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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.

Datsun to unveil second model later this month

Datsun, Nissan's new sub-brand for emerging markets, has announced plans to unveil its second model. Its first, the Go, was unveiled almost two months ago, and promised affordable, connected motoring for five in a handsome hatchback body. Datsun is following that up with a pair of new models for Indonesia.
The first of these two new vehicles will be shown on September 17 in Jakarta, eschewing the typical auto show debut. It's targeted at so-called "risers," the nickname for a group of highly aspirational customers in the Indonesian market. Datsun developed it locally with help from Nissan, and it'll cost under 100 million Indonesian rupiah (about $8,900 at today's rates).
We'll have the full boatload of information on the newest member of the Datsun family when it debuts on September 17. Scroll on to read the full press release from Datsun.

Nissan unveils Altima-based V8 Supercars [w/videos]

Good as it is, when we think about the Nissan Altima, the words "V8" or "supercar" are not in our vernacular, but Nissan Motorsports is looking to change all that. After unveiling the race version of its Altima sedan intended for the Australian V8 Supercars series back in October, the four race teams and their cars were revealed yesterday ahead of a preseason test session this weekend.
Two of the Altima racecars will be sponsored by Jack Daniels while the other two will wear Norton (as in Norton Anti-Virus) black-and-yellow livery. The season officially kicks off on March 1, and we'll get to see the V8-powered Altima on US soil from May 17-19 when the V8 Supercars series hits the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin. Scroll down to watch a couple videos and a press release issued for the team introductions.