nissan

2009 Nissan 370Z NISMO first drive

Every automaker needs letters denoting which models incorporate high performance tuning. BMW has its M, Mercedes-Benz has its AMG, Lexus has its F, and Nissan its NISMO. That last, which stands for Nissan Motorsports, has just been added to Nissan's new sports car, the 370Z. We reviewed the Nissan 370Z Coupe last year, but only recently got to drive the 2009 Nissan 370Z NISMO.

Nissan took the standard 370Z Coupe, a very impressive sports car in its own right, and bumped up the power, fitted it with custom wheels, and stiffened the suspension. Body mods include chin and rear spoilers, a rear bumper with wheel well vents, and even an extended nose for better aerodynamic performance. The NISMO letters find their way onto the sport seats, the tachometer, and the rear badging. The result is a car that will be fun at weekend track events, but terrible for the daily commute.

Road test

We spent a good afternoon throwing a 370Z NISMO around the bends of colorfully named mountain blacktops such as Ice Cream Grade and Pine Flat Road (the latter not being flat at all). Having just gotten out of a 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster gave us an excellent opportunity to note the NISMO upgrades to the standard 370Z. The thing that stands out the most is the ride quality, very harsh in the 370Z NISMO compared to the 370Z Roadster. We could feel the road's various textures being communicated up through the tires to our spinal cords. … Read more

2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster first drive

When we reviewed the new Nissan 370Z Coupe last year, we applauded the company for doing a sports car model update right. Rather than bloating out the car, Nissan reduced size and weight, at the same time putting in a bigger engine. But there was no equivalent convertible model. Nissan remedies that lack for the 2010 model year with the all new 370Z Roadster, and we got to drive it.

On a sunny California morning, we followed a route that let us slam the 370Z Roadster through turn after turn. The top was open to provide a nice view of the forest canopy overhead, the scent of redwood trees was in the air, yet our attention was all on the road and the car. Holding the engine speed at around 5,000rpm in third gear, lighting up the brakes on each approach to a turn, maybe a downshift to second if the turn looked particularly tight, the 370Z Roadster acted just like the hard-top model on which it is based. A bit of understeer became apparent, but that was easily tamed with more throttle, the rear-wheel drive helping the nose correct toward the line for which we aimed.

Transmission tech

Like the 370Z Coupe, the Roadster's six-speed manual transmission comes with the SynchroRev Match feature. Nissan hasn't yet brought the dual-clutch technology from its GT-R down to other models, but SynchroRev Match is a nice little high-tech helper, automatically blipping the engine speed during shifts to make a smooth change. That feature, along with the gear indicator on the instrument panel, makes the 370Z line seem like a training sports car, but we'll take all the help we can get when we're piloting 3,500 pounds of metal, plastic, and rubber at speed down a mountain course. … Read more

2011 Nissan Leaf will sound like a 2019 model

According to a recent Bloomberg article, the Nissan Leaf all-electric vehicle will be equipped with a noise generator that will add a futuristic sound to the silent vehicle at low speeds.

Nissan Motor engineer Toshiyuki Tabata was charged with recreating the sound of a gasoline engine to increase safety for blind pedestrians and to address the potential for U.S. and Japanese mandates for adding artificial sounds to silent EVs.

"We fought for so long to get rid of that noisy engine sound," said Tabata, Nissan's noise and vibration expert. With electric cars, "we took a … Read more

The new design frontier: Making small cars look stunning

For years, style was absent without an excuse from American subcompacts. But the days of slab-sided, no-frills hatchbacks may soon be history.

For decades, something was missing in the small cars designed, built and sold in the United States. It was gone for so long that most American consumers probably didn't know what it was.

But to Ralph Gilles, Chrysler Group's chief designer, the missing ingredient was obvious. U.S. subcompacts lacked emotional appeal.

"Small cars of the past were not necessarily done with passion," he said.

Generations of Detroit designers seemed to say: No one buys a small car for its styling, so why bother? Uninspired, appliancelike econoboxes? What else did you expect?

American subcompacts had none of the attributes found in the cool, quirky and even elegant small cars created elsewhere in the world, from the original BMC Mini to the first Peugeot 205 to the modern Citroen C3.

U.S. automakers were forced to churn out small cars to raise corporate average fuel economy averages, so they could keep selling big trucks. Small-car design? An oxymoron.

But consumer preference has shifted -- the result of higher gasoline prices, new fuel-efficiency standards and concern about climate change.

"Small cars and vehicles powered by four-cylinder engines have been on a steady increase since 2004," said Ford Motor Co. sales analyst George Pipas.

U.S. fleets must average 35.5 mpg by 2016, compared with 25.3 mpg this year. Combined with stricter emissions standards, it means the number of small-car nameplates for sale in the United States will increase.

And when a market segment gets crowded, automakers must rely on styling to set their vehicles apart from the crowd.

"It's not business as usual for small cars here anymore," said Moray Callum, Ford Motor's design director for cars.

The expanding lineup of new small cars means styling will get a lot more creative and appealing, just as it did with mid-sized cars recently. (Think of the modern Chevrolet Malibu, the new Ford Taurus and the current Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.)… Read more

Nissan GT-R: Meet the 193 mph fire engine

What happens when you mix a fire engine with a 193 mph supercar co-designed by the makers of Gran Turismo? Well, if these pictures are anything to go by, you get the fastest, coolest emergency vehicle in the world. Apart from Thunderbird 1, of course.

The Nissan GT-R ultra-rapid response emergency vehicle was modified by M&M Automotive to offer some serious firefighting abilities. Its two rear seats were removed to make room for a 13-gallon tank secured by a roll cage, while in the trunk, there's a medium-pressure (20 bars) extinguisher system and winding device for a 65-foot hose. According to Nissan, the car will dispense both water and foam, and can fight fires for approximately two minutes on a single tank.

The car was built specifically to patrol the iconic Nurburgring race track in Germany's Eifel region, where hundreds of amateur drivers try their luck on the high-performance circuit every year. Accidents are, understandably, quite commonplace, so having a fast emergency vehicle on hand is a smart idea. Ordinary fire engines would take ages to reach an accident, but, despite carrying an extra 440 pounds of firefighting equipment, the GT-R can lap the twisty 13-mile Nordschleife circuit in less than eight minutes.

Car geeks the world over will tell you the GT-R is the perfect car for the job. Not only is it ludicrously fast, but it also has all manner of high-tech gizmos to help the driver arrive in a hurry. … Read more

131: 230, 367, hike! What in hell do these new mpg numbers mean?

Chevy Volt gets 230 miles per gallon (for a day) while Nissan says we can play that game, too. BMW gets hybrid religion (again), and we take you for a ride in an Audi Q5 and point out what we love and what we wish we could.

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• We take you for a ride in a Chevy Volt test mule

• CNET Review and video of the Audi Q5

• BMW has a hybrid x6 and 7 Series on the way

• Sneak peek of the new Jaguar XJ

• GM still believes in hydrogen fuel cells… Read more

Nissan claims 367 mpg for electric Leaf

OK, these ridiculous mpg claims are starting to get out of hand. Earlier this week, General Motors announced an estimated 230 mpg for the upcoming Volt extended-range EV--a claim that was later undermined by the EPA. No doubt attempting to steal a bit of GM's thunder, Nissan claimed (via Twitter) that its upcoming Leaf EV could do better:

"Nissan Leaf = 367 mpg, no tailpipe, and no gas required. Oh yeah, and it'll be affordable too!"

At first, we thought this was an odd claim to make, seeing that the Leaf is fully electric and (as stated … Read more

The Battle of the Clunkers!!!

Most dialogue about the Car Allowance Rebate System tends to be wholly serious - especially by those who oppose the government-endorsed program. Not surprisingly, a lot of web video on the subject has been less than humorous. While any government-mandated policy deserves serious analysis and informed opinion, sometimes you gotta make light of such issues and have a little fun. With this in mind, today I present a fun little video where four traded-in "clunkers" have a literal race to the death.

This web video follows the fate of four old and purportedly useless automobiles as they are … Read more

BOL 1041: What does the brown Zune do for you?

The Zune HD is coming in colors. But none of them are brown. And do you really care? We also talk about the ePub format. Will it change the landscape of eBook publications? And also, while we're at it, how the heck should we express fuel efficiency in electric cars? So many questions. At least Kernels are now bug-proof.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) Episode 1041

China backs off Green Dam http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125013563611828325.html

Now we know what colors the Zune HD will be … Read more