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Fiat contemplating sub-brand to compete with Dacia, Datsun

You can add Fiat to the admittedly short list of automakers considering a low-cost brand to rival Dacia. The inexpensive Eastern European brand from Renault-Nissan has performed on the balance sheet like a premium model line, and the money the alliance is taking off the table is encouraging other players to deal themselves in. Pretty soon Nissan's Datsun sub-brand will join the Dacia party, going on sale in Russia, Indonesia and India and will claim even more rubles, rupiahs and rupees for the parent company. Volkswagen recently said it will make a decision this year on a budget line for the Chinese market. With the euthanasia of Lancia and plans to move the Fiat brand upmarket, company CEO Sergio Marchionne wonders aloud to Automotive News Europe whether there could be room for a new budget brand underneath Fiat.
We're told that the initiative has been in the idea box for five years and even moved to the stage of name considerations, like Innocenti, but worries about profit kept it from realization. If such a range were to be developed, Marchionne says it couldn't be built in Italy and stay within budget, and the company is "analyzing its manufacturing capacity outside of Europe to see if a low-cost brand is viable."

Convocation of eagles takes over bed of Nissan pickup

Let this be a lesson to those of you who plan to visit Unalaska, Alaska (yes, it's a real city on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands): If you park at Safeway with a garbage bag full of fish fillets in your pickup's bed, the eagles will find you. That's what happened above when an unidentified man parked his Nissan and returned to find a convocation of bald eagles feasting on his fish.
Neither the man nor those parked near his truck could get to their cars for fear of getting a beatdown from The 'Murica Bird, and police were called to break it up, which they did with neither beast nor fowl injured in the process.
Other than being awesome watching, other things we can take away from this video are the question who comes up with bird gathering names (a "murmuration" of herons and an "unkindness" of ravens?), and the bounty of this comment left by user "Abraham" at the KUCB news report: "It's just that the luxury edition has so much more eagle, it saddens me to think of you missing out." See what caused it all in the video below.

2013 Nissan Juke Nismo is the runabout we've always wanted

The 2013 Nissan Juke Nismo has officially bowed at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show. Wearing a full body kit that serves up 37-percent more downforce than the standard front and rear fascias, the tuned hatchback also comes equipped with larger 18-inch wheels and a lowered suspension. Up front, LED daytime running lights join the festivities as well as contrasting side-view mirror covers and wider fender flares. Inside, buyers can expect to find a new sports steering wheel clad in Alcantara, as well as a set of Nismo seats stitched with red accents.
Nismo also cranked up the power on the Juke's turbocharged direct-injection 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. The Juke Nismo delivers 197 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, compared to the 188 hp and 177 lb-ft available in stock configuration. Buyers can have the engine with either a six-speed manual transmission or CVT gearbox, and the Juke Nismo can also be had with either all-wheel drive or front-wheel drive. Check out the full press release below for more information.