Archive for Nissan

Nissan has refreshed the GT-R yet again. It was first unveiled back in 2007 and was revised at the end 2008. This new version is offered with a new HDD CARWINGS navigation system with enhanced entertainment features and USB port with iPod connectivity. The auto maker also did some work underneath the car with changes made to suspension.

The car’s front shock absorbers and springs have been tuned with increased accuracy while the rear suspension has been stiffened up as well. Furthermore the GT-R now comes with a rear diffuser fitted with cooling ducts. This system was previously offered only with the SpecV variant. The 485 PS GT-R also comes with new hexagonal meshed catalyst cells that can reduce ventilation or airflow resistance resulting in improved engine response at low and mid-range.

Speaking about the SpecV, the range topping version now features revised rear shock absorber settings and Dunlop-sourced tires that replace Bridgestone ones. However buyers can still opt for the Bridgestone rubber. Continue reading to view more images.

Click here to read the rest of Nissan GT-R refreshed for 2011 model year

Recently Japanese auto maker Nissan announced that it will launch a new global compact car (GCC) in March 2010 in Thailand. Along with the announcement the auto maker also released two sketches of the hatchback (pictured above) that is expected to be the next generation Nissan March/Micra. The sketches indicated a more aggressive or sporty demeanor with a more lowered stance.

What we have are some official drawings that have been leaked onto the Internet (pictured below). Although there are a lot of similarities, these drawings paint a slightly different picture. From the looks of it, the production version would not end up looking as sporty or as aggressive as what was indicated in the first two sketches.

The stance is not as low and the middle section of the car (B-Pillar area) looks taller. It is pretty normal for auto makers to end up producing less dramatic cars than what was shown by initial sketches but just like most of you, I was actually looking forward to the original version. Since we are about five months away from the scheduled launch, expect more details to be released soon.

The Nissan GCC will be manufactured in countries like Thailand, India and China. In India, the auto maker will produce the new vehicle at the Chennai plant. The new compact Nissan will be sold in 150 countries worldwide. Continue reading to view more drawings.

Source

Click here to read the rest of Upcoming Nissan GCC’s official drawings leaked: Very much toned down

Nissan has launched facelift versions of the Latio hatchback and sedan in our neighbouring country of Thailand, where the two models are called the Tiida and Tiida Latio respectively. The facelift has already been out for quite sometime actually, on sale in its country of origin Japan and even Singapore.

Basically Nissan has found a grille that ‘works’ along the way of its various experimentation with styling and are now sticking the Nissan Murano’s grille onto pretty much everything they have. Edaran Tan Chong Motor has yet to do anything about its locally assembled Latio and Latio Sport here.

The front grille is differentiated between the sedan and hatchback by its colour – dark and light grey respectively. There is also a new front bumper design. Look after the jump for a gallery of nice images that Nissan Thailand sent over.

Click here to read the rest of Nissan Latio facelifted in Thailand, where’s ours?

Nissan will officially launch the Nissan Roox compact car at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show. The Roox will join other vehicles like the Nissan Land Glider Concept and the Nissan NV200 Vanette Taxi at the show. It measures 3,395mm long, 1,475mm wide, 1,735 m high and has a wheelbase of 2,400mm long which is only about 1cm longer than a Viva’s wheelbase so you have an idea of the size of this car. Interior length is rated at 2,085mm while width is figured at 1,365mm.

Unfortunately the Japanese auto maker did not disclose information pertaining to the drivetrain but did say that the Roox “ranks as the most spacious in its class”. It’s quite clear what the focus is here – a sufficiently big box to move around in. It’s probably going to get a 660cc engine since it looks like a Japanese K-car.

Apart from a drink cooler fitted inside the upper glove box, a storage box under the passenger seat for items like children’s toys and dirty shoes, dual airbags and front SRS side airbags and foldable rear seats, the Roox also has double sliding rear doors that can also be opened remotely with a ‘keyfob’. Nissan will present a “Highway Edition” version at the event. More information to be revealed soon.

The current model R35 GT-R

This comes as quite a surprise to me but it looks like the GT-R will receive a typical Japanese lifecycle of 5 years, to mirror Porsche’s lifecycle for the 911. Nissan’s global product planning VP has unveiled that an “R36″ Nissan GT-R will be coming by 2013.

The next generation R36 Nissan GT-R will use an evolution of the current Premium Midship platform with the engine mounted up front and a transaxle twin clutch gearbox mounted at the rear. The engine is expected to remain a force inducted V6 engine.

Click here to read the rest of Next generation R36 GT-R to arrive by 2013

This sketch of an upcoming global compact hatchback was released by NIssan yesterday. Being a global model, it’s expected to be a low cost and economical run-about suitable for sale in emerging markets but also with the potential of being kitted up for sale in more established markets.

There are definitely certain things about the car’s styling that makes you automatically assume this is the next generation Nissan March/Micra. The current March is available both as a hatchback and a convertible, competing head to head with the Colt which has the same bodytypes.

Nissan Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd. announced that the model will qualify as Thailand’s first “Eco-car.” The Eco-car program basically gives tax-breaks to companies that develop and make energy-efficient vehicles in Thailand. The car will go into production May next year.

To be eligible for the program, the car has to achieve at least 20km per liter, and put out less than 120g/km of CO2. The engine has to be smaller than 1.3 liters if petrol-powered and 1.4 liters if diesel powered. What you get is a 50% cut in excise duty, no income tax for 8 years, and no import duty for your factory machinery imports.

The Eco-car project is basically Thailand’s bid to switch its auto-hub status to something more than just a pick-up hub – it wants to build and export fuel efficient compact cars too and the carmakers seem to be signing on in droves – Honda, Suzuki, Nissan, etc. However only Nissan has announced its eco-car so far, while the rest are still a WIP.

Click images above for enlarged image

Will Nissan ever come up with a drop top version of the GT-R to face off the 911 Turbo Cabriolet? I don’t believe there was ever a convertible version of the original Skyline GT-R series. Its little brother (now outdated though) the 350Z had a version without a roof though. Anyway to tease our imagination a little Theophilus Chin has whipped up the images you see above – the Nissan GTR-C! What do you think?

Does the car above look familiar to you? If you were online on this blog sometime last night you would have read about the new Renault Fluence. Yes, the Renault-Samsung SM3 was launched before the Fluence and the two cars are essentially one and the same.

Looking at the details released regarding the SM3 we discover more about the two cars. The platform that underpins the cars is the Megane’s Renault-Nissan C-platform, which is one segment higher than the stretched B-platforms that underpin the Latio and the Sylphy here in Malaysia.

It makes me wonder, considering the SM3 was originally a rebadge of our Sentra, will this model end up being a replacement for Nissan’s C-segment contender here in Malaysia once the Sylphy reaches its End-Of-Life? For awhile there was also a rumour that the Penske Automotive Group’s soon to be newly acquired Saturn brand would be selling this car in the US as a new model and that the Penske team were in Korea in July to do evaluations.

If you read the Fluence story you’ll also know that this car is set to be turned into an electric vehicle in 2011 and will be offered in certain countries like Israel in collaboration with Project Better Place. Basically, Project Better Place hopes to turn electricity into an easily accessible power source on the go via charging stations and automated battery-swap stations.

Look after the jump for more pix of the SM3, but what’ll interest you more is a video demonstration of Project Better Place’s battery swap station. It’s really pretty cool.

Click here to read the rest of Renault-Samsung SM3: Korean-rebadged Fluence

After letting the grey importers milk the GT-R like crazy for a while (over 200 registered on the road so far), the Nissan GT-R is now officially in Singapore through official Nissan importer Tan Chong. The Singaporean GT-R goes for S$299,500 which is a tad pricier than the grey importer’s price tags which hover in the region of S$250k.

Now what does that mean for Malaysians? Will Tan Chong bring in the GT-R here officially too, complete with a proper manufacturer warranty? Hopefully yes, but if not, at least Malaysian owners will probably be able to settle any issues with their cars at an official GT-R-trained Nissan service center (Tan Chong Bukit Timah Road) in Singapore. The other benefit of being an official import is that the car’s menu systems are all in English and it does not have a speed limiter.

For now if you still want a Nissan sportscar with an official manufacturer warranty you can check out the recently launched Nissan 370Z. Only 0.1 liters difference in displacement but oh what a difference the two turbos and the all-wheel drive makes!

Click here to read the rest of Tan Chong officially brings in GT-R… to Singapore

Edaran Tan Chong Motor has brought in the new Nissan 370Z and the new Nissan Murano (no GT-R officially imported yet!). They are going for RM354,000 and RM318,200 respectively excluding road tax, insurance and other OTR related charges such as registration. Both cars come with a 3 year or 100,000km warranty which should be a little better than buying these cars from a grey importer, though alot of importers now offer at least a 1 year warranty.

The 370Z is powered by the new 3.7 liter V6 engine and sits on a shorter wheelbase which will hopefully give the car a more agile feel. The new 3.7 liter engine from the award-winning VQ family features Nissan VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift) and produces 333 PS and 363Nm of torque. Both manual and auto are offered and the price for the manual and auto versions are the same.

The automatic is a new 7-speed slushbox with manual shifting while the 6-speed manual has something interesting – an automatic rev-matching called Syncro Rev Match that automatically blips the throttle to match the proper engine RPM instead of forcing the synchro to force the engine speeds together, thus upsetting the car’s weight balance.

The Murano continues to be powered by the 3.5 liter version of the VQ engine. Most Murano buyers from the grey importers are running the inline-4 version as it is cheaper to buy and also comes with significantly lower road tax costs, but nothing beats the smoothness of a V6. This engine produces 260 PS and 336Nm of torque and is mated to an Xtronic CVT and an ALL MODE 4×4-i all-wheel drive system with Vehicle Dynamic Control.

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2010 Nissan 370Z official details and photos
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