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Pebble Beach Concept Car Lawn adds class to the grass

While Pebble Beach is traditionally thought of as the refuge of the pristine and pricey vintage vehicles of the world, there's no shortage of newer vehicles on display. And when we say "new," we mean really new. As in, not even in production new. This is the concept car lawn, and it's home to an eclectic group of vehicles from past and present.
Of course, calling it the "concept car lawn" is a bit of a misnomer this year (as it has been in previous years, too). Production models like the Alfa Romeo 4C were on display, alongside known quantities like the Hennessy Venom GT and modified versions of already-on-sale models, like the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Waterspeed Collection.
There were a few concepts on display, though. Toyota debuted the critically acclaimed FT-1 Concept in a new shade, while BMW's Beijing Motor Show stunner, the Vision Future Luxury, was also parked on the expensive grass. Also appearing were the Nissan GT-R in sheep's clothing, the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge, and the recently debuted McLaren P1 GTR.

Renault-Nissan alliance to start autonomous EV testing

The Renault-Nissan alliance is joining the self-driving electric-vehicle party. The French-Japanese automaking collaboration, which has been selling electric vehicles to the masses since introducing the Nissan Leaf in 2010, said Monday that it will work with transportation-technology consultant Transdev on developing a fleet of self-driving EVs for testing purposes. The model of choice, though, won't be the Leaf, but instead will be the Renault Zoe. Details aren't abundant, but the group does say it will perform the field testing in the Paris area. Transdev's pedigree includes operating what it says is the world's first commercial driverless service at France's EDF campus. The company, which is majority-owned by Caisse des Depots, is no small potatoes, generating about $7 billion in revenue in 2015. Take a look at the alliance's statement here. The alliance has already been working with Microsoft on driving-technology advancements and has teamed up with Japan-based DeNA to hatch a driverless-vehicle initiative for commercial services. And in January, Nissan said its ProPilot features, which include increased self-driving capabilities, would be added to its Leaf EV "in the near future." Of course, other automakers have already jumped into the self-driving EV game. California-based EV maker Tesla has long been pushing its vehicle technology toward autonomy, and General Motors said in December that it would start field testing driverless Chevrolet Bolt EVs sometime this year. In the meantime, the Alliance is gearing up a changeover in leadership, as Carlos Ghosn said last week that he was stepping down as Nissan's CEO on April 1. Ghosn, long a champion of electric-vehicle technology, will be succeeded by Nissan co-CEO Hiroto Saikawa. Related Video: Featured Gallery Renault Zoe ZE 40 Yttrium Grey View 27 Photos News Source: Renault-Nissan Alliance Green Nissan Renault Autonomous Vehicles Electric alliance zoe

Nissan Bladeglider now on the backburner

There have been some big shakeups within Nissan's top executive ranks in the past 12 months, including Johan de Nyscchen leaving Infiniti to run Cadillac and Andy Palmer taking over Aston Martin. With them gone, the automaker's future product portfolio looks to be shifting as well. Among them, the chances are dwindling for the BladeGlider to actually arrive in dealers – already a rumored possibility. New Nissan planning boss Philippe Klein isn't nearly as hot on the idea of the BladeGlider as his predecessors. Where Palmer said last year the vehicle was in the brand's mid-term plan, Klein recently told Autocar that the model was "not among the immediate priorities." He didn't slam the door entirely on potential production, though. "It is still on the table, but at the end of the day it has to make sense to the company." Debuting at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, the BladeGlider translated the narrow-front, wide-rear wedge shape of the Deltawing and ZEOD RC racers to the street. In concept form, it used an electric drivetrain with hub-mounted motors, and the driver sat in the center with two passengers flanking them to the rear. According to Autocar, the project to develop a production version got at least as far as creating test cars from Ariel Atoms. The BladeGlider's renegade styling hasn't been the only thing holding it back from seeing the road, though. Panoz has a pending lawsuit against Nissan that claims the styling for the Nissan ZEOD RC and the BladeGlider infringe on the intellectual property for the Deltawing's design.