2013 Nissan Rogue Sv Rear Cam Cruise Ctrl Alloys 3k Mi Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Renault wants to merge with Nissan, then go after Fiat Chrysler

The late Sergio Marchionne used to say consolidation would be the only way to compete against the biggest global carmakers. The company looks certain to fulfill that goal, but perhaps not in the way he intended. The Financial Times reports that Renault wants to begin merger talks with Nissan in the next 12 months. Assuming a merger gets completed, the plan is for the combined company to then pursue another merger, with Fiat Chrysler a prime target. Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi have been busy since cutting ties with ex-alliance boss Carlos Ghosn. They formed a new alliance board with Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard at the helm, Renault has shrunk the size of its board while Nissan added more outside directors, and the two agreed to a new governance structure to ease operational decision making. All three automakers have walked away from Ghosn-era goals to sell 14 million cars and find 10 billion euros in savings by 2022. New strategic plans for all three car companies are in the works. With stability in sight, it's said Senard wants to succeed where Ghosn failed — a full-fledged merger between Renault and Nissan with talks to begin "as soon as possible." Ghosn's pursuit of a merger last year in attempt to make the 20-year-old alliance "irreversible" is part of what led to his downfall, with Nissan executives including CEO Hiroto Saikawa against the push. The new effort is presented as larger scale being the only way for the alliance to take on companies like Volkswagen and Toyota. But the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi trio sold 10.76 million cars around the world last year, second to Volkswagen with 10.83 million sales, ahead of Toyota with 10.39 million. If Nissan hadn't suffered a 2.8 percent dip in sales, the alliance would have taken the top spot. If a little scale is good that means more is better, right? Pulling Fiat Chrysler into the alliance would add around 5 million annual sales, and would be another move in Ghosn's footsteps. The former honcho is said to have "held talks with FCA" about some kind of union within the past three years. The French government, which has a 15 percent stake in Renault and double voting rights, shut down the initiative. It's not clear if FCA will be an independent company by the time a potential Nissan-Renault merger closed, though.

Nissan teases next-gen Titan in 'Truckumentary'

The Nissan Titan has grown long in the tooth over its decade on the market, especially against major competitors on the truck scene like the latest Ford F-150. Not for long, though, because the next-generation Titan is expected to debut at the upcoming auto show in Detroit in January. Ahead of that big unveiling, the Japanese brand is launching what it calls the Nissan Titan Truckumentary, a series of videos delving into what it takes to engineer a fullsize pickup. The first teaser clip is already online and shows the next-gen Titan wearing camouflage amidst engineering snippets. Hopefully, future releases starting in mid-December will give an even better look. Until now, Nissan has kept Titan development a guarded secret, but it did reveal that a 5.0-liter diesel V8 from Cummins with claims of over-300 horsepower and around 550 pound-feet of torque will be part of the powertrain range. The truck was has also been rumored to offer a wider range of models than before, including the possibility of a regular cab version and a V6 engine option. Earlier spy shots have given an even clearer view than this video, showing a pickup with headlights pushed out to the corners. Check out the video above to hear what Nissan engineers have to say about developing the new Titan, and read below for the automaker's announcement of the Truckumentary series. "Nissan Titan Truckumentary" tells story of next-generation pickup truck development NASHVILLE, Tenn. – To celebrate the launch of the next-generation Titan, Nissan will be telling the story of its upcoming full-size pickup's development via a series of short videos under the "Nissan Titan Truckumentary" banner. A teaser of this video series was issued today along with an introductory letter to the series from Nissan North America's Director of Product Planning for trucks and SUVs and Chief Product Specialist for the next-generation Titan, Rich Miller. "The 'Truckumentary' is not meant to be the all-encompassing last word on Titan," said Miller. "Rather it's the continuing story of the vehicle's evolution, accompanied by a close look at the American-based team that is bringing this all-new truck to market." The series will launch in mid-December with more than a dozen videos coming throughout the next calendar year. About Nissan North America In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing.

2014 Nissan GT-R [w/video]

Chasing The Legend
There are only a handful of vehicles in existence that can change you permanently - ones that have the power to rewire your concept of speed to fit their definition. Some five years after the Nissan GT-R legally touched down here in the US for the first time, the coupe is still bending perceptions of what it means to be a supercar in the modern age. For 2014, engineers reworked the GT-R's twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 engine for more power, tweaked the transmission and massaged the suspension for ever more speed. Yes, that's right, I said more speed.
The changes have sharpened one of the best performance buys on the market into a weapons-grade track assault vehicle that just so happens to be street legal. More than ever, this is a car that rankles established supercar players with names like Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche, and does so with a Nissan badge on the hood.