Archive for Nissan

Nissan Motor’s CEO Carlos Ghosn has announced that the next generation Skyline R35 will be marketed in the US market as a Nissan. It will be called the Nissan GT-R. The production version of this hot new continuation of the Skyline legacy will make it’s debut at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, with the Japanese market launch scheduled for Fall 2007. The Nissan GT-R will go on sale in the US in Spring 2008.

To me, this is a good move as it allows Nissan to focus on the Nissan GT-R as a proper sports car, not a luxury sports car as it would have been if it was marketed under the Infiniti badge. Previously, it was said that the new car would be marketed under the Infiniti badge instead of a Nissan badge. Toyota is going the other way with it’s replacement for the Toyota Supra in it’s model line-up. It will be marketed under the Lexus badge as the Lexus LF-H. Where’s Honda with it’s NSX replacement?

Related Posts:
Nissan Skyline GT-R Proto (alot more photos)
2008/2009 Infiniti GT-R
Nissan GT-R Proto Art

Edaran Tan Chong Motor announced price cuts of between 3% to 15% for Nissan cars with immediate effect under the new National Automotive Policy tax rates. The Nissan Sentra will be cheaper by 5%, while the premium Nissan Cefiro will be cheaper by 12-15%. Suprisingly the Nissan X-trail SUV also enjoyed a small price reduction of about 5%, when the whole industry was facing either static or rising prices in that model range. Nissan’s Serena MPV and the Nissan Vanette window van’s prices are to be about 9%-10% higher though, but not immediately. It’s effective date will be announced later.

Edaran Tan Chong Motor executive director Dr Ang Bon Beng expressed some concerns on the National Automotive Policy, especially on the usage of local parts in CKD assembled products and the Industrial Adjustment Fund which was set up. In Tan Chong’s case there is nothing much to claim from the fund except for the use of local parts. However this is a little tricky as Nissan has to consent, and even if they do, sometimes local manufacturers do not have the economies of scale to offer competitive prices for the parts. This might end up with local manufacturing of parts ending up costing more than importing them from overseas suppliers.

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Nissan is developing a safety feature for it’s cars to help avoid colliding with the vehicle in front in the case of a possible sudden brake situation.

In Nissan’s accelerator pedal safety system, a combination of radar sensors connected to a computer system monitors the car’s speed and the distance to the vehicle in front. If the vehicle in front suddenly slows down (like a jam brake situation) or there is any other possibility of a rear-end collision as calculated by the computer system, the gas pedal will automatically rise against the driver’s foot as a signal to step on the brake.

Once the driver lifts his foot off the accelerator pedal, the system does not wait for him to start braking, it automatically kicks in. Of course, the driver’s foot would go ahead and press the brakes anyway.

This makes me think, doesn’t this system require the use of brake-by-wire? Brake-by-wire’s benefits versus safety hazard is still being debated in the industry, though most modern brake-by-wire systems like Mercedes Benz’s Sensotronic Braking Control comes with a manual safety net.

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Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd’s plans for 2006 includes introducing new models - the Nissan Teana luxury sedan and the Nissan Murano luxury crossover SUV. This is part of Edaran Tan Chong Motors’ strategy to increase Nissan’s 5% market share this year, which will be very challenging indeed. Will the Nissan Teana be placed in the market segment above the current Nissan Cefiro or replace it? I’m not sure.

Dealership networks will also be expanded. Current Edaran Tan Chong has 66 branches and 60 dealers. An extra 18 branches and 13 dealers will be added nationwide.

What about the Nissan Latio? It’s being sold in Singapore and I think it would be a good competitors to the budget Japanese family sedan market conquered by the Toyota VIOS and Honda City currently.

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While our Nissan Sentra has just been facelifted here, Nissan has unveiled the new 2007 Nissan Sentra at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Our Nissan Sentra and the USDM Nissan Sentra has always looked very different, so I’m not sure if Nissan intends this to be the Sentra across the world or have separate USDM and JDM Nissan Sentras.

Click here to read the rest of 2007 Nissan Sentra USDM

UPDATE: The Nissan Sylphy has been launched in Malaysia! Two model variants are available, both with 2.0L engines. Click to read more and find out details and pricing.

Nissan has launched it’s Nissan Bluebird Sylphy mid-sized luxury sedan in Japan, targetted at today’s executive woman, focusing on hospitality and care in mind.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Nissan Bluebird Sylphy

This is Nissan’s URGE Concept, developed by Nissan’s US design studio in La Jolla, California. The URGE Concept’s styling is supposed to be inspired by motorcycles. The concept car is powered by a small-displacement, high-revving engine, much like a motorcycle engine.

The Nissan URGE Concept also features an integrated Xbox 360 system integrated in it’s driver-oriented cockpit. This concept could somewhat lead to a small sports car from Nissan, positioned somewhere above the Micra C+C. A baby Z-car perhaps. The Nissan URGE Concept will be unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2006.

Nissan has launched a facelift of it’s flagship sports car, the Nissan 350Z. It’s not just a facelift though, the new engine comes with some re-engineering that gives it a little more power and a nicer torque curve.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Nissan 350Z Facelift

Nissan Motor Co has decided the new R35 Skyline GT-R will be sold in the US under the Infiniti brand, as the Infiniti GT-R.

Nissan executives have been battling for the Skyline to debut with a Nissan badge instead of an Infiniti badge because the Skyline is known to be a Nissan globally, and in games such as Gran Turismo. But studies have shown that sales might suffer if a premium sports car has a Nissan badge on it. The Nissan badge generally commands a lower price tag than Infiniti’s.

The Volkswagen Phaeton suffere the same fate, though it’s a great luxury car people preferred spending money on the Audi A8 to get the more prestigious Audi badge.

The ability to command premium pricing is important as the car will have a sticker price of USD$65,000. It will have all-wheel drive and horsepower figures upwards of 400.

More photos of the GT-R PROTO available here.

Nissan is planning a Z sports coupe slotted above the current Nissan 350Z called the Nissan 450Z. The upgraded model will feature a 4.5 liter V8 engine which would likely be a tuned up version of the VK45DE from the Infiniti M45. The VK45DE makes 340hp currently, but Left Lane News reports the final product will feature 430hp. Of course, all that crazy power requires all-wheel drive, so that will be standard as well.

Nissan plans to pitch this new Nissan 450Z against the Porsche Carrera 911 and the Maserati 4.2.

Source: Left Lane News