duster's body-colored items. Either way, it looks to be a handsome, low-cost little brute - the sort of simple and rugged SUV that's hard to come by in today's marketplace.

'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, Kia spending big to promote EVs, Chevy stays conservative on Volt

With 22 months of record Leaf sales under its zero-emission belt, Nissan has started two big ad campaigns for the battery-powered Leaf. On TV, there's the Kick Gas campaign (it's a popular name) and on social media, Nissan is promoting the EV as the "world's cleanest car" (it's a paint thing). We don't know how much the paint prank is costing, but we do have some estimated numbers for the TV ads. Nissan has spent over $30 million on TV advertising for the Leaf in 2014. According to iSpot, which tracks these sorts of things, Nissan spent over $30 million promoting the Leaf on TV in 2014. "Through November of this year," iSpot CEO Sean Muller wrote to AutoblogGreen, "Nissan spent more then $400 million in TV advertising for its traditional fuel fleet, and $22 million for the rechargeable Leaf. It has since dedicated an additional $9 million on it its new Kick Gas campaign, which started airing November 3, shortly after news of the electronic sales slump broke." iSpot says that Kick Gas aired predominately on NBC, CBS and Fox. The result of those airings can be seen in the charts below, but the takeaway point is that viewers of college football, Gladiator and The Rachel Maddow Show were the most engaged by the ad. Nissan has said the ad is working and that it helped increase Leaf sales in November. How is Chevrolet promoting the Volt? Not nearly as aggressively as Nissan is with the Leaf. Muller said iSpot estimates that GM spent just $2 million over the past couple of years to sell the plug-in hybrid on TV, despite offering 62 different Volt ads online. Then there's new entry into the mix, the Kia Soul EV. iSpot figures Kia has spent about $15 million on TV airings of that odd sexified hamster spot. That's a lot of money for a car that just went on sale here in October, let alone one that isn't available in most states. We've asked Chevy, Kia and Nissan for comment on the iSpot numbers but have not yet heard back. You can watch ads for all three vehicles below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Details on Nissan's Kick Gas: