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.