2014 Nissan Pathfinder Sl on 2040-cars

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Deltawing takes out second ad targeting Nissan amidst design lawsuit

Don Panoz isn't a guy shy away from a fight. Since December, Panoz's Deltawing Technologies has been in a lawsuit with Nissan over alleged intellectual property violations with the design of the Zeod RC. The situation went public several weeks ago when Deltawing bought an ad in The Tennessean, a paper near Nissan's US headquarters, and the industry trade, Automotive News, aimed squarely at company CEO Carlos Ghosn.
Now, Deltawing is trying the tactic a second time with an even more scathing ad in The Tennessean on July 11 and in Automotive News on July 14 that calls the Zeod's design out directly. The bulletin puts the two racecars side by side and asks readers compare their similarities.
According to Deltawing spokesperson Gary Fong, the idea for these ads started after mediation between the company and Nissan broke down earlier this year. "We were trying to bring them to settle it amicably," he said to Autoblog. When that didn't happen, Deltawing wanted to fight the misconceptions in the public about the program and lawsuit. The strategy actually worked, too. "We've seen an opinion change," said Fong. He estimates that before the advertisements the attitude was "90 percent against Panoz," but there has been more support since them.

Recharge Wrap-up: Shift to offer Teslas for Hire, Model S P85D beats Ferrari in drag race

A company called Shift plans to provide bikes and EVs for hire. Based in Las Vegas, NV, Shift will provide chauffeured ride services like Uber, but will also include a car- and bike-sharing service that delivers the desired wheels to the customer. Shift's fleet will include EVs like the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive and the Tesla Model S. Shift also promises that you will, "Be on your way within five minutes," which is a pretty tall order. Shift is scheduled to be available to members beginning this fall. Read more at The Car Connection. Nissan UK has confirmed the price of replacement batteries for the Leaf. UK drivers will be able to buy new batteries for 4,920 pounds (or about $7,738). That's considerably more than the price of $5,499 for US customers. Customers get 1,000 pounds back when they exchange their old battery. The original battery is covered under a five-year, 60,000-mile warranty, and most owners will never need to replace it. According to Nissan, only three replacement batteries have been sold out of 30,000 Leafs sold in Europe. Read more at Autocar. The Tesla Model S P85D walloped a Ferrari in an impromptu drag race video. The Ferrari driver pulls up alongside the Tesla and asks, "What you got in there?" before challenging him to a race. The Ferrari gets a head start, but the Tesla pulls out ahead quickly. The video also gets the reactions of some passengers to the car's mighty acceleration. See the video below and read the account of a drag race against a Lamborghini Aventador at Car Throttle. Australian website Drive has chosen their Cars of the Year in various categories. The Tesla Model S was a carryover winner for Luxury Car Over $80,000, but the Mercedes-Benz C200 narrowly overtook it to be crowned the overall winner. Regarding the Model S, one judge says, "This makes every other EV look at least a generation behind." The main thing that held the Tesla back from winning outright was the near-term lack of charging infrastructure. The judges did note Tesla's plans to build a network of Superchargers in Australia, but also pointed out that those plans exclude much of the country so far. See the video below and read more at Drive. 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.

Nissan recalls 3,065 Pathfinders for transmission fluid leak

Nissan is recalling 3,065 units of the 2013 Pathfinder equipped with the CVT, due to a potential transmission fluid leak. On crossovers built from April 18, 2012 to October 3,2012 "inadequate clamping force" on the hose connected to the internal oil cooler can cause the hose to come loose and let fluid escape. A severe loss of fluid can cause the transmission to stop working properly.
The recall is the result of a safety investigation begun last September, when it was thought a recall could involve 110,000 units of the Pathfinder and Infiniti JX35. Asked for comment about how such a large number of vehicles potentially involved could end up with just 3,065 being recalled, Nissan rep Steve Yaeger told Autoblog that Nissan initiated a service campaign for the issue last year - a service campaign notifies owners to take their vehicles to the dealer for repair of "what is generally not a safety issue" - and that there was a "production improvement" that addressed the clamping issue. The service campaign included the vehicles being recalled, but the recall is limited to just those vehicles that were built before the production-line fix.
Nissan will begin informing affected owners next month, at which time owners can take their vehicles to dealers to have the hose clamp repaired. The press release below from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has more information.