2014 Nissan Rogue S on 2040-cars

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Club to restore amazeballs Datsun Safari Rally Z

Thanks to the Nissan Restoration Club, a legendary rally car is coming back to life. At the recent Nissan 360 media event, the Japanese automaker announced that its restoration club is bringing the Safari Rally Z back to original running condition. A variant of the Fairlady Z (or Datsun 240Z in the US), the Safari Rally Z has a fastback coupe body and a 215-horsepower inline-six engine. It won East African Safari Rally championships in both 1971 and 1973. The restoration is scheduled for completion this December.
Formed in 2006, Nissan's Restoration Club is comprised of 60 volunteer members who are passionate about Nissan's historic racecars. The club's past restoration projects include the 1964 Skyline racecar and 1947 Tama electric vehicle. Read the press release below for all the details on the latest restoration, and check out the gallery for photos of the Safari Rally Z as well as the 1972 Fairlady 240Z.

Nissan's Cummins tie-up bears first fruit with Frontier Diesel Runner concept

The 2014 Chicago Auto Show is proving to be a surprisingly big show for alternative fuels. The Chevrolet Silverado HD pickups are getting a compressed natural gas option and the refreshed BMW X3 is receiving a diesel engine, as is the German automaker's 7 Series. You can add one more oil burner to the mix, at least in concept form: Nissan has released its Frontier Diesel Runner Powered by Cummins with a 2.8-liter, four-cylinder turbodiesel engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission from ZF.
While Nissan calls the Cummins-powered Frontier a concept, it's really just a Frontier DesertRunner 4x2 with a diesel engine replacing the standard 4.0-liter V6, and it's meant to gauge consumer interest for a diesel option in the next-generation Frontier. Nissan has clearly noticed that Chevrolet will be offering a diesel in its new Colorado and wants to see how buyers will react to a mid-size alt-fuel pickup from a Japanese brand.
Exterior modifications to the concept are minor. To show off the engine, there is a transparent hood insert and the pickup has been painted in a two-tone finish of high-gloss red and matte silver edged in carbon fiber trim. The interior gets the same combo of red, silver and carbon fiber to match the outside.

Updated Nissan Micra gets fresh look, more tech and 'New' name

A few months ago, Nissan gave the Micra (which is not for US consumption) a substantial styling update that included new front and rear fascias, and stuffed more technology into the interior, such as USB ports and auxiliary inputs for audio and a new media touchscreen. Though it's still based on the same fourth-generation architecture, Nissan now calls it the New Micra.
Overall the New Micra - also known as March in some markets - looks similar to but more taut than the vehicle that launched in late 2010, thanks to more angular headlights, a new bumper, a sculpted hood and a revised grille with the Nissan logo sitting inside a chrome V, which establishes a stronger link to Nissan's "corporate look." The rear end receives less-drastic changes, such as a new bumper, LED taillamps and a new infill panel at the bottom of the tailgate.
For all of the details on Nissan's five-door city car, take a look at the press release below, and be sure to check out our live gallery from Frankfurt.