Race Car on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Nissan-Renault mule teases mysterious subcompact

There's always something intriguing about a mystery, especially of the automotive kind, and that's exactly what we have here. Our spies recently spotted this Nissan-Renault test mule on the road in Southern Europe. But what, exactly, are they testing? From the front end, it's clear this mule started life as a Nissan Versa Note, but check it out in profile to see the cut down rear doors. They're significantly shorter than on the production car, and the wheelbase isn't as long here, either. The tacked on fender flares suggest a wider track than stock, too. Making things even more complicated is the bizarre cladding this subcompact hatch is wearing. The odd tumors on the hood and blistered side panels indicate that the automaker is trying to keep the design underneath a secret. Given Renault and Nissan's tight relationship, it also isn't clear which company is testing this model. While the body comes from the Note, this one is wearing French license plates. According to our spies, the vehicle was also spotted leaving a Renault testing location. There are some possibilities, though. Renault already has the new Twingo out, and the next-gen Megane has an imminent release. The French brand could now be at work on a future Clio. Alternatively, Nissan is reportedly using the Sway concept as inspiration for the upcoming Micra, and we could be getting a preview here. Give us your best guess in Comments. Related Video:

Cadillac ELR, Nissan Resonance and Ford Atlas win Eyes on Design awards

This year's annual Eyes on Design awards were presented at the end of press days for the Detroit Auto Show on Tuesday. Given out for the best production and concept car designs that debuted at the show, and voted on by an esteemed panel of actual car designers, this year's award for best production vehicle design went to the 2014 Cadillac ELR. The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, which was the show favorite among Autoblog editors, apparently did not impress the Eyes on Design judges enough with its all-new vent-festooned design.
The award for best concept design was actually split as a tie among the Nissan Resonance and Ford Atlas concepts. Last year's winners were the 2013 Ford Fusion and the Lexus LF-LC concept.
The Eyes on Design organization also presented a new honor this year called the Catalyst Award to Bob Lutz, former Vice Chairman of General Motors. Lutz is reported to have given a defense of design in his acceptance speech, arguing that advancements in quality across the industry as a whole have made good design a key differentiator for buyers.

This Leaf glows in the dark

Pessimists may say that it's weird to have an all-electric vehicle look like it's radioactive. But when it comes to an effort by Nissan Europe to publicize the idea of using solar energy to power one's house or car, that'd be missing the point. Either way, the car looks pretty cool. Nissan is looking to get more people to go solar across the pond, and has given an all-electric Leaf a special glow coating to get the point across. Nissan worked with inventor Hamish Scott to create a special coating that allows the Leaf's paint job to absorb enough sunlight to give off a glow for as long as 10 hours of darkness. Go up to the Nordic countries, and that's still not long enough to get through a winter's night, but for most of the Continent, that'd certainly be sufficient. Better yet, the coating, which catches ultraviolet energy, is fully organic, though it'd take some smart science people to figure out how that's the case. But the coating is said to last a quarter century, which is a little longer than Leaf batteries are expected to last. Check out Nissan's press release below and take a look at the 55-second video from Nissan UK. The manufacturer worked with inventor, Hamish Scott, creator of STARPATH, which is a spray-applied coating that absorbs UV energy during the day so that it glows for between eight and 10 hours when the sun goes down. While glowing car paint is already available, as are glow-in-the-dark car wraps, the bespoke, ultraviolet-energized paint created especially for Nissan is unique thanks to its secret formula made up of entirely organic materials. It contains a very rare natural earth product called Strontium Aluminate, which is solid, odorless and chemically and biologically inert. Feb. 12, 2015 Nissan in Europe is first car maker to apply glow-in-the-dark car paint EV pioneer Nissan is first manufacturer to partner with similarly innovative inventor to create paint that uses UV energy absorbed during daylight to glow at night Increasing numbers of LEAF owners expanding sustainability efforts by installing solar panels to their homes ROLLE, Switzerland – Nissan in Europe has become the first manufacturer to apply glow-in-the-dark car paint to showcase how its market-leading, all-electric LEAF is helping more and more people convert to solar energy at home Various third-party companies have applied non-organic glow-in-the-dark paint to vehicles before, but Nissan is the first car maker to directly apply such technology.