1998 Nissan Sentra Gxe Sedan 4-door 1.6l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Did Amazon just deliver a car in a giant box?

Back in September, reports started rolling in that Amazon would get into the auto sales business after a promo for the Nissan Versa Note appeared on the online retailer's page. That link didn't actually sell a car, but instead acted as a referral service for potential customers, linking them up with dealers. A recent image that's been floating around on Reddit and that was picked up by The Huffington Post, though, has us wondering if Amazon has dove into the actual business of selling cars, rather than just referring people to dealers.
The image, above, shows an enormous Amazon box on the back of a flatbed tow truck. According to HuffPo, this could be one of the cars sold through the earlier promotion for the Versa Note (which was sweetened with the addition a $1,000 Amazon gift card). Apparently, three of the Versas purchased would arrive in such a fashion. Then again, this could all be nothing more than an elaborate publicity stunt. Amazon is, after all, the company has been touting drone delivery of its goods.
What do you think is in the box? Let us know down in Comments. Bonus points for those that come up with an idea as absurd as the bulk order of banana slicers HuffPo mentioned.

Nismo smartwatch concept tracks both car and driver [w/videos]

Whether you agree or not, this writer believes that every supercar needs a wristwatch to go with it. Though the Nissan GT-R has been lacking in this one regard, Nissan is keen to correct that wrong. But while most of these automotive-inspired timepieces are decidedly mechanical, Nissan has gone a suitably different direction in creating its new Nismo watch concept.
The electronic smartwatch connects driver, car, watch and phone in a sleek design. The device allows drivers to monitor such parameters as the car's average speed and fuel consumption, access performance telematics on the track, monitor their own heart rate and interface with their smartphone via Bluetooth and a dedicated app. The watch can even tell the driver when it's time to bring his car in for scheduled maintenance, post lap times and such to popular social media platforms, and of course, you know - literally give you the time of day.
Though still in the concept phase, Nissan seems keen to bring this to market, has even gone so far as to design the packaging - made of tire rubber scraped off the track - and done it up in three colors: red, white or black. In the meantime Nismo will be showcasing the smartwatch concept at the Frankfurt show this week, where we hope to get a glimpse up close, but you can delve into the press release and the pair of videos below.

Honda, Nissan, and Toyota expand Takata recall by millions worldwide

Honda, Nissan, and Toyota are expanding their global Takata airbag inflator recalls to cover millions of additional vehicles. Toyota alone is adding about 5 million vehicles to its campaign globally, and over 600,000 of those are in the US, according to Automotive News. Nissan's expansion includes an estimated 1.56 million cars worldwide, including about 326,000 in North America, but the exact models from the company are not yet known. According to Automotive News, Honda has also announced plans to increase the scope of its campaign but hasn't yet disclosed specific models, total numbers, or their location. Company spokesperson Chris Martin tells Autoblog that none of these vehicles are in the US, though. In the US, Toyota is replacing the driver's side front inflators on 160,000 examples of the 2004 and 2005 RAV4 nationwide. It's also swapping out the front passenger side parts for 177,000 units of the 2003 and 2004 Tundra (pictured above) and 2004 Sequoia. The automaker is also expanding its regional recalls in high-humidity areas to include the passenger-side inflators of 300,000 more vehicles. In total, the affected models are 2005-2007 model-year Corolla, Matrix, Sequoia, and Lexus SC; plus the 2005-2006 Tundra is included, as well. All of the states that are covered by this campaign are listed in Toyota's announcement, below. In a statement to Autoblog, Nissan said that it's currently working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on this campaign. "We expect to have a more formal statement and additional information by Friday, May 15," the company said. TOYOTA EXPANDS TAKATA AIRBAG SAFETY RECALLS TORRANCE, Calif., May 12, 2015 – Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. today announced that it is expanding its recalls involving Takata air bag inflators. First, Toyota will conduct a recall to replace Takata-supplied driver front airbag inflators on approximately 160,000 model year 2004 and 2005 RAV4 sport utility vehicles. The inflators could potentially be susceptible to rupture when deployed in a crash, increasing the risk of injury to vehicle occupants. For similar reasons, Toyota will expand two existing recalls for Takata-supplied front passenger airbag inflators, namely: Toyota's nationwide recall launched in April 2013 will expand to include approximately an additional 177,000 model year 2003-2004 Tundra and model year 2004 Sequoia vehicles.