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2015 Nissan Micra

Several years ago, poutine started showing up on the menus of a number of Detroit-area restaurants. For those unfamiliar with the Canadian specialty, it involves serving up french fries, gravy and cheese curds all in one artery-clogging heap. It's not really my thing, but the comfort-food dish has caught hold here in The D, and many absolutely swear by it. In a country where we happily serve Double Down sandwiches, and where competitive eating qualifies as sport, it's hard to believe le poutine isn't spreading like wildfire.
Given Detroit's proximity to Canada, it's not surprising that this culinary creation has managed to find its way across the border. The same thing goes for cars - we Detroiters are routinely privy to lots of Great White North imports. No, we can't buy not-for-US vehicles like the Nissan X-Trail, Mercedes-Benz B-Class (at least, the gasoline version), or now-discontinued products like the Honda Civic-based Acura CSX or EL before it. But Ontario-plated examples of these cars can be seen all the time here in southeast Michigan - it's a far more common occurrence than you might think.
These days, it's rare that an automaker will introduce a model to Canada without offering it up in the United States - especially a car that stands to do big things for a company's presence in North America. But with this 2015 Nissan Micra, that's exactly what's happened; Nissan's US arm has repeatedly stated that there are no plans to offer the car in Yankeeland. Why is the Micra so important? This five-door hatchback enters Canada with the coveted title of being the most affordable new car in the country: just $9,998 Canadian (CAD) to start. In fact, the Micra launches to our north just as the larger, four-door Versa Sedan is phased out in Canada - a vehicle that holds the lowest-cost title here in the US, at $11,990 USD.

Nissan promising autonomous car production by 2020

Nissan will bring the autonomous car to consumers by the end of this decade. The announcement was made by CEO Carlos Ghosn at the company's US headquarters in Irvine, CA. Nissan has already begun construction of a dedicated proving ground for the self-driving cars in Japan, with completion targeted for the end of 2014.
Teaming with MIT, Stanford, Oxford and others, Nissan has already outfitted Leaf EVs with the Autonomous Drive (Nissan's brand name for the tech), a suite of new technologies developed from the brand's existing Safety Shield technology. The current iteration of Autonomous Drive uses the Around-View Monitoring system and laser scanners to analyze the environment, while artificial intelligence systems have been installed to help navigate and operate in a changing environment.
While it's easy to say that Nissan will bring the technology to market within the next six or seven years, it's more difficult to say at what price Autonomous Drive will be available. Most remarkable about all of this is Nissan's claim that self-driving cars will be both commercially viable and available at "realistic prices for consumers." It's expecting Autonomous Drive to be available across its range within two vehicle generations.

Nissan Juke to get higher-performance Nismo RC model

It's hard to find more giggles for your crossover dollar than the Juke - regardless of how you feel about the way it looks, the singularly styled nichemobile from Nissan is very entertaining to drive. Yet we've always felt that the platform had more in it, and evidently its Japanese parent agrees, having recently bracketed the googly-eyed turbocharged CUV with a new Nismo model and the barking mad built-to-order Juke R. At present, neither the Juke Nismo or the GT-R-powered Juke R are sold in North America, but the former has already been confirmed for sale here.
Even when it does reach our shores, there will still be a heck of a lot of whitespace between the mild performance upgrades of the standard Nismo and the half-mill R model, and to hear the UK's Car tell it, Nissan has plans to plug that gap, too. According to its report, the automaker will shortly offer a Juke Nismo RC that will have roughly 20 horsepower more than the basic Nismo (which itself has 197 hp, nine more than the base Juke). The RC will apparently feature a lower, stiffer suspension, upgraded brakes and a unique exhaust and intake for a snarlier soundtrack. Both front-and all-wheel drive models are planned, as are manual and CVT transmission choices.
No word yet on the RC's pricing or even North American availability, but the regular-strength Juke Nismo is expected to arrive shortly, and Nissan is also said to have big plans for its performance nameplate, so we wouldn't rule it out.