2013 Nissan Altima 2.5 S on 2040-cars

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Nissan Sport Sedan Concept foretells a future Maxima

Nissan is in the midst of overhauling its design language. We got our first glimpse at the direction its style was going a year ago with the Resonance crossover concept, which was followed in Shanghai by the connected-car Friend-Me hatchback concept. And now, after dropping a few hints, Nissan has revealed the third in this developing series.
Unveiled at today's Detroit Auto Show, the new Sport Sedan Concept applies many of the same design elements we've seen on Nissan's previous show cars to a more conventional four-door shape. But far from a design exercise, the decidedly uncreatively named Sport Sedan Concept previews "a future production sports sedan," which has every indication of being the next Maxima.
Its dimensions reveal the concept to be bigger than the current Maxima in every direction but height, with that visual impression further entrenched by a floating roof design that combines with a high waistline to give a coupe-like profile. There are also sharp creases in the bodywork that visually break up the space between the rear set of 21-inch alloys and the tapered greenhouse. The shape is further punctuated by the V-shaped grille and distinctly Nissan boomerang-shaped lights that lend a face to this distinctly Japanese design that was penned in California and honed back in Japan. The sharp and simple cabin is characterized by a high-contrast palette with quilted leather and metallic trim.

Some NY cabs could avoid hybrid ban

The Nissan NV200 is having a rough go of it as New York City's Taxi of Tomorrow. The Greater New York Taxi Association wants the van banned on the grounds that it isn't a hybrid, and has gone so far as to sue the city to keep the NV200 out of taxi fleets. According to The New York Times, the city has responded by proposing to allow taxi drivers to use certain hybrid vehicles. The Taxi and Limousine Commission's proposal would allow any vehicle with an interior volume of 138 cubic feet or more. Unfortunately, that excludes nearly every machine that isn't the size of the NV200.
Technically, Nissan is working on a hybrid version of the Taxi of Tomorrow, but it may be years before that model hits the streets, and the Greater New York Taxi Association isn't satisfied with the city's offer. In a statement, the Association said, "These rules look like they have been created to short-circuit the litigation. We do not consider this to be a serious proposal."

Infiniti puts EV plans on hold again

Think of it as the green-automotive industry's version of Groundhog Day. Nissan's Infiniti division is putting plans for its first mass-production electric vehicle on hold. Again. The Infiniti LE, whose concept version was unveiled 2012's New York Auto Show, is again being put up on the proverbial blocks, USA Today says, citing a presentation by Infiniti executive Michael Bartsch at a recent company event in Detroit. Essentially, the Nissan division has bigger fish to fry, in the form of boosting overall Infiniti sales, and doesn't yet want to put the effort into introducing the Infiniti LE. The Infiniti EV plans were first postponed by then-Infiniti President Johan de Nysschen during the summer of 2013, as de Nysschen wasn't quite buying into Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn's ambitious electric vehicle sales projections. De Nysschen resigned last summer to join General Motors' Cadillac division. One issue may be the fact that the Infiniti wouldn't be all that different from the Nissan Leaf. Despite the fact that US sales of that EV surged 34 percent last year compared to 2013, to 30,200 vehicles, an Infiniti version was apparently not enough of a selling point within the company. While the Infiniti is sportier looking than the Leaf and would boast inductive, wireless charging, it would have a similar power output and single-charge range as the Leaf.