2009 Nissan Altima Base Sedan 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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A realistic approach to fixing Mitsubishi

There are going to be a lot of words written about what Nissan needs to do with Mitsubishi in the coming months and years in the interest of turning the brand around. After Nissan's purchase of a controlling stake in the diamond star brand, there's been more interest in Mitsubishi thanks to the potential of platform sharing and plenty of cash from Nissan-Renault to get the juices flowing again. But, while some have been doing their best to advocate for the return of the 3000GT, Evolution, and even the Starion - Many of these posts forget the reality of the market we live in today. As much as we like to look back fondly at the sports coupes of the '90s, a byproduct of the insane cash flows all the Japanese manufacturers had at the time, the reality of today puts a much greater emphasis on what is most-boring; Crossover SUVs, alongside mid-size and compact sedans. We do need to ask a fundamental question, how much Mitsubishi is enough to be able to continue to call the cars Mitsubishis? Aside from slight product revisions and reconfigurations, Mitsubishi (at least in North America) has been largely dependent on the same GS platform and 4B1 engines that date back to their long-time partnership with Chrysler (and Hyundai) in the mid '00s. Admittedly, the chassis and engines have served the company well, underpinning a wide variety of vehicles sold around the world, and seeing quite a few revisions to at least attempt to keep products competitive. But, the GS chassis is old, heavy, and severely out of date - and when matched to the underpowered 4B1 series engines - make for largely uncompetitive offerings in the market. While something like the Outlander Sport is indeed interesting compared to a Honda CR-V, it is by no means the smart choice in the segment. So, going forward, unless Mitsubishi has had a skunkworks of sorts developing their chassis and engine replacements over the past few years, what exactly are they planning to do for their bread-and-butter models? I think the straightforward answer is without a doubt the Nissan North America parts bin. With so many of their models selling well, and for the most part, are reasonably well-reviewed, it would be quite simple to adapt the chassis and powertrain to Mitsubishi's liking to create a high-volume alternative to what is currently available now.

2016 Nissan Titan endures more torture testing

The burly, next-gen 2016 Nissan Titan XD made its big debut at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show and promised to launch later in the year with multiple bed lengths, several cab configurations and the choice of a Cummins 5.0-liter diesel V8 pumping out 310 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque. While we wait for the truck to arrive at dealerships, the brand is continuing to tell the pickup's development story through the Titan Truckumentary series of shorts videos. Nissan has already used the clips to look back at its pickup history, but the latest entry puts the focus directly on the new Titan, specifically, its torture testing during development. One trial bounced the truck around for months on a durability machine to simulate 370,000 miles of rough driving. Although, the true fun comes from watching the real-life evaluations where engineers slam the model into curbs and drive it off ledges to see what it can take.

Lebanon may lift Ghosn's travel ban if files not received within 40 days

BEIRUT — Lebanon may lift a travel ban on ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn if files pertaining to his case do not arrive from Japan within 40 days, caretaker justice minister Albert Serhan said in a statement on Friday. Ghosn fled Japan to Lebanon, his childhood home, last month as he awaited trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies. His dramatic escape has raised tensions between Japan and Lebanon, where Ghosn slammed the Japanese justice system at a two-hour news conference on Wednesday, prompting Japan's Justice Minister to launch a rare and forceful public response. Lebanon has no extradition agreement with Japan. Serhan said in the statement that he had met with the Japanese ambassador to Lebanon and reaffirmed the importance of the relationship between the two countries. He also said that Ghosn's wife Carole will also be questioned by Lebanese prosecutors when authorities receive an Interpol notice for her. "Carole will be subject to the same procedures that were followed for (Carlos) when the red notice was received from Interpol." Tokyo prosecutors on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for Carole for alleged perjury related to the misappropriation charge against her husband. A spokeswoman for Carole said that she had voluntarily returned to Japan nine months ago to answer prosecutors' questions and was free to go without any charges, adding that the warrant was "pathetic". A fair trial? Carlos GhosnÂ’s lawyer on Friday told JapanÂ’s government that the authorities had failed to arrange for a fair trial that respected universal rights. Francois Zimeray, French lawyer for Ghosn, said that it had been for JapanÂ’s prosecutors to prove GhosnÂ’s guilt, not for Ghosn to prove his innocence. “It belongs to the prosecution to prove guilt and not to the accused person to prove its innocence,” Zimeray said in a statement. Japanese Justice Minister Masako Mori launched a rare and forceful public takedown of auto executive-turned-fugitive Ghosn after he blasted the countryÂ’s legal system as allowing him “zero chance” of a fair trial as he sought to justify his escape to Beirut. Reporting by Hoda Monem, Dominique Vidalon and Richard Lough. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Government/Legal Nissan Renault Carlos Ghosn