2007 Nissan Armada Se 3rd Row Seating Runs Excellent Needs Body Work, No Reserve on 2040-cars

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Watch Nissan's autonomous Leaf in action

Getting its semi-autonomous Leaf legalized in Japan was just the first step. Now, Nissan is giving demonstrations of what its fully autonomous car is capable of at this year's Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (CEATEC) show - Japan's equivalent to America's Consumer Electronics Show. To show off the possibilities of its technologies, Nissan had an oval track set up at the show giving rides in an autonomous Leaf to the media. Even Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn and Toyota CEO Akio Toyodo caught a ride.
Nissan has since released a couple videos of its CEATEC demos, with one designed to look like a news report. In this video, you can watch the car go around the track and navigate intersections and road hazards. The second video shows Ghosn riding in the car, and he hints that Nissan's goal of having an autonomous vehicle in production by 2020 might be more of a worst-case scenario. Watch both videos and read through Nissan's official press release below.

Nissan IDX sports coupe future increasingly cloudy [w/poll]

There's a strong desire among enthusiasts for more inexpensive, lightweight, fun-to-drive, rear-wheel-drive cars to exist in a world that contrasts sharply with automakers' desire to make money. While we all love the feeling of controlling the back end with the throttle, front-wheel drive is king when it comes to affordable cars. One of the future bright spots in the rear-drive market appeared to come from Nissan with its pair of IDx concepts. The two showcars from the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show took liberal design inspiration from the classic Datsun 510 and mixed it with modern powertrains in very attractive little packages. However, some pretty dark clouds are reportedly now hanging over the project.
Last we heard, a production version was supposedly "in the plan" from the Japanese automaker, but its trajectory may have changed inside the company in the last few months. According to Pierre Loing, vice president of product planning for Nissan Americas, the issue is making the sports coupe profitable. While Nissan has access to rear-wheel drive platforms, they are all meant for more premium vehicles (read: they cost too much). Assuming around 60,000 annual sales, Loing tells Ward's Auto that making a dedicated chassis for the IDx just isn't a moneymaker. If the car still does see production, it'll be after 2016, he says.
The decision whether to build the IDx has been teetering for a while. Nissan spokesperson Dan Bedore previously told Autoblog that the coupe would need a groundswell of support from consumers and enthusiasts if is to actually have a shot at production. If you are among the hopeful looking to see this affordable, rear-drive performance car in showrooms, get some friends together and start letting Nissan know that you actually want it - you can start here by adding a Comment and voting in our poll, because we're going to send the results on to Nissan.

Nissan NV200 finds new work as ambulance, Gibson guitar repair truck

We live in a world now where not every police cruiser and taxi is a Ford Crown Victoria, not every executive car is a Lincoln Town Car and not every ambulance is based on a Ford Econoline van. Vehicles like the new Nissan NV200 are making inroads into the service, livery and emergency vehicle markets, and we've got a couple cases in point to share.
The first one is a fleet of 30 new ambulances based on the heavier-duty NV2500 chassis. They are entering the Mexican Red Cross fleet of emergency vehicles this year after performing well in pilot tests last year. The Mexican Red Cross says it receives 1,200,000 ambulance service requests per year, so the mettle of these new machines will be tested in a hurry.
The second example is less useful for life-saving, but may save a guitar from going to the scrap heap. Called the Gibson NV200 Mobile Repair & Restoration Van, it can take the services of an authorized Gibson rep anywhere they're needed to repair or restore an axe in need. The van features a whole aesthetic designed to evoke the classic Gibson look, with wood veneer and shades of brown and black used throughout. There's a guitar rack that holds four instruments, a sliding 56-inch long repair table, toolbox, genuine Gibson stools and a sound system by Gibson Pro Audio.