2003 Nissan Altima 2.5 S on 2040-cars

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Fisker stock trades halted as talks with Nissan collapse

Fisker's talks with a large automaker for a potential deal have collapsed, it said on Monday amid growing uncertainty for the cash-strapped startup that last week paused electric-vehicle production.  Trading in the shares of the company, which did not name the automaker with which it was in talks, has been halted pending an announcement.  Fisker also said it will not be able to meet a closing condition related to its attempt to raise up to $150 million in funding by selling convertible notes after missing an interest payment.  Separately, Fisker said it would ask investors to vote on a proposal for a reverse stock split at a shareholder meeting on April 24, as it looks to maintain compliance with the Nasdaq's listing norms.  Reuters had reported earlier this month that Nissan was in advanced talks to invest in the company, however, earlier in the day, the Japanese automaker held an event in which it announced a long-term business plan, including its EV strategy, and said it was looking for partners in the United States.  Raising funds has been hard for loss-making electric vehicle startups, which have little in way of revenue as they struggle to ramp up production and deliver to customers, as the companies battle stiff competition and a tough economy.  The EV startup's shares have cratered this year, losing more than 90% of their value, after it flagged going concern risk in February and paused investments in future projects until it secured a partnership with an automaker.  Fisker pivoted to a dealer-partner model earlier this year, after it delivered less than half of the vehicles it made in 2023 due to logistics issues.    Earnings/Financials Fisker Nissan

Nissan's front-engined Le Mans car caught testing at COTA

As far as we can tell, not only is it true, it's wilder than we could have expected: not only does the Nissan LMP1 entry for Le Mans have its engine in the front, it apparently uses that combustion engine to power the front wheels while its KERS unit powers the rear wheels. Those rear wheels could be of smaller diameter than the front wheels, and total system horsepower for the racer "is a conservative 2,000 [hp]." And check out how far back that pilot is sitting. Let's start with what's been seen in person. A race team testing at the Circuit of the Americas caught the GT-R LM on track a few days ago, so Jalopnik schlepped out to the track the following day and took photos and video. There's a big ol' meaty front end where the twin-turbo Cosworth V6 lives, and that gives way to a trimmer back end. Mulsanne Corner, which has been following the car's development, figures the weight balance percentage is around 55- to 58-percent in the front through strategic placement of the KERS unit and radiators, putting it in the same division as proper mid-engined cars. A prop shaft runs from the KERS in front to the rear of the car. It's speculated that the rear wheels are smaller than the front wheels because of that narrower rear end. In some of the Jalopnik photos the rear wheels do look smaller, which could explain the complicated half-shaft and drop-gear arrangement thought to be housed back there. If all that is true this will already be the "radically different" car Nissan wanted to build. Yet there's more: Mulsanne Corner says the Nissan is targeting an ultra low drag setup, so there's a lot of talk about the car not having a rear wing, or only the hint of one, and Nissan plotting "mental" speed targets for the French track. Having the engine in front is what would offer more flexibility with the rear wing. There's a good chance we'll know what it looks like on February 1, during the Super Bowl. Nissan will air a 60-second spot, and the advance tweet with the tagline "We're Back" and a helmet promises something racey. There are more pics over at Jalopnik along with a brief video of it running at speed.

Nissan expands regional airbag recall to 45k Sentras [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Nissan's official statement about this recall expansion has been added below. Nissan is expanding its regional Takata airbag inflator recall for the passenger side of an estimated 45,000 Sentras from the 2004-2006 model years in high-humidity states. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not yet published the specifics of the broadened campaign, but Nissan spokesperson Steve Yaeger told Autoblog that the company submitted a Defect Incident Report to the agency yesterday, April 16. According to Reuters, the expansion followed a case in March where a women in Louisiana was injured by a ruptured airbag in a 2006 Sentra. Yaeger clarified this to Autoblog via email by stating, "This action is not in response to lawsuit filed yesterday. [The] recall was initiated before that came to light." As required under the law, affected owners should be notified within the next 60 days, he indicated. Nissan was already recalling nearly 700,000 vehicles for the faulty inflators. While millions of owners from multiple automakers were affected by the potentially dangerous parts last year, the safety campaigns haven't quite finished yet. Honda expanded its own nationwide campaign to add 100,000 more units in March. Related Video: Nissan Statement Based on new field information and in consultation with NHTSA, Nissan Group is taking further action to expand the previously announced Takata Inflator Regional Recall to include additional Model Year 2004-2006 Nissan Sentra vehicles in the affected areas of the U.S. and its territories. If you receive a recall letter please take your vehicle to a Nissan dealership to have the recall work performed at no cost. The company urges anyone who owns any vehicle that is potentially affected by the Takata's recalls to enter their vehicle's identification number (VIN) on NHTSA's site https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/ or Nissan USA and Infiniti USA web sites. The web sites will be updated with newly affected vehicles in approximately two weeks. Nissan and Infiniti are committed to a high level of customer safety, service and satisfaction and are working with NHTSA, Takata and our dealers to promptly address this issue.