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Nissan's autonomous cars could drive in US first, maybe by 2020

Future shock could be just six short years away, and coming first to the US. Nissan says it might start making autonomous versions of its cars available in the US by 2020, before the tech hits the road in other countries. The Japanese automaker is in extensive discussions with regulators from California, the best-selling state for the Leaf battery-electric vehicle, for allowing self-driving vehicles to be on its roads, Hybrid Cars says, citing a conversation with Nissan executive Andy Christensen at the recent Detroit Auto Show. Many decisions need to be made between now and then, given the hurdles related to issues such as regulations, liability, safety and technology - and Christensen said the first wave of self-driving vehicles would be able to do their thing only on the highway. The vehicle of choice is most likely to be the Leaf because it's completely battery operated, making the conversion to autonomy that much easier. Last summer, Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn first promised production autonomous cars by 2020. The automaker has teamed up with MIT, Stanford, Oxford and others to extensively test its "Autonomous Drive" concepts since then. Late last year, Nissan tested a self-driving Leaf on Japanese public roads. Nissan is not alone promoting autonomous driving as a way to increase safety, fuel economy and traffic flow, just some of the reasons why the idea may be the wave of the nearer-than-we-thought-future. For example, the company says 93 percent of accidents are caused by driver error.

Nissan 'Ride of Your Life' campaign turns an Altima into a race car [w/video]

Nissan definitely makes some exciting vehicles. The GT-R has received continuous improvements to keep it at the head of the pack in the performance car world. And the Leaf might not bring driving intensity, but its technology is quite impressive. However, there is nothing especially thrilling about the Altima. Granted, it races in the Australian V8 Supercars series, but that car really only shares its basic shape with the production version. So it may see surprising that the Japanese automaker is hoping to inject some drama into its midsize sedan with its new Ride of Your Life ad campaign.
The project is pretty clever. Nissan invited several people to the Horse Thief Mile circuit at Willow Springs Raceway for a ride in an Altima racecar. After a few laps with a professional driver around the course, they pulled into the pits, and the passengers got a big surprise. We won't spoil what happens for you. You can check it out in the video below.
The concept is somewhat similar to Toyota's thrill ride ads for the Camry last year. Both promotions try to show that that these four-door, family sedans can be more than just boring transportation. Nissan's commercials will begin airing on TV soon. The automaker hopes to excite potential Altima buyers ahead of its upcoming national sales event. Scroll down to watch the video to find out the big secret and read the full release about the campaign.

Nissan Juke to get higher-performance Nismo RC model

It's hard to find more giggles for your crossover dollar than the Juke - regardless of how you feel about the way it looks, the singularly styled nichemobile from Nissan is very entertaining to drive. Yet we've always felt that the platform had more in it, and evidently its Japanese parent agrees, having recently bracketed the googly-eyed turbocharged CUV with a new Nismo model and the barking mad built-to-order Juke R. At present, neither the Juke Nismo or the GT-R-powered Juke R are sold in North America, but the former has already been confirmed for sale here.
Even when it does reach our shores, there will still be a heck of a lot of whitespace between the mild performance upgrades of the standard Nismo and the half-mill R model, and to hear the UK's Car tell it, Nissan has plans to plug that gap, too. According to its report, the automaker will shortly offer a Juke Nismo RC that will have roughly 20 horsepower more than the basic Nismo (which itself has 197 hp, nine more than the base Juke). The RC will apparently feature a lower, stiffer suspension, upgraded brakes and a unique exhaust and intake for a snarlier soundtrack. Both front-and all-wheel drive models are planned, as are manual and CVT transmission choices.
No word yet on the RC's pricing or even North American availability, but the regular-strength Juke Nismo is expected to arrive shortly, and Nissan is also said to have big plans for its performance nameplate, so we wouldn't rule it out.