Nissan GT-R (R35)

We couldn't wait to drive the real R35 Nissan GT-R, so months ago we picked up Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, which has a virtual GT-R. Unlike the in-game car, whose engine sounds hopelessly generic, the real GT-R's sound is dominated by its turbos. The 3.8-litre V6 isn't particularly loud or throaty, but when you give it some gas, the twin turbochargers whirr up like turbines. We tapped the gas while getting on a freeway, and by the time we had a chance to glance at the speedometer we were already doing 100km/h. The GT-R reaches 60 mph (96km/h) in 3.5 seconds

Handling wise the GT-R is truly phenomenal. To get the GT-R out of sorts, it takes the kind of driving you can only do in a controlled environment. We threw it into one particularly good corner with some speed, and felt the grip loosen for a fraction of a second, then get taken up by the all-wheel drive.

The GT-R uses a six-speed double-clutch manual transmission. There is no clutch pedal, as the dual clutches are controlled by computer. You can set it for either automatic shifting or manual, using the column-mounted paddle shifters to change gears. The car's automatic mode is designed for economy, rapidly shifting up to sixth gear even when you are only going 55km/h. In manual mode, the GT-R's shifts are visceral and solid. You can feel each one through the car as you push the left paddle for down or the right paddle for up.

Step inside the cabin and you'll notice the many race car touches, like the deep front seats that embrace you. The flat, metallic spokes of the GT-R's sterring wheel handle mundane functions, like the cruise control and audio system. Our U.S.-spec GT-R was kitted with a 11 speaker Bose system, which sounded very good but it has a lot of road noise to conquer. The system didn't flinch at heavy bass and reproduced highs nicely, although the sound was slightly compressed.

Nissan Sees Trouble In US Car Market

Ever since he lost out on a bid to take control of GM (GM), Carlos Ghosn has seemed a bit punchy. His golden touch at Nissan and Renault have failed him. The companies are no longer considered paragons of the turnaround art. Ghosn has become ordinary.

He was especially ordinary in his recent assessment of the US car market. According to Reuters, "If we take the trend of the market in May and June it looks like we are going to be much below 15 million. Now I'm not sure if this is going to continue for the rest of year," Ghosn said. "We are preparing ourselves for the worst."

All of that seems fairly obvious.

What is less clear is what it means when a car company which makes mostly small sedans is becoming more worried. Big US vehicle manufacturers depend, to a large extent, on SUV and pick-up sales. Gas prices have destroyed that market. The consumer move has been toward lighter cars which get 30 mpg or better.

Ghosn is sending a signal that even tiny cars are not selling well. The US consumer is willing to keep his old vehicle. He does not want to take on more debt, or his buggy is worth less than the balance of his car loan.

Nissan Plans Electric Car in U.S. by ’10

In an interview Monday, Mr. Ghosn said Nissan decided to accelerate development of battery-powered vehicles because of high gasoline prices and environmental concerns, not just because of the need to meet stricter fuel-economy standards.

“What we are seeing is that the shifts coming from the markets are more powerful than what regulators are doing,” he said.

Mr. Ghosn said Nissan envisioned a broad range of electric vehicles, starting with small cars, and adding: “It’s not only about a small city car or a small minivan. It can also be about a small commercial vehicle and a small crossover.”

Mr. Ghosn was not always enthusiastic about alternative-fuel technology. In a 2005 speech to the National Automobile Dealers Association, he called gas-electric hybrids “niche products” useful only to meet strict fuel-economy and emission standards in states like California.

“It wasn’t long ago that Carlos Ghosn was a big naysayer about the role of electric vehicles,” said John O’Dell, senior editor at the auto Web site GreenCarAdvisor.com. “Obviously, something has opened his eyes.”

Nissan says moving into higher gear on electric cars

TOKYO (AFP) — Nissan Motor Co., playing catch-up in fuel-efficient motoring, said Monday that it and NEC Corp. will invest 115 million dollars to mass produce new batteries for electric, hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles.

The push into advanced lithium-ion batteries comes as Japanese automakers invest in an array of new environmentally friendly car technologies amid soaring prices at the pump.

Nissan has been slower than rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. to embrace petrol-electric hybrids, but it aims to become the industry leader in electric vehicles.

"Our vision for a more sustainable future is clear," said Nissan's executive vice president Carlos Tavares. "Nissan firmly believes the ultimate solution for sustainable mobility lies in zero emission."

"Electric vehicles will be a key product breakthrough our industry can deliver," he told reporters, adding that Nissan was ready to supply the batteries to any company interested in the technology.

The venture, Automotive Energy Supply Corp. (AESC), which was set up last year, plans to build its first battery production line at a Nissan facility in Kanagawa Prefecture southwest of Tokyo.

Nissan Plans to Launch More Models in India

The Japanese car maker, Nissan is planning to become bigger in India. It plans to launch eight new models in India by the year 2012. This would also include the new crossover Nissan Murano that shall be unveiled soon this year.

Nissan is Japan’s third largest car maker intends to sell atleast 100,000 cars in India per year. It has already appointed Hover Automotive India Ltd. to develop its sales network in the country with an aim of establishing at least 55 dealers by 2012.

Renault, the French Auto maker, holds 44% shares in Nissan. They are already coming up with a new plant India near Chennai. Nissan also plans to launch a small car in alliance with Renault-Bajaj.

Nissan currently has SUV X-Trail and Taena sedan in India that are completely imported from Japan. It shall soon bring eight new models to India out of which four shall be manufactured locally.

Nissan is betting on the economic strength of the emerging markets as sales are slumping in US. India is the fourth strongest economy in Asia. It holds numerous promising features for the auto makers of the world. Chakan near Pune is also shaping up like the new Detroit in India.

Nissan GT-R (2009-) Review

This GT-R is the latest in a long line of high-performance Nissans, the first GT-R-badged model being the 180bhp Skyline GT-R saloon of 1969. It's the successor to the much-missed Skyline GT-R R34 (1999-2002), and the first GT-R of the series not to take the Skyline name. That's because it's a standalone model on a dedicated, unique chassis, says Nissan. It's not just an uprated version of the mainstream Skyline range - also known as Infiniti G-series in Europe and North America.

A two-door coupe with two tiny rear seats, the GT-R is intended as an everyday supercar: something capable of commuting into the city as well as tearing round a track or tackling twisty mountain roads. A certain amount of compromise is inevitable, but Nissan has achieved an excellent balance - this everyday supercar would make every day's driving pretty damn super.

Faster than both the latest BMW M3 coupe and Mercedes CLK 63 AMG, not to mention the Audi R8 4.2 V8 and most 911s, the GT-R also manages to make its German rivals look stuffy and middle-aged. On the right side of boy-racer, the chiselled, ultra-aerodynamic GT-R is an absolute stunner, from its deep front air intakes to its trademark circular twinned taillights.

2009 Nissan Murano

I would like to give my Nissan Murano test vehicle an Advil, or Tylenol, or perhaps I should Simoniz its hood with that HeadOn stuff that you apply directly to the forehead. This thing looks like it's suffering from the world's worst migraine.

To signal, I suppose, the model-year face-lift, Nissan designers gave the 2009 Murano a tensed chrome brow, a fierce furrowing that is, actually, quite a bit more aggressive than anything else in the Nissan garage. Compared to the new Murano, the lava-breathing GT-R has the countenance of the Buddha. I suppose my question is, does it convey aggression, really, or something akin to consternation, or constipation? This is the look I get when I listen to Kenny Chesney sing or when I eat heavy German food.

Nissan Cube Electric Car Surprise for New York?

Nissan’s been quite tight-lipped about it — but if the photos appearing this morning on SuperNissans.net are accurate, there’s a “Denki Cube Concept” heading for a New York auto show stand in the very, very near future.

There’s been word that Nissan would show the electric car concept here in New York — where The Car Connection is on the scene to report live from the show floor and other events, starting this evening. Now the fan site has photos of what is thought to be the concept. (We won’t run them here, but official pics are on the way.)

The Denki Cube (”denki” means electric in Japanese) is based on the compact Cube city car. We drove the last generation at a Nissan event in San Francisco some time back, and being fans of the Honda Element, enjoyed its foxy, boxy proportions and its no-nonsense attitude toward city-driver needs. Our versions were strictly gas-powered, and right-hand drive to boot.

What will rest under the hood of the electric car version of the new Cube? We’re not sure, but we’d bet on lithium-ion batteries, a stated range of about 60 miles per charge, and just maybe, a promise to import these Cubes to the U.S. with a couple of years. Take that, Volt and Prius!

Nissan unveils sporty crossover

The new FX goes on sale as a 2008 model in the United States this summer.

Infiniti will begin European sales this October. The brand hopes to have 80 dealers in major European cities by mid-2010, company vice president James Wright said in an interview at the auto show here today.

Infiniti’s goals are very modest. The brand aims to sell just 25,000 cars in Europe by 2013, Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said.

“It will be a very long process,” Ghosn said, adding that Nissan currently has no plans to launch the brand in its home market of Japan. Ghosn cited the shrinking Japanese car market and the difficulty other luxury brands have had establishing themselves there. “Japan will come,” but not anytime soon, Ghosn said, adding that Infiniti makes enough money in the U.S., Russia, South Korea and other markets.

Nissan Skyline's interior partially designed by...Playstation game designers

Not only did Nissan give GT-R data to the Sony PlayStation designers and the software developers at Xanavi Information to make sure the cars in the Gran Turismo games would be accurate, the game producers returned the favor, helping to create the car's 11 instrument panel display screens.

Now there's an interesting input source for auto design.

The previously right-hand-drive-only car, which could previously only be purchased in Japan, Australia and Europe, is finally making its way Stateside this June. Seventy large and a good spot in line will get you one of the 2,500 scheduled for US import; the rest of us will have to make do with Gran Turismo.

Nissan Still Interested in US Partner

Nissan still sees a partnership with a North American auto company as good for its long-term strategy, but the Japanese automaker isn't in any talks now, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said Thursday.

Nissan Motor Co. has a nine-year alliance with Renault SA of France, which Ghosn said was working well. He pointed to shared research costs on ecological technology such as electric cars and joint projects to build cars in new markets such as India and Morocco.

Ghosn, who is also Renault's chief executive, has long thought that adding a partner from North America to solidify its position there to its Asian-European alliance makes sense, he said.

"This is for the long term," he told The Associated Press at Nissan's Tokyo headquarters. "But when it comes, then you will know we have been consistent."