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New Nissan Pulsar marks brand's return to the European C-segment [w/videos]

Following a small teaser, Nissan has unveiled its newest entry into the hotly contested European C-segment. Making new use of the Pulsar nameplate, it will attempt to take the fight to market stalwarts, like the Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf and Vauxhall Astra.
The new five-door will be built on Nissan's modular CMF2 architecture, which also underpins the Euro-spec Qashqai and X-Trail (known in the US as the Rogue). It's a larger vehicle than one of its main challengers, the Golf, riding on a 106.3-inch wheelbase, which is 2.4 inches longer than the VW. It's also longer overall, at 172.6 inches.
The new Pulsar is a moderately powered little five-door, boasting an engine lineup familiar to anyone that knows the Qashqai. A 1.2-liter, turbocharged gas engine offers up 113 horsepower, while those that need a bit more oomph can wait for the late-availability, 187-hp, 1.6-liter turbo that American drivers will know from the Juke crossover. Diesel fans will be able to opt for a 1.5-liter mill that delivers 192 pound-feet of torque and 108 hp. No surprise here, but continuously variable transmissions are the order of the day.

Fiat contemplating sub-brand to compete with Dacia, Datsun

You can add Fiat to the admittedly short list of automakers considering a low-cost brand to rival Dacia. The inexpensive Eastern European brand from Renault-Nissan has performed on the balance sheet like a premium model line, and the money the alliance is taking off the table is encouraging other players to deal themselves in. Pretty soon Nissan's Datsun sub-brand will join the Dacia party, going on sale in Russia, Indonesia and India and will claim even more rubles, rupiahs and rupees for the parent company. Volkswagen recently said it will make a decision this year on a budget line for the Chinese market. With the euthanasia of Lancia and plans to move the Fiat brand upmarket, company CEO Sergio Marchionne wonders aloud to Automotive News Europe whether there could be room for a new budget brand underneath Fiat.
We're told that the initiative has been in the idea box for five years and even moved to the stage of name considerations, like Innocenti, but worries about profit kept it from realization. If such a range were to be developed, Marchionne says it couldn't be built in Italy and stay within budget, and the company is "analyzing its manufacturing capacity outside of Europe to see if a low-cost brand is viable."

Next Nissan Titan will get turbocharged diesel V8 from Cummins

Toyota might be content to eke out an existence in the fullsize pickup market with its lightly refreshed Tundra, but Nissan looks like it'll be a bit more aggressive with its next-generation Titan. The next Titan will make use of a 5.0-liter, turbodiesel V8 from Cummins, the Japanese company announced at the start of its Nissan 360 industry showcase.
Nissan's commitment to a fullsize pickup isn't really open for debate - it made waves back in April when it lured Fred Diaz, CEO of Chrysler's Ram pickup division, down to its Franklin, Tennessee headquarters. But this news of a monster turbodiesel is big. As of this writing, only Ram is set to offer a diesel engine in a non-heavy-duty pickup. Its 3.0-liter, EcoDiesel V6 will arrive in the Ram 1500 in the not-so-distant future, but that engine will still be a far cry from what's promised with this Cummins mill.
The 5.0-liter V8 is expected to generate well over 500 pound-feet of torque - likely closer to 550, based on the language in the press release - along with over 300 horsepower. Those figures aren't just a shot across the bow of Ford, Chevy, GMC and Ram, they're an opening broadside, meant to demonstrate Nissan's willingness with its next light-duty truck. As Diaz said, "There is no question that the new Titan will turn heads, and with the available Cummins 5.0-liter V8 turbodiesel, we expect to win new fans and attract buyers looking for this unique configuration."