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Nissan Dualis – fresh air in M’sian Nissan SUV scene?

February 1, 2010 at 8:55 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Nissan

Nissan Dualis

If you’re looking for a Nissan SUV and are bored with the aging X-Trail that’s being hawked here for the longest time, you can check out the Nissan Dualis which is being imported by grey importers.

As part of Naza’s Chinese New Year sale, a 2007 Nissan Dualis can be had for RM151,000, and a newer 2008 model is priced at RM166,000. And from what I hear these prices are negotiable at the showroom if you’re really interested. I don’t expect the Dualis to be available from Tan Chong directly anytime soon as across all ASEAN markets except for Singapore (where it is known as the Qashqai), the only SUV being offered is the X-Trail.

Nissan Qashqai

Nissan calls the Dualis a ‘hatchback’. It’s a crossover based on the Nissan C platform. The body does look like a hatchback but its ride height is higher, putting the Dualis right in the middle of the definition of a hatchback and an SUV. It is a proper ‘crossover’ in true form, instead of just slapping any vehicle with a coupe-like roofline with compromised rear headroom and calling it a ‘crossover’.

In the engine bay is the MR20DE mated to a CVT transmission that we are already quite familiar with since it has been introduced in the Malaysian market installed in the Sylphy.

As part of the Dualis launch promo in Japan, Nissan actually commissioned Shoji Kawamori (of Macross and Robotech fame) to design a robot (mecha) version of the Dualis. The robot Dualis stands 3.5 meters tall. Check out these Dualis mecha videos which Nissan produced as part of a promo campaign in Japan – after the jump!
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Tommy Kaira’s “Silver Wolf” Nissan GT-R

January 18, 2010 at 6:17 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan

This is the Silver Wolf, Japanese tuner Tommy Kaira’s take on the Nissan GT-R. Fans of racing game series Gran Turismo should be familiar with this Kyoto based tuner, who interestingly started out by modifying Mercedes cars! The company has since focussed on Japanese models, and its latest project is the mighty GT-R. Honestly, which tuning house can resist tinkering with the greatest performance car to come out from Japan in recent times?

Tommy Kaira shows a lot of sense by not attempting to improve on the GT-R’s twin-turbo V6 engine, instead focussing on upgrading the brakes, suspension and exhaust system. There’s also a wide body styling pack made from carbon fibre. The Silver Wolf looks decent and not too over the top, but why not call it “Black Wolf”? We’re also not sure how much “improvement” can be made on a car as good as the Nissan GT-R, and if the differences can be felt by the average car enthusiast. What do you think?

More pictures after the jump!
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2010 FIA GT1 spec Nissan GT-R finds customers

January 16, 2010 at 11:50 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Motorsports, Nissan

This is the GT1 Spec Nissan GT-R that will run in the 2010 FIA GT World Championship. The GT-R will race in the top tier GT1 class along the likes of the Maserati MC 12, Corvette Z06, Ford GT and Saleen SR7 (GT2 class features lower powered cars like the Ferrari F430, Porsche 911 GT3 RS and Aston V8 Vantage). Nismo campaigned a GT-R last year, but Nissan’s motorsports outfit has found two customer teams for 2010 – Sumo Power GT (UK) and Swiss Racing Team. The season starts in April at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit.

The 2010 spec GT1 GT-R is powered by a 5,552cc V8 engine with 600 bhp (the regulation limit) and “over 650Nm” of torque. Power goes to the rear wheels via a six-speed transaxle gearbox. The race car only weighs 1250 kg, so you can imagine the performance of offer even though Nissan doesn’t give any figures. Brakes have six-piston calipers with carbon discs and pads all round.

Go ahead and download a new wallpaper from the hi-res gallery after the jump!

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New Nissan Sylphy Luxury Navi Package trim level adds in-dash GPS navigation system

January 15, 2010 at 4:18 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Nissan

Nissan Sylphy
Click to enlarge

The Nissan Sylphy is now available as a new variant called the “Luxury Navi Package” variant which includes an in-dash touchscreen GPS navigation and entertainment system. The system is the TCAT Multimedia Navigator System which boasts some interesting specs.

From doing a little research it appears that the system runs on the SpeedNavi SQ software, which was created by M&Soft, a Hyundai-related company. The touchscreen player uses a 7 inch truecolour touch screen with 800×480 resolution – that’s some pretty impressive resolution so text and graphics should appear quite crisp.

The GPS navigation’s mapping system includes 3D junction view and 2.5D building view for a better idea of exactly which junction you have to take. Maps have 15 zoom levels and are for both Malaysia and Singapore, while language options include English, BM, Cantonese, Mandarin, Thai, Japanese and Korean.

Other features include a reverse camera system with night vision compensation (which auto-engages during reverse), and an audio and video player which streams audio to the car’s 6-speaker audio system through an FM transmitter. Video and audio can be loaded through either an SD card or a USB data drive.

The Luxury Navi Package trim level is only a RM1,500 premium (RM120,380.00) over the Luxury package which I feel is quite good value. If you purchase the TCAT Multimedia Navigator system along with the reverse camera and etc on its own the RRP is RM3,500.
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Nissan Qazana crossover concept is ready for debut – production car to be called Juke

January 8, 2010 at 12:33 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan

This is a teaser image of Nissan’s Juke crossover, which will be unwrapped for the media next month. It is basically the Qazana crossover concept that Nissan showed off at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show which looks to have survived the transition from concept to production car unharmed. We can see that the glasshouse, mega wheel arches and lights that sit ON the bonnet are all retained, although we can’t really tell if the concept’s rear-hinged “suicide doors” are incorporated.

This means that the Juke, which will be made alongside the Qashqai at Nissan’s Sunderland UK plant, will be one of the most distinctive cars on the road once it goes on sale in October. It is positioned between the Note compact car and the Qashqai in Nissan’s range.

According to Nissan’s customer research, a large proportion of European compact car buyers’ needs are not met by “copycat hatchbacks” which they perceive to be uninspiring options. This is where the funky Juke comes in.

To view pictures of the Qazana concept, click here.

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Renault-Nissan to set up battery plant in Portugal

December 9, 2009 at 11:45 am By Danny Tan Filed Under International News, Nissan, Renault

nissan-leaf-1

Renault-Nissan’s electric car battery production site will be in Portugal. The new plant, which will manufacture lithium-ion batteries for the Alliance’s upcoming electric cars, will be located at the Renault CACIA industrial complex in Aveiro, 250km north of Lisbon. Nissan will be forking out €160 million for the project. Construction will start next year with production commencing in 2012. Projected annual capacity is 50,000 units.

The host country will work with Renault-Nissan to implement a zero emission mobility program from 2010. In this plan, the latter will supply its electric vehicles from January 2011, while the Portuguese government will set up a network of 1,300 recharging stations across the country over two years.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance – the world’s third largest automotive group by volume – is postinioning itself as a leader in the electric vehicle movement. Starting with the Nissan LEAF in late 2010, it has already announced plans for seven EVs to be mass marketed under Renault, Nissan and Infiniti brands. In addition to Portugal, the Alliance has also confirmed battery production locations in France, Japan, USA and UK.

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Facelifted Nissan Qashqai revealed!

December 5, 2009 at 12:24 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan

qashqai-nissan

Nissan has just unveiled its facelifted Qashqai mid-sized crossover, a car positioned in Europe as an alternative to traditional VW Golf class hatchbacks. Since its March 2007 launch, the Qashqai has exceeded Nissan’s sales expectations, with the 500,000th customer delivery set to take place before the end of 2009. Last year saw the introduction of the Qashqai+2, a seven-seat long wheelbase version of the original. The Qashqai is called the Dualis in Japan, and a few of those can be found on our streets as grey imports.

The biggest visual change is at the front with a new bonnet, front bumper, wings, grille and headlamps. Behind, the redesigned light clusters retain the same shape but are tweaked to reduce drag, while the tail lights are now of the LED variety. Two new five-spoke rim designs are available as well. Coefficient of drag (cd) has dropped from 0.34 to 0.33.

Inside, the cabin features a new dial design for added clarity while the redesigned trip computer with white text display sits between them. Further improvements include ambient lighting around the front footwells. New cubbys have been added too. Nissan claims improved isolation against noise, vibration and harshness, achieved by adding multi-layer insulation material around the front bulkhead, plus the fitment of an ‘acoustic’ windscreen. Wind noise around the A-pillar has also been lowered. Finally, the suspension has been tuned for improved ride comfort.

Joining the two petrol (1.6 and 2.0) and two diesel (1.5 and 2.0) models is a 1.5 dCi Pure Drive variant that produces only 129g/km of CO2. This is achieved via weight reduction, aerodynamic wheel covers, blanking of the fog lamp sockets, low rolling resistance tyres and lengthening of the final drive ratio.

More pictures after the jump.

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GT Academy transforms couch potato Playstation racers into real ones!

December 4, 2009 at 11:09 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Motorsports, Nissan

gt academy

Nissan and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe have joined forces to bring Gran Turismo fans the ultimate competition. Called GT Academy 2010, it will go live on 17 December, and will use the virtual world of the new PlayStation Gran Turismo 5 game to find a real-world racing driver. Prize? The winner gets to swap his dirty sofa for a snug race bucket with safety harness in an intensive race training programme and a season-long drive in a the European GT4 Cup! He or she will be driving a full race-spec Nissan 370Z. Think of this as the car enthusiast’s Idol singing competition.

In the inaugural GT Academy 2008/09, Lucas Ordoñez, a 23-year-old Spanish student, graduated from his PlayStation 3 to debut in the Dubai International 24 Hour race alongside former F1 driver Johnny Herbert. He then teamed-up with British driver Alex Buncombe to campaign a Nissan 350Z in the European GT4 Cup, which runs alongside the FIA GT series. Driving for the RJN Motorsport GT Academy team, their season included two race wins and two second-place finishes that left them second in the drivers’ classification and winners of the Teams’ Championship – proof that the world of virtual racing can unearth a real racing talent!

The GT Academy is open to participants from 15 European countries, Australia and New Zealand. Anyone who holds, or has held, a national or international race license is ineligible. I reckon that had the competition been open to Malaysia, one of our own would be going very far!

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Nissan USA doubles CVT transmission warranty

November 21, 2009 at 2:17 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan

small_logo_nissan.jpgThis is some interesting news, but I think it sparks up even more questions about the reliability and longevity of CVT transmissions compared to conventional slushbox automatics. Nissan USA have decided to extend its CVT transmission warranty from the existing 5 years or 60,000 miles to a total of 10 years or 120,000 miles, whichever comes first. That’s effectively doubling the length of the warranty.

The best part is for those who have already had problems with their CVT transmission and incurred some costly repairs after their initial 5 years warranty period expired, Nissan will be reimbursing the repair money paid. They will even reimburse you if you have sold your CVT-equipped Nissan car but have paid money for CVT transmission repairs in the past! You do not need to do anything to have your warranty extended but if you have a claim to make, you must do so before 31 July 2010.

Of course this is only for Nissan USA customers. I’ve shot an email to Edaran Tan Chong Motor to find out exactly what their warranty coverage for their CVT transmission is. ETCM currently sells two models with CVT transmissions – the Murano and the Sylphy.

The Honda Jazz and the Honda City used to be available with CVT but not anymore. Another common car with a CVT here in Malaysia is the Mitsubishi Lancer. The Audi A4′s 1.8 litre TFSI and the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and B-Class engines are also mated to CVT transmissions.

READ: Full announcement on CVT warranty program by Nissan

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2nd generation Nissan X-Trail in Thailand soon!

November 13, 2009 at 7:38 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Nissan

new-xtrail

Here’s some interesting news – the 2nd generation Nissan X-Trail that has been around since year 2007 is making its debut in Thailand in Q1 2010.

The photo you see above is of the new model although it looks very similiar to the old one. More of a minor evolution of the old one in terms of design. The interior has been completely revamped though, and the center meter panel is now gone, replaced with a conventional one behind the steering wheel. The chassis is a new one shared with the Qashqai, with wheelbase increased by 5mm over the old model to 2630mm.

The X-Trail will be launched with a sole engine option – a 2.0 litre model mated to an XTRONIC CVT transmission with a 6 speed manual shifting mode. The 2.0 litre engine is not the old QR20DE found in the first generation X-Trail 2.0 sold here but the newer MR20DE model that you can also find in the Nissan Sylphy.

With the X-Trail soon in Thailand, there could be a chance that we can finally enjoy the new X-Trail here in Malaysia, as the SUV can be sourced from Indonesia whether in CBU or CKD pack form. Yes, the Thai market X-Trail is built in Indonesia, but the MR20DE engines are built in Thailand. Tan Chong tends to drag on their model lifespan here for as long as possible, resulting in a product lineup that’s an utter yawnfest if not for their ‘mother trucker’. But it could be because of a lack of support from Nissan.

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