Nissan

The Nissan Leaf Nismo RC was captured on video as it ran demo laps as part of the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans, and also at the Silverstone Circuit in England.

The all-electric race car, which debuted at the 2011 New York auto show, has a 3.9-inch shorter wheelbase. Its height has been lowered by 13.9 inches curb, and it has a curb weight of 2,072 pounds.

But the Nismo RC still remains very much its production counterpart. It has, for example, the same motor and inverter, and the same battery pack as the Leaf, as … Read more

The Nissan GT-R has always been one of the most capable cars in the world, but in the past it was also one of the most unlivable. Nissan seems to have heard those complaints, while also bumping up the horsepower dramatically and adding some bling. Does the formula still stun? Brian Cooley takes you for a drive to check the tech.

You can also read CNET's full review of the 2012 Nissan GT-R here.

We found a little bit of heaven while driving the 2012 GT-R over a twisty bit of back-country track, a valley dotted with cattle ranches and kamikaze chipmunks dashing across the road. The 530-horsepower GT-R ate up the pavement, jumping like a recruit fresh out of boot camp at every touch of the throttle.

The limits of the GT-R were hard to find, as its tires clung to the asphalt through every turn. If the back end started to drift, a slight tap on the gas put power to the the wheels that did have grip, bringing it back into … Read more

A Toyota Rav 4 with the heart of a Tesla; AAA can now bring you a gallon of watts; Toyota turns car windows into the Romper Room mirror; and we drive the, well, yeah, Nissan GT-R. No big deal.

• CNET drives the revised 2012 Nissan GT-R Premium

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• 2012 Nissan Leaf gets a price bump, sold in more states

• CNET ordains the best overall economical green car...

• Toyota's Window to the World is ideal for weird voyeurism… Read more

Nissan Leaf owners may be happy to know that after their vehicle's battery is retired, in its second life it will be put to good use, still powering EVs.

Nissan and 4R Energy Corporation announced development of a new solar-powered charging station that uses old Leaf batteries to store solar energy. The test station was revealed last week at Nissan's global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. Three 50kW fast chargers and four standard EV chargers draw energy from the equivalent of five 24kWh Leaf battery packs that get their energy not from the grid, but from photovoltaic cells mounted … Read more

Nissan today launched the 2012 model of the Leaf electric sedan, adding more features and a bigger price tag starting at $35,200.

The automaker said it will start taking new reservations on August 4 for the 2012 model year Leaf and make it available beyond its initial launch market to new states in the southeast and Illinois.

The upcoming all-electric Leaf will come in two trim levels and make popular options of the 2011 Leaf standard. The suggested retail price for the SV trim is $35,200, which is $2,420 more than this year's model, and the … Read more

Looking through the EPA listings for 2011 model year cars, we picked out the most fuel efficient and compared them by a few different data points. Topping the EPA list is the 2011 Nissan Leaf, with its massive 99 mpg equivalent fuel economy. This number represents the combined city and highway mileage.

The 2011 Chevy Volt is more difficult to place, as the EPA lists two fuel economy figures, 93 mpg equivalent for electric operation and 37 mpg for gasoline operation. A simple average shows 65 mpg, which isn't particularly accurate but will do for this comparison.

That hybrid … Read more

This is episode 21 of CNET Roadside Assistance for Thursday, the 14th of July 2011, the show were the Car Tech guys take a moment to field your questions and listen to your comments. We tackle a Skoda question, Antuan's love affair with a 1st Generation Miata, mounting your Droid X, and debate who likes the convertible Nissan Murano.

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The Nissan Leaf is, so far, leading the race in the electric-car space.

In June, Nissan sold 1,708 Leaf units in the U.S., easily overshadowing Chevrolet's Volt, which tallied 561 unit sales. In May, Nissan sold 1,142 Leaf units while Chevrolet sold 481 Volts.

Nissan's Leaf is a fully electric vehicle and is capable of driving for about 75 miles on a single charge. The Volt, by contrast, is a hybrid that lasts about 35 miles on a single electric charge before its gas engine kicks in.

Although the Volt is far behind in sales, … Read more