2015 Nissan Versa Note Sv on 2040-cars

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A car writer's year in new vehicles [w/video]

Christmas is only a week away. The New Year is just around the corner. As 2014 draws to a close, I'm not the only one taking stock of the year that's we're almost shut of. Depending on who you are or what you do, the end of the year can bring to mind tax bills, school semesters or scheduling dental appointments. For me, for the last eight or nine years, at least a small part of this transitory time is occupied with recalling the cars I've driven over the preceding 12 months. Since I started writing about and reviewing cars in 2006, I've done an uneven job of tracking every vehicle I've been in, each year. Last year I made a resolution to be better about it, and the result is a spreadsheet with model names, dates, notes and some basic facts and figures. Armed with this basic data and a yen for year-end stories, I figured it would be interesting to parse the figures and quantify my year in cars in a way I'd never done before. The results are, well, they're a little bizarre, honestly. And I think they'll affect how I approach this gig in 2015. {C} My tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015 it'll be as high as 73. Let me give you a tiny bit of background about how automotive journalists typically get cars to test. There are basically two pools of vehicles I drive on a regular basis: media fleet vehicles and those available on "first drive" programs. The latter group is pretty self-explanatory. Journalists are gathered in one location (sometimes local, sometimes far-flung) with a new model(s), there's usually a day of driving, then we report back to you with our impressions. Media fleet vehicles are different. These are distributed to publications and individual journalists far and wide, and the test period goes from a few days to a week or more. Whereas first drives almost always result in a piece of review content, fleet loans only sometimes do. Other times they serve to give context about brands, segments, technology and the like, to editors and writers. So, adding up the loans I've had out of the press fleet and things I've driven at events, my tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015, it'll be as high as 73. At one of the buff books like Car and Driver or Motor Trend, reviewers might rotate through five cars a week, or more. I know that number sounds high, but as best I can tell, it's pretty average for the full-time professionals in this business.

Behold your 2015 Nissan Versa Sedan, America

If you've been hoping that the 2015 Nissan Versa Sedan would adopt something of the Versa Note hatchback's styling aesthetic, consider your hopes dashed. This is the facelifted four-door Versa, which is set to make its official debut next week at the New York Auto Show.
You can make your own minds up on the exterior rework, which is a fairly gentle evolution of the current model. The headlights and a new, familial grille are the two big changes for the front of the Versa that give it a bit of Altima style. Out back, the headlights are slightly tweaked, while a sportier rear bumper is the most noticeable change. The top-end Versa SL also adds new mirrors, complete with Audi-ish integrated turn signals, while the Versa SV adds new 15-inch alloys.
Tweaks for the Versa's huge interior are kept to a minimum, and constitute a new steering wheel and a tweak to the center stack, along with some improved materials. Like the Versa Note, Nissan has fitted the NissanConnect infotainment system, although it's only available on the Versa SL.

Nissan Resonance Concept gives glimpse of next Murano

The Nissan Resonance Concept has bowed at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, giving the world a glimpse at the company's future design direction for crossovers. Specifically, the concept heralds what the next-generation Murano may look like once it touches down. Nissan has already confirmed the successor to the big crossover's throne will be produced in Mississippi for the first time. With a "floating" roof and dynamic head lamp arrays, the Resonance boasts a far more athletic appearance than the snub-nosed current generation. Inside, designers worked up a cockpit aimed at conveying what "the future of first-class space travel might be."
Nissan isn't saying what the upcoming Murano will have under the hood, but the Resonance boasts an all-wheel-drive hybrid powertrain with a small-displacement internal combustion engine and an electric motor. A lithium-ion battery delivers power while a CVT takes care of putting power to the wheels. Take a look at the full press release below for more information.