2006 Nissan Xterra S 4.0l V6 Auto Side Steps Alloys 70k Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Recharge Wrap-up: Nissan Leaf top environmental performer, 50,000th Renault Zoe

Renault has produced its 50,000th Zoe electric car. A Frenchwoman named Sylvie took ownership of the milestone vehicle at the Flins plant where it rolled of the line. She says her children helped convince her to buy the all-electric vehicle, which Sylvie intends to use as a daily driver. The Renault Zoe is Europe's best selling EV since its launch in 2013. Renault reports a 98-percent satisfaction rate with the Zoe. Read more in the press release from Renault. Toyota will use a biosynthetic rubber called biohydrin in its engine and drive system hoses beginning in May 2016. Jointly developed by Toyota, biohydrin is a plant-based rubber with a 20-percent reduction in material lifecycle carbon emissions compared to petroleum-based rubber. Toyota plans to use the compound in even more components in the future, including brake and fuel line hoses. Read more from Toyota. So far in 2016, only 27.5 percent of hybrids and EVs are traded in for another electrified vehicle, according to Edmunds. That's down from 38.5 percent in 2015. 33.8 percent of electrified vehicles are traded in for SUVs. Despite the trend of EV and hybrid owners switching back to traditionally powered vehicles, average fuel economy isn't suffering. "This is an economics trend, since today's low cost of gas no longer makes it worth paying the price premium of hybrids and EVs," says Edmunds Director of Industry Analysis Jessica Caldwell. "And there are so many fuel-efficient vehicles on the market today that environmental concerns weigh less than they might have in years past. When you're buying a vehicle that can get over 30 mpg, you can still say you're doing your part to help the environment." Read more from Edmunds. Environmentally, electrified vehicles outperform their conventional combustion counterparts throughout their lifecycle. A study from the Automotive Science Group (ASG) finds that while production of advanced powertrains comes with a greater financial burden, most vehicles make up for it through efficiencies during their use phase. The ASG lists the 2016 Nissan Leaf as its best performer, with 47 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than the best-performing conventionally powered car, the Honda Fit. Rounding out the ASG's top five environmental performers are the Ford Focus Electric, Chevrolet Volt, Toyota Prius Two Eco, and Hyundai Sonata Plug-In Hybrid.

Nissan recalls 226k vehicles over airbag inflators

Nissan and Infiniti are the latest automakers to issue recalls involving faulty airbag inflators from Takata. The Japanese automakers have announced campaigns covering about 226,326 units from seven models built in the early 2000s because they contain the bad part in the passenger-side, front airbag. The affected vehicles include the 2002-2004 Nissan Sentra, 2002-2003 Pathfinder and 2002-2003 Maxima, and it also covers the 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4, 2002-2003 I35, 2003 FX45 and 2003 FX35.
Like the other vehicles with the faulty inflators, it's possible for the part to rupture during airbag deployment and spray metal shrapnel at occupants. Nissan and Infiniti have even included vehicles with replacement airbags in this campaign because those parts also could have been defective. Both companies were also part of the earlier regional campaign to fix cars in high-humidity climates where the problem has been found to be the worst.
As is the usual response, Nissan and Infiniti will notify owners of the affected vehicles and will make the repair at no charge. According to the filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, these fixes will commence around August 11. Scroll down to read the report from NHTSA, or read the full defect notice as a PDF, here.

NISMO confirms hotter GT-R, return to Le Mans and more performance models [w/videos]

Nissan has made three announcements, all of which intend to sharpen the global significance and sales of its NISMO performance arm. Calling it "a new era for NISMO as its global performance car and motorsports brand," Carlos Ghosn cut the ribbon on the new, larger, nicer NISMO headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. For the first time since the division was founded in 1984, all of its employees are located in one place that was dubbed "a hothouse of passion and performance." Sign us up.
There, the team will start overhauling Nissan's entire range with NISMO models. The Juke NISMO is right around the corner for the US market, the second generation of the 370Z NISMO is coming for 2014, the first GT-R NISMO is being developed, and after that will come "a range of affordable performance Nissan models from small cars to flagship sports cars" - a new model every year. The expanded product line will mean that markets that haven't had access to NISMO's works will finally be able to buy them.
The last big news is that from now on NISMO will manage every one of Nissan's global motorsports programs, and its largest initiative will be prepping an entry for Le Mans in 2014. While Nissan has left the DeltaWing project, it hasn't walked away from experimental racers: the brand aims to have "a pioneering Nissan race car showcasing electric technology" ready in 15 months that shows "a new approach to innovation and excitement."