2013 Nissan Maxima S on 2040-cars

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Roller coaster or racecar, which pulls more Gs?

Looking for a thrill? You're not the only one. You'll find kindred spirits at airfields going up for a skydive, atop bridges and towers with bungees attached to their feet and standing in line for roller coasters at the local amusement park. But you'll also find them in the paddock at the racing circuit.
So what's the commonality? G-force. It's like gravity, only in each of these cases, it's experienced by human invention. But which activity subjects your body to the greatest amount of g-force? That's what Nissan set to find out.
Before putting them back in the cockpit, Nismo sent out two of its young hot-shoes - Jann Mardenborough and Mark Shulzhitskiy - to an amusement park in the UK with a camera and a g-force meter to find out if any of the coasters could produce as much lateral gravitational force as an LMP2 racing car. See what they found in the pair of videos, below.

Japan may aid carmakers facing U.S. tariff threat

TOKYO — Japan is considering giving carmakers fiscal support including tax breaks to offset the impact from trade frictions with the United States and a sales-tax hike planned for next year, government sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Going into a second round of trade talks with the United States on Sept. 21, Japan is hoping to avert steep tariffs on its car exports and fend off U.S. demands for a bilateral free trade agreement that could put it under pressure to open politically sensitive markets, like agriculture. "If the trade talks pile pressure on Japan's car exports, we would need to consider measures to support the auto industry," a ruling party official said on condition of anonymity because of sensitivity of the matter. The auto industry accounts for about 20 percent of Japan's overall output and around 60-70 percent of the country's trade surplus with the United States, making it vulnerable to U.S. action against Japanese exports. Japan's biggest automakers and components suppliers fear they could take a significant hit if Washington follows through on proposals to hike tariffs on autos and auto parts to 25 percent. Policymakers also worry that an increase in the sales tax from 8 percent to 10 percent planned for October 2019, could cause a slump in sales of big-ticket items such as cars and home. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has twice postponed the tax hike after the last increase from 5 percent in 2014 dealt a blow to private consumption, which accounts for about 60 percent of the economy. To prevent a pullback in demand after the tax hike, the government may consider large fiscal spending later when it draws up its budget for next year, government sources said. "One option may be to greatly reduce or abolish the automobile purchase tax," one of the government sources said. The government is also considering cuts in the automobile tax and automobile weight tax to help car buyers, the source added. Reporting by Izumi Nakagawa and Tetsushi KajimotoRelated Video: Image Credit: Getty Government/Legal Isuzu Mazda Mitsubishi Nissan Subaru Suzuki Toyota Trump Trump tariffs trade

Nissan unveils Altima-based V8 Supercars [w/videos]

Good as it is, when we think about the Nissan Altima, the words "V8" or "supercar" are not in our vernacular, but Nissan Motorsports is looking to change all that. After unveiling the race version of its Altima sedan intended for the Australian V8 Supercars series back in October, the four race teams and their cars were revealed yesterday ahead of a preseason test session this weekend.
Two of the Altima racecars will be sponsored by Jack Daniels while the other two will wear Norton (as in Norton Anti-Virus) black-and-yellow livery. The season officially kicks off on March 1, and we'll get to see the V8-powered Altima on US soil from May 17-19 when the V8 Supercars series hits the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin. Scroll down to watch a couple videos and a press release issued for the team introductions.