2001 Nissan Xterra Se Sport Utility 4-door 3.3l on 2040-cars

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Nissan Patrol attempts Guinness record with 170-ton cargo plane tow

Yesterday, Nissan teased us with a video showing a Patrol pulling up to a 170-ton cargo plane at an airport in the Middle East - we could only assume that the not-for-America sports utility vehicle would attempt to tow the jet.
Well, somebody leaked the official Nissan video, which indeed shows the Patrol successfully pulling the plane 30 meters for what reportedly is a Guinness world record. While Guinness hasn't confirmed the record on its website at time of writing, the 170-ton jet would be the heaviest plane ever towed by a production automobile. The video was taken down quickly, but another video shot by an observer at the event was posted for our enjoyment. We figured Nissan would move to repost the official video sooner rather than later, and it did.
The Patrol seems to have no problem towing 340,000 pounds, but let's just say it wasn't a quick ordeal. Check out the official and unofficial video of the tow below, as well as Nissan's teaser video. In a reversal of fortunes, we also threw in another, somewhat smaller but perhaps just as impressive vid, just for fun.

Nissan 'Ride of Your Life' campaign turns an Altima into a race car [w/video]

Nissan definitely makes some exciting vehicles. The GT-R has received continuous improvements to keep it at the head of the pack in the performance car world. And the Leaf might not bring driving intensity, but its technology is quite impressive. However, there is nothing especially thrilling about the Altima. Granted, it races in the Australian V8 Supercars series, but that car really only shares its basic shape with the production version. So it may see surprising that the Japanese automaker is hoping to inject some drama into its midsize sedan with its new Ride of Your Life ad campaign.
The project is pretty clever. Nissan invited several people to the Horse Thief Mile circuit at Willow Springs Raceway for a ride in an Altima racecar. After a few laps with a professional driver around the course, they pulled into the pits, and the passengers got a big surprise. We won't spoil what happens for you. You can check it out in the video below.
The concept is somewhat similar to Toyota's thrill ride ads for the Camry last year. Both promotions try to show that that these four-door, family sedans can be more than just boring transportation. Nissan's commercials will begin airing on TV soon. The automaker hopes to excite potential Altima buyers ahead of its upcoming national sales event. Scroll down to watch the video to find out the big secret and read the full release about the campaign.

UK electric motor maker YASA expands production 50-fold for EVs

LONDON — British electric motor manufacturer YASA said on Thursday it was increasing its production capacity from 2,000 to 100,000 units with a new factory to tap into growing demand from carmakers for greener technologies. Automakers are racing to build greener vehicles and improve charge times in a bid to meet rising customer demand and air quality targets but Britain lacks sufficient manufacturing capacity, an area the government is building up. Last year, the government picked a site in central England to house a new automotive battery development facility, which will develop the processes required to manufacture the latest battery advancements. On Thursday, YASA, based near the English city of Oxford, said it had raised another 15 million pounds ($21 million) as part of its expansion. "Our customers are looking to adopt innovative new technologies such as YASA's axial-flux electric motors and controllers in order to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding hybrid and pure electric automotive market," said Chief Executive Chris Harris. The firm exports 80 percent of production and has worked with companies including Britain's two biggest carmakers Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan as well as Aston Martin. JLR will decide this year whether to build electric cars in its home market, previously citing factors such as pilot testing and support from science and government as pre-requisites. Reporting by Costas PitasRelated Video: