2010 Nissan Murano Sl Awd 50k No Reserve Salvage Rebuildable on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Panoz mulls suing Nissan for ZEOD RC's Deltawing likeness

Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but in racing, where something as simple as a car's shape can lead to a competitive advantage, imitation can be a big no-no. That reality is being played out right now, with the DeltaWing prototype and the Nissan ZEOD RC. The two cars, as you can see from the images above, bear a striking resemblance to each other. They're so similar, in fact, that Dr. Don Panoz, one of the big names behind the DeltaWing program, is assigning some legal eagles to investigate any patent infringement.
The similarity shouldn't be a shock, though. Both cars are penned by Ben Bowlby, and the DeltaWing - which will be arriving as a coupe in the very near future - had Nissan branding and power for a not-insignificant amount of time. But for Panoz, the ZEOD RC's resemblance is just a bit too much, as he told Autoweek, "It's been interesting to watch people from Nissan trying to dodge the question, but the fact is that in their own press release they admit that the configuration of the ZEOD is the same as the DeltaWing. And we do have patents, in fact another one was just issued last week. We are in discussions with our legal advisors and we'll see what happens."
Frankly, it's not difficult to see what Panoz means. The general shape of the ZEOD RC, with its wide rear track and narrow front track arrangement - not to mention the headlights mounted over the rear wheel arches and any arrangements not visible under the body - are so reminiscent of the DeltaWing that differences like the shape of its closed cockpit and more upright front end might not prove different enough to avert Panoz's legal action. We'll stay with this one and let you know as more becomes available.

Nissan to add Rogue, Murano hybrid around 2015

Except for the limited-production, Toyota-assisted Altima Hybrid, Nissan has pretty much shied away from hybrid vehicles, but that is all about to change. As a part of a plan to launch a total of 15 electrified vehicles by 2016, Nissan is launching the Pathfinder Hybrid, which goes on sale this fall, and we've heard in the past that the Altima will get another hybrid variant, as well. Now, Green Car Reports is confirming that the Murano and the smaller Rogue (seen above in next-gen prototype phase) will both receive hybrid powertrains.
Though riding on different platforms, both hybrid crossovers could share the system being introduced in the Pathfinder, consisting of a 2.5-liter supercharged four-cylinder engine, a 22-horsepower electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack. There is still no word on when the next-gen Murano will arrive, but the 2014 Nissan Rogue will be introduced on September 10.

Nissan Note getting a little louder with Nismo versions this fall

Nissan's Nismo performance division has been getting more chances to shine recently with tuned models like the Juke Nismo RS and GT-R Nismo. But its latest creation moves closer to the bottom of the Japanese brand's lineup to make a hot hatch out of the (Versa) Note.
At least in Japan, the new model is due this fall, and Nismo is keeping a lot of the details about its latest creation a secret for now. What we do know is that it'll be available in two trims - the Note Nismo and the sportier Nismo S. "The development concept of this model was to build a car that makes you want to keep driving, no matter where your destination may be," said the division's chief product specialist, Hiroshi Tamura, in the company's announcement.
Aesthetically, the Note Nismo looks the way a tuned Nissan should, with the division's signature red trim outlining the car. It also wears a new, mesh grille, lower air dam, red side sills and rear spoiler. Inside, the S gets standard sport seats with full Recaro buckets as an option. Nissan didn't release technical specs for either version, but it promises that the S also gets a tuned engine with a five-speed manual.