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Nissan won't downsize the next Armada

The Nissan Armada is aptly named, because in relative automotive terms, it's not just the size of a ship - it's the size of a whole fleet. And that, according to reports, isn't about to change.
While many of the larger SUVs on the market are gradually being phased out or replaced by smaller crossovers, Nissan apparently plans on keeping the Armada right where it is. And that means a large, truck-based, eight-passenger colossus, because there are buyers out there who expect no less and Nissan isn't about to lose them to the likes of the Toyota Sequoia, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, or a General Motors lineup that includes the Chevy Suburban and Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade.
That doesn't mean that the next Armada - which Edmunds expects will arrive in 2015 or 2016 - will be immune to constricting environmental regulations, so Nissan will have to get creative. A vehicle the size of the Armada has all the aerodynamic efficiency of the side of a barn, but Nissan is reportedly aiming to streamline that in order to boost efficiency, for starters.

Nissan's Ghosn called out by Deltawing's Panoz in print ad

When the Nissan ZEOD RC limped to the side of the Circuit de la Sarthe a mere five laps into this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, we imagine that a certain American motorsports figure at least smirked a little. Don Panoz's ongoing feud with Nissan probably means he wasn't sorry to see the arrow-shaped racecar's poor showing, and now he's stepping up his campaign against his former racing partner.
For those who need a refresher, back in 2012, Panoz and Nissan teamed up to field the DeltaWing, an innovative, wedge-shaped racer, as the first entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans' experimental Garage 56 concept. The car rapidly became a fan favorite. The Panoz/Nissan alliance didn't last, though, and before long, the DeltaWing's designer was getting a paycheck from Nissan and the ZEOD RC racer arrived. Shortly after that, Panoz began mulling over a lawsuit alleging intellectual property infringement. The American motorsports icon would eventually pull the trigger on a suit back in December of 2013.
Panoz's latest move in the ongoing feud involves an open letter in both The Nashville Tennessean, the paper that serves Nissan's US headquarters, and trade paper Automotive News. The letter calls out Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn directly, and points out some of the similarities between the DeltaWing and the ZEOD RC, going so far as to quote the original car's designer, Ben Bowlby.

Nissan e-NV200 EV charges into Tokyo

Nissan has already shown its e-NV200 in Detroit and Frankfurt in conceptual form, now its home market is getting an up-close look at the production all-electric compact van at the Tokyo Motor Show. While it doesn't sound like the e-NV200 will be making its way to the US anytime soon, it will go on sale on sale in Europe in the middle of next year and in Japan by early 2015.
The electric NV200 will be built in Barcelona, Spain, and while that EV-minded city has committed to using the van for public transportation, Nissan's hometown of Yokohama, Japan will also put the zero-emission vehicle to work in its public services fleet. Nissan has yet to reveal the production specs for the e-NV200 - including range - we do know that it will share much of its drivetrain with smaller Nissan Leaf. Check out the press release posted below for more information about the e-NV200 and Nissan's EV efforts in Yokohama.