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2015 Nissan Murano could have been a lot more boring to look at

When it debuted at the 2014 New York Auto Show, the third-generation Nissan Murano wowed us more than just about any other car on hand (that's sort of why we handed it an Editors' Choice for the NYIAS). It's sharp, aggressive design was a dramatic departure from the smoother styling of the second-gen CUV, although it wasn't too polarizing. Most importantly, though, it was a vehicle with actual design presence - you want to see it from every angle, all of which draw your eye with something new.
Of course, settling on the design for a new vehicle is far from a straightforward process. While a design might take shape on a designer's drafting table, there are a huge number of steps it needs to get through before making it to an auto show stage or to your local dealer. According to Nissan engineer Chris Reed, those steps very nearly curtailed the Murano's design before the first die was even cast.
Reed has a full account of this sharp design's trials and tribulations in a must-read story from Ward's.

NYC Taxi of Tomorrow ruled legal by appeals court

The streets of New York City might be filling up with a lot more Nissans in the next few years. A New York appeals court ruled that the city's mandate to replace old taxis with a fleet entirely made up of the Nissan NV200 Taxi of Tomorrow was legal. The decision overturned a previous ruling that decided The Big Apple couldn't force cabbies to all purchase the same vehicle.
Justice David B. Saxe wrote the court's opinion saying the Taxi of Tomorrow is a "legally appropriate response to the agency's statutory obligation to produce a 21st-century taxicab consistent with the broad interests and perspectives that the agency is charged with protecting," according to Bloomberg. The Greater New York Taxi Association, the plaintiff in the case, could still possibly attempt a second appeal.
Nissan originally won the 10-year contract estimated to be worth about $1 billion in 2011, beating out Ford and a Turkish company. Under the Taxi of Tomorrow plan, all New York cabbies would have to switch to the NV200 within three of five years of the van going into service, and it would replace the 16 vehicles previously authorized as taxis. In 2013, the mandate received multiple challenges though, including an attempted ban by cab drivers because the replacement wasn't a hybrid. In a separate case, state Supreme Court judge Schlomo Hagler decided that there was nothing in the city charter that forced a taxi driver to choose a specific vehicle. This was the case that was just overturned. In the meantime, the automaker has been selling the NV200 to New York cabbies at prices around $29,700.

Nissan Claims 'World's Cleanest Car' Crown

Nissan is claiming the title of "world's cleanest car" by coating a 2015 Nissan Leaf in superhydrophobic and olephobic paint. The paint repels water and oil by creating a protective layer of air between the paint and environment. It rejects water and oils so efficiently that dirt doesn't have a chance to set or streak, according to Nissan. Water and oil bead and wick away from the car's body, leaving the green machine clean. The paint is called Ultra-Ever Dry and it was developed by UltraTech International. It's just an experiment so far that's not yet been added to any production vehicles, but the paint company says Nissan is one of the first automakers to take an interest in the technology. Nissan has been tinkering with the paint for several months, and coated a European Note hatchback to showcase its possibilities. "No matter what the road throws at this Leaf, its Ultra-Ever Dry exterior coating will throw right back," UltraTech International Inc. CEO Mark Shaw told a crowd during a TED talk. Related Gallery Which Green Car Is Right For You? Green Weird Car News Nissan Electric paint