1984 Nissan Sentra on 2040-cars

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Next-gen Nissan Leaf will look more mainstream, have more range

The next-generation Nissan Leaf battery-electric vehicle will look better and go farther on a single charge, company executives tell Automotive News. How much better and how much farther remains to be seen, as does the timing on when the new version will be available to the public. Nissan executive Andy Palmer, speaking recently at the Beijing Motor Show, implied that an electric vehicle would need to have a 185-mile single-charge range to be competitive with hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, once those arrive in larger numbers. While Nissan boosted its single-charge range by about 15 percent for the 2014 model-year Leaf, the automaker would need to double it to reach that competitive threshold. This seems unlikely for the next-gen model, but we can start making our guesses as to how many more miles Nissan will put into the pack. Regardless, the next-generation Leaf, which may come out around 2017, will at least look a bit more mainstream while it reaches for more range, Automotive News says, citing Nissan global design chief Mamoru Aoki. Indeed, the car, which will keep its hatchback layout, will likely look less angular, said Aoki, who complimented Tesla for the way it styled its Model S luxury electric sedan. Nissan's Infiniti arm could also debut its delayed luxury electric vehicle in 2017, complete with the improved battery pack. Angular looks and all, Nissan continues to increase sales in the US. Leaf sales through April were up 33 percent from 2013, to 7,272 units after more than doubling sales last year to 22,610 vehicles.

Datsun reveals new On-Do budget sedan in Russia [w/video]

When Nissan revived the Datsun brand name, it essentially hit the "undo" button on the rebranding it undertook decades ago. But this time, the Datsun name is being used solely as a budget brand for developing markets. The reborn marque launched in India this past July with its Go hatchback, returned in September with the Go+ minivan and revealed the Redi-Go concept just last month. And now it's back again with the new On-Do sedan.
Launched in Moscow by CEO Carlos Ghosn, the On-Do was designed and engineered in Japan specifically for the Russian market - Nissan's fifth largest worldwide - where it will be built at the AvtoVaz plant in Togliatti. Decidedly budget-oriented, the Datsun On-Do is a four-door, five-seat econo-box measuring 172 inches long, 67 inches wide and 60 inches tall with an 18.7 cubic-foot trunk which Datsun describes as class-leading. Punctuating an otherwise bland shape is a large front grille and lighting front and rear that looks (and very well might be) bigger than the wheels.
Not that the Datsun On-Do needs a big contact patch to transfer power to the road: motivation is provided by a 1.6-liter engine with a grand total of - wait for it... wait a little longer - 87 horsepower. Which might strike you as a reasonable amount of muscle, considering the 400,000 rubles Datsun is getting for the On-Do (but consider that translates to about $11,300). That's a couple grand more than what Nissan gets for the Micra in that other giant northern country, or about the same amount it gets for the Versa in the US (which sells in Russia for 499k in rubles) - both of which are powered by what is in all likelihood the same 1.6-liter four but producing 109 hp. Of course Russia has different tax rates than the United States or Canada, but with such little power, the Datsun would fall into Russia's lowest tax bracket.

2014 Nissan Versa Note pushes the little hatchback forward

Alright, truth time: The Nissan Versa isn't exactly our favorite car in the subcompact class. It's certainly competent, reliable transportation, but it's hardly an emotional purchase choice. Perhaps this new version of the Versa, then, can change our minds a bit. Meet the Versa Note - the cuter, five-door version of the li'l sedan, making its debut here at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show.
Aesthetically, the Versa Note is a pretty pleasant-looking thing; we've seen it before in JDM-spec. It's a decidedly aerodynamic thing, too, with a drag coefficient of just 0.29. And because of that - as well as an efficient little powertrain - the Note will achieve up to 40 miles per gallon on the highway.
Under the hood is Nissan's 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder engine churning out a furious 109 horsepower and 107 pound-feet of torque. Like, well, every other Nissan car, the Versa is equipped with a continuously variable transmission and will drive the front wheels exclusively. Base S models can be had with a five-speed manual transmission, but the moment you step up to a higher trim level, the do-it-yourself shifter goes away.