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Nissan shedding weight in the design of future models

September 22, 2010 at 12:58 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under International News, Nissan, Technology

Even though emission standards don’t affect us Malaysians in our ownership of a car, it has and will drastically change the way cars are designed. This is so that car companies will be able to meet standards set by the EU, which is one of the biggest car buying markets in the world.

In a bid to meet those stricter standards, Nissan has announced that they will be slashing the weight of their models by 15 percent, compared to 2005 models. Nissan also aims to increase fuel economy in its fleet to about 30 percent by 2015. This is said to involve cutting up to 110 kilograms from the next generation of each model, giving a 5 percent increase in fuel economy for each car.

The company’s diet regime will comprise of three processes, which is the use of new engineering and design architectures, lightweight material such as high tensile steel and advanced construction.

A good example of this process is in the redesigning of the Infiniti M. The car shed 15 kilograms by just using high tensile steel. It lost another 1.4 kilograms when they replaced the car’s solid synthetic resin floor undercover with a spongy foam core. The Nissan 370Z also lost 20 kilograms by using aluminum steel instead of steel, just for the doors and the boot lid.

Other avenues for reducing weight are in the vehicle construction process. Components are usually made slightly thicker as it takes into account some margin of error in forecasting bending and breaking points. Thus if they use more accurate computer modeling, engineers can do away with the extra bulk.

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Daimler to use Renault-Nissan electric vehicle tech

September 15, 2010 at 10:27 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Nissan, Renault, smart

Here are some updates on the collaboration between Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Back in April when the partnership was announced, the stated scope was focussed on small car development and engine sharing (read our previous post here). In a recent interview with Reuters, Thomas Weber, Head of Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, has confirmed that the German carmaker will broaden the partnership with Renault-Nissan into electric vehicle (EV) development.

The goal is to cut costs by building scale. “We won’t be able to meet the target of 95 grams CO2 in 2020 without electric vehicles with batteries and fuel cells,” Weber was quoted as saying, adding “it won’t be easy to then also earn money with these cars.”

Besides that, the partnership will birth a shared RWD architecture for the next smart fortwo, a new smart four-seater and the next-gen Renault Twingo. The first of these cars will roll out from 2013 with the smart plant in France building the two-seater versions and the Renault plant in Slovenia building the four-seater variant. It was announced that there will be EV versions.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is one of the main movers of EVs in the motoring world. They have invested an estimated €4 billion into the field and have plans to launch up to eight EVs in at least five key segments – starting with the Nissan Leaf, which will be delivered to European customers early next year. US allotment for the car has been fully spoken for. Next in line are the Renault Fluence ZE saloon and Kangoo Express ZE in mid 2011.

Alliance boss Carlos Ghosn is very bullish about EVs, saying that they will comprise 10% of all car sales within a decade, and they’re expecting to build 500,000 plug ins by 2012.

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Nissan and Dongfeng launching new brand in China

September 11, 2010 at 4:21 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Dongfeng, International News, Nissan

Nissan and Dongfeng Motor Group have announced that they will be launching a Chinese-market only sub brand. The new brand will be called Qichen, which supposedly means Venus in English. Their logo is made up of five stars that is supposed symbolize five promises the company wants to make to potential customers, which is “respect for customers, create value, do the best, achieve world-class quality, and seek the dream.” The new brand will aim to provide affordable, no-frills cars in China’s auto market, currently the biggest in the world.

Kimiyasu Nakamura president of the joint venture said that there are a growing number of consumers making around 50,000 yuan (US$7000) a year, who are buying cheap cars. “We have been focusing lately on China’s interior market. Those consumers are multiplying in China’s inland markets, and we would like to come up with cars that target those people.”

Their plan to make cars affordable will include using Nissan’s existing platform and the development of the first model in China, taking advantage of the cheap labour costs for engineers. They also plan to limit the help they get from Japan for R&D.

He also went on to say that the Dongfeng-Nissan venture should drive sales up to one million cars a year in China, but did not specify a specific time frame. The JV company is on target of reaching its targeted 600,000 vehicles this year, while selling almost 519,000 cars in China last year.

This is not the first time a Chinese and foreign car manufacturer is launching a Chinese brand together – we also have Honda and Guangqi’s Li Nian.

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Luxury spec Nissan GT-R ‘Egoist’ to be launched soon

September 7, 2010 at 10:24 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan

There will be a more luxury oriented Nissan GT-R that’s set to be launched next month in Japan, when Nissan rolls out the facelifted version of its performance flagship. First rumoured to be called Spec M, the luxury GT-R will now be called ‘Egoist’, according to prominent Japan based auto journo Peter Lyon.

The Autocar report says that the unusual name is inspired by both the Chanel perfume and the Tokyo based apparel maker of the same name. Of course, it also says a lot about the car’s owner. “Yes, there’s a bit of tongue in cheek in the name, and yes, the word does mean self-conceited, but we just wanted to have some fun with the name,” a Nissan spokesman was quoted as saying.

Looks wise, the Egoist will get a newly designed grille and bumper combination, along with a revised front intake duct. There will be LED daylights on the front and rear bumpers. For the latter, the outer edges will have new vents to dissipate heat from the transmission and exhaust system. The Egoist is based on today’s special versions, the Black Edition and the Premium Edition, so it gets larger 390 mm brake discs (from 360 mm) and lighter 10-spoke wheels.

Mid life updates for the entire range include 30 kg reduced weight plus 506 bhp and 607 Nm thanks to modified turbos, oil cooler and exhaust system. Also tweaked are the gear ratios, spring rates and rear suspension geometry – the latter two aims for a more compliant ride with sharper handling.

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Nissan to launch Murano CrossCabriolet for the US market- will it work?

September 3, 2010 at 9:46 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan

Nissan has officially confirmed that it will be putting the Murano CrossCabriolet into production. No pictures were released with the announcement, thus its first public debut would be at the Los Angeles Auto Show this year.

Meant for the American market, it will be the world’s first “all wheel drive crossover convertible”, with space for four adults and luggage with the top down. There has been no mention of the car being available in any other markets apart from the US, which goes on sale next year.

Brian Carolin, Nissan North America Inc.’s senior vice president for Sales and Marketing said that the convertible is intended as an image vehicle for the Nissan brand. “It’s not going to be a volume car. But there’s a degree of bravery for us to bring out a car like that right now. It will surprise a lot of people.”

Nissan will also be unveiling the next generation Quest, expected to house a 3.7 litre V6 generating up to 300hp and the Nissan Ellure concept sedan. The production version of the Nissan Leaf will also be at the Nissan stands.

Even without pictures, the design will no doubt be slightly strange. When the car was shown to dealers in Las Vegas, some said that it looked better with the top down than up. Do you think this will work? Have you say.

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2012 Nissan GT-R updated – pictures and details leaked

August 29, 2010 at 6:29 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan

Nissan has released an updated version of the GT-R for 2012 and we’ve got leaked pictures and details of the upcoming model. Revisions on the 2012 model include a new front bumper with LED daytime running lights, a new rear diffuser with a rear diffuser light.

This is said to have increased aerodynamics efficiency, with a drag coefficient of just 0.288. Downforce has also increased by 10 percent. The car can be had in two new body colours, which is either black or blue.

The GT-R will sit on Rays forged aluminum wheels which are said to be 12 kilograms lighter than before, available in either Hyper Blue Black or Hyper Titanium.

According to the source, revisions have also been made on the interior, chassis and engine, but didn’t go into much detail. We will thus keep you updated if anything pops up.

Look after the jump for more pictures and a graph denoting the 2012 Nissan GT-R Cd against other cars – some very interesting details there.

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Youngest woman to climb Everest endorses Nissan Juke

August 12, 2010 at 9:39 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan


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Carmakers looking for a famous face to endorse their cars normally fall back on movie stars or pop stars, but Nissan UK’s marketing tactic for its Juke is slightly different. 22-year-old Bonita Norris, the youngest woman ever to climb Everest is the face of the radically styled baby crossover. Bonita “displays the qualities respected by Nissan and that typify the new Juke” and was chosen for her incredible personal achievements and natural sense of adventure.

Swapping thick mountains climbing gear for thin lycra, Miss Norris said: “I’m delighted to back the launch of Nissan Juke because I believe in backing British, and anything that creates jobs and pride for this country has my support. Juke defies the stereotypes and breaks the mould, I can relate to that. I’m unconventional and I’ve got a spirit of adventure that drives me to do different things and this is what Juke represents.”


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The Juke will be built in Sunderland alongside the Qashqai and Qashqai+2, and Nissan is obviously making the most out of the “built in Britain” tag to appeal to the locals. The Juke’s UK launch is on 24th September, but Nissan has collected more than 2,000 bookings in the UK and over 15,000 orders across Europe, mirroring similarly good reception in Japan.

Details and image gallery (of the car) can be found here. One more hi-res pic of Bonita and the Juke (sounds like a cartoon!) after the jump. Enjoy!
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Orange Godzilla sighted – Königseder tunes the GT-R

August 3, 2010 at 5:41 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan

Austrian tuners Königseder have unveiled a new styling package along with a performance upgrade for the Nissan GT-R R35. It may look like your standard GT-R with a striking lick of paint, but don’t be fooled as this Godzilla has had a new ECU tune installed.

This boosts the standard 3.8-litre V6 engine originally producing 485hp to a whopping 572hp. In addition to the revised ECU, allowing higher quality air through is a new air filter and pumping out its combustion waste is an Akrapovic exhaust system. 0 to 100 figures haven’t been provided but the car will be able to hit 200km/h in just 9.8 seconds, which is how long a majority of cars take to reach even 100km/h.

The company has added a few parts to complement the increase in power and this can be seen in the use of new suspension by KW, a front splitter, side skirts and a rear diffuser improving aerodynamic flow around the car.

The whole package will sit on Yokohama Advan Sport tyres which covers a 21 inch black glossy wheels that give the car that all so important wow factor.

Look after the jump for a high resolution picture gallery.
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Second-generation Nissan X-Trail Test Drive Report

July 31, 2010 at 7:11 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Nissan, Test Drive Reviews

The Nissan X-Trail will be officially launched on the first week of August, but Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) organised a media preview of sorts to Port Dickson, where we brought you the new SUV’s selling price – RM149,500 OTR including insurance. As a recap, our X-Trail is imported CBU from Indonesia and is powered by a 137 bhp/198 Nm 2.0-litre engine paired to Nissan’s Xtronic CVT gearbox with six virtual ratios in its manual mode.

Yours truly got to sample the X-Trail both from the driver’s seat and as a passenger, and it’s mostly a pleasant experience. Let’s start from the back. One sits high up, and the bench is set at the perfect height and length for my legs. Although legroom isn’t as good as the Honda CR-V’s, it’s adequate if the person in front isn’t particularly long legged. In any case, there’s room under the front seats for feet to tuck in.

Continue reading the report after the jump.
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Nissan X-Trail revealed – RM149,500, CBU, 2.0 CVT, 2WD

July 29, 2010 at 9:23 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Nissan


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Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) has unveiled the new Nissan X-Trail to the media today. As previously speculated and captured on this blog, the X-Trail is imported CBU from Indonesia, which is the production hub of the SUV for our region. It is priced at RM149,500 OTR including insurance.

We only get one engine option – the MR20DE 2.0-litre engine that also powers the Sylphy. However, in the X-Trail this all-aluminium CVTC equipped engine makes 137 bhp and 198 Nm of torque, slightly more than the Sylphy’s 131 bhp/191 Nm. Like the C-segment sedan, the engine is mated to Nissan’s Xtronic CVT, but the stepless gearbox gets a manual shift mode here with six virtual ratios to play with. Power goes solely to the front wheels.


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Size wise, the X-Trail is longer than the old model by 175 mm and slightly wider too, although wheelbase is only up by 5mm to make 2,630 mm. I believe that the picture above shows where all that extra length has gone too – the silver X-Trail is the new model, and the section aft of its rear doors is obviously longer.


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That makes for a huge boot. Despite carrying a full sized spare tyre inside the vehicle, the versatile cargo area has a square space of 603 litres. That’s in the single floor mode; in the double floor mode, the “false floor” covers 2 drawers, the right one with configurable compartments, the left one for long items like umbrellas. Like its predecessor, the luggage board is washable, perfect for the mountain bike! A tonneau cover is standard.


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The interior ditches the central instruments for a more conventional layout. Fit and finish as well as material quality is good – the main dash moulding and all door caps feature soft touch plastics. Here, you’ll find a 2-DIN stereo with USB/AUX/Bluetooth and SD card capability sandwiched by two cubby holes.


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The air-con may be manual, and the steering has no buttons or leather wrap, but the X-Trail does come with features like rear air-con vents, powered front seats (6-way adjustable for driver, 4-way for passenger), keyless entry and start and bi-xenons with washer and auto levelling. Two cupholders up front and two behind have cooling functions. Safety kit includes 2 airbags, ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, pre-tensioner seatbelts and active head restraints. According to ETCM, this is the exact same spec that attained six stars in JNCAP crash tests.

On a separate note, ETCM has confirmed that the D-segment Teana, which has been spotted on our roads, will be launched at the “end of the year” in Malaysia. The Camry/Accord fighter will be locally assembled and priced competitively, unlike their previous CBU attempt at this model.

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