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Nissan really milking this whole glow-in-the-dark Leaf thing

With the all-electric Nissan Leaf forgoing gas in favor of electricity, one doesn't generally associate the Leaf with anything involving "gallons." But the Japanese automaker has apparently gone all-in with this glow-in-the-dark paint shtick, and it has a Guinness World Record to prove it. For art's sake. Artist Ian Cook, of Popbangcolour, set out to create the world's largest glow-in-the-dark painting, and got a little help from a Leaf equipped with special paint that absorbs ultraviolet energy during the day, and can glow for as long as 10 hours at night. With the paint applied to the car's tires, the vehicle helped draw, yes, a "self-portrait." The painting, which took more than two days to complete and about 16 gallons of luminous acrylic paint on a giant PVC-coated canvas, measures more than 2,200 square feet, beating out the previous record of about 1,800 square feet set early last year. Earlier this year, Nissan started publicizing its work with inventor Hamish Scott at creating a special coating that gives that glow-in-the-dark effect and is even fully organic. The same type of paint was used along about a third of a mile along a Dutch "Smart Highway" whose stripes absorb rays during the day and glow at night. Cool. To see the nighttime friendly Leaf in action, take a look at Nissan's 84-second video about the big painting here and read Nissan's press release below. Glow-in-the-dark Nissan LEAF breaks Guinness World Records title for "Largest Glow-in-the-Dark Painting" Nissan uses glow-in-the-dark Nissan LEAF to achieve Guinness World Records title for the Largest Glow-in-the-Dark Painting title Artist Ian Cook, of Popbangcolour, used the tires of the LEAF to drive the glow-in-the-dark paint across the canvas Guinness World Records has confirmed that the painting, measuring 207.68m2, has broken the previous existing "Largest Glow-in-the-Dark Painting" Guinness World Records title LONDON – Nissan has broken the Guinness World Records title for the Largest Glow-in-the-Dark Painting by using the glow-in-the-dark Nissan LEAF to paint a 207.68m2 self-portrait of the 100-percent electric car. The painting, which depicts the front of a Nissan LEAF, was created by maverick motoring artist Ian Cook of Popbangcolour.

Altima Coupe dead as Nissan charts the changes for 2014

The 2014 model year brings plenty of new designs and updates from Nissan - including the next-generation Rogue - but the Altima Coupe has been discontinued. The current generation of the Coupe won buyers over with sharp styling and, at one point, a 270-horsepower naturally aspirated V6 - the heart of the more upscale Infinity G37. It's unlikely that Nissan plans to make another one, but keep in mind the current Coupe was released to the public about a year after the sedan hit dealerships.
The vehicles joining Nissan's lineup for 2014 include the Versa Note hatchback, the NV200 Compact Cargo van and the next-generation Rogue compact SUV. Also new for 2014 is the Pathfinder Hybrid, but that will be added to the lineup in the fall.
Other models that are receiving enhancements are the sedan version of the Altima, which now comes standard with the CVT transmission and gets revised option packs; the Frontier, which gets updated option packs, enhanced navigation system functionality and a sliding middle rear window; the GT-R, which receives a bunch of small performance enhancements and, more importantly, initially will be offered in three versions (Premium, Black Edition and Track Edition), with another, limited special-edition model coming late in the year; the Versa sedan, all versions of which get 60/40-split fold-down rear seats and revised steering and suspension tuning; and last, but not least, the 370Z NISMO will have exterior accent color updates and a new steering wheel and tachometer.

'I'm glad he did it': Carole Ghosn slams Japanese justice system

BEIRUT — Carlos and Carole Ghosn, the former first couple of carmaker Nissan, are united again in Beirut. They hold hands in the street and whisper together in a mix of Arabic and French. They kiss. But the pair's most visceral display of unity comes when they talk about Carlos Ghosn's former home. "I'm done with Japan," said Carole Ghosn in an interview with her husband in a private house in Beirut. Two weeks ago, Carlos Ghosn made a dramatic escape from house arrest in Japan, where he was awaiting trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds. He denies all charges. Shortly after Ghosn appeared in Beirut, Japanese authorities issued an arrest warrant for Carole on suspicion of alleged perjury related to the misappropriation charge against her husband. "What they're accusing me of is a bit of a joke," said the 54-year-old Lebanese-American national, who spent many years as a fashion designer in New York and whose children live in the U.S. city.  "I testified for hours and they told me you are free to go, and now, nine months later ... this comes up. They are vindictive. This has nothing to do with the law."   Related: Yamaha warns to stay out of large musical instrument cases after Ghosn escape Ghosn says French ambassador told him: 'Nissan is turning against you'   Carlos Ghosn was even more adamant. "I spent 18 years in Japan; I never suspected this brutality, this lack of fairness, this lack of empathy." Tokyo prosecutors have said his allegations of a conspiracy are false and that he has failed to justify his acts. The plan to flee to his childhood home of Lebanon developed quickly with a small group of people, a "reasonable price" and utter secrecy, he said. "The first rule if you want to do something like is that no member of your family should be aware because they become very anxious," he added. Asked whether she would have dissuaded him from escaping, Carole Ghosn blurted: "Yes!" But then she paused, looked at her husband and added: "No. I mean, actually, let me rephrase. If you told me this at the beginning, I would have said, 'No, of course not. You're going to fight this and prove your innocence.' ... But then, with time, we saw how the prosecutors were behaving ... I said 'Oh my God, my husband is never going to get a fair trial,' and I was desperate." "I'm happy he did it," she said. Japan's justice minister has said Ghosn's escape from his trial could constitute a crime.