2015 Nissan Altima 2.5 S on 2040-cars

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Convocation of eagles takes over bed of Nissan pickup

Let this be a lesson to those of you who plan to visit Unalaska, Alaska (yes, it's a real city on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands): If you park at Safeway with a garbage bag full of fish fillets in your pickup's bed, the eagles will find you. That's what happened above when an unidentified man parked his Nissan and returned to find a convocation of bald eagles feasting on his fish.
Neither the man nor those parked near his truck could get to their cars for fear of getting a beatdown from The 'Murica Bird, and police were called to break it up, which they did with neither beast nor fowl injured in the process.
Other than being awesome watching, other things we can take away from this video are the question who comes up with bird gathering names (a "murmuration" of herons and an "unkindness" of ravens?), and the bounty of this comment left by user "Abraham" at the KUCB news report: "It's just that the luxury edition has so much more eagle, it saddens me to think of you missing out." See what caused it all in the video below.

Why 2015 is going to be a huge year for trucks

Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn took center stage to introduce the 2016 Titan last week at the Detroit Auto Show. He spoke of the truck's new features, impressive Cummins V8 diesel engine and the extensive amount of time and money required to build a modern, competitive pickup truck. "We have done all of this because we see opportunity – an opportunity in the unmet needs of today's American truck customers," Ghosn said. He was speaking about the Titan, but his thoughts echo the industry's mindset: When it comes to trucks, find an opportunity and attack. Even with CAFE regulations looming and fickle consumer preferences, investing in trucks is a no-brainer for automakers. Some consumers will always need a truck for their job or lifestyle. And some people will always want one, whether they need it or not. With that in mind, here are four reasons why the pickup-truck sector is more important than ever and poised for growth in 2015. View 24 Photos The Nissan Titan Is Back Okay, it never left, but the Titan hadn't been redesigned since its launch in 2003, and Nissan sold more NV200s than Titans in 2014. It's an understatement to say the truck was languishing. That all changes with the 2016 model. The Titan will come in two variants, a traditional fullsize competitor and the Titan XD. The XD will lead the market launch, and it arrives late this year. It's pitched as a "whitespace" offering, Nissan sales and marketing vice president Fred Diaz said. The idea is to offer something in the general size and price range of a fullsize truck, but also have some of the capability of a heavy-duty truck. The XD uses a fully boxed ladder frame, the chassis design from Nissan's commercial division, and the wheelbase is about 20 inches longer than other Titan models. The XD, which Nissan is calling the flagship of the line, will be the only model with the 5.0-liter Cummins turbodiesel V8. It produces 310 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque, while being able to tow 12,000 pounds. V6 and V8 gasoline models will also be offered on the Titan XD and the standard, non-XD model. When production ramps up, the Titan will be sold with several cabs, beds and trims. New features include trailer sway control, an integrated trailer brake controller, more storage options in the cabin and even laminated front and rear side glass to reduce outside noise. All of this has given Nissan fresh confidence in an area where it admittedly has been lacking. "We can compete," Diaz told Autoblog.

Nissan heading to Le Mans with 1,250-hp GT-R LM Nismo [w/videos]

Endurance racing faced a pivotal year in 2012. The FIA and the ACO had just come together to form the new World Endurance Championship when Peugeot announced it was shuttering its team, leaving only one manufacturer to contest the top LMP1 class of the nascent series. Fortunately Toyota was able to advance its program to join Audi in the WEC and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Two seasons later Porsche joined the fight, and now Nissan has formally announced its return to Le Mans as well. Revealed in Nissan's With Dad spot during the Super Bowl, the Japanese automaker is set to join the grid with the innovative GT-R LM Nismo you see here. It's a hybrid just like the challengers from Audi, Porsche and Toyota, but instead of a mid-engine/rear-drive setup, Nissan's oddball challenger places its engine in the front, driving the front wheels. The 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 is mated to a five-speed sequential gearbox and produces upwards of 550 horsepower on its own, but is mated to an electric Energy Recovery System that kicks in over 700 additional horses for a combined hybrid output exceeding 1,250 hp. That could make Nissan's the most powerful LMP1 on the grid, while still complying with the fuel flow limits outlined in the rulebook that gives participating constructors the latitude to toy with different configurations. Both powertrain components are mounted under the long nose of the oddly styled prototype, behind the canopy of the rearward cockpit that may give it a similar profile to the DeltaWing prototype and subsequent ZEOD RC. But the unconventional GT-R LM Nismo is also innovative in its own way. The front-drive configuration means that the Nissan prototype actually has wider tires up front than in the back, and also allowed for a drastically different approach to aerodynamics. Instead of testing it out at a handful of events in its first season, with the GT-R LM, Nissan will contest the full 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, starting with the 6 Hours of Silverstone in April and including the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.