2014 Nissan Altima 2.5 Sl on 2040-cars

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Nissan says these are the five best European EV drives

If you want to combine the beauty of Europe with the beauty of silent, electric motoring, Nissan has a travel guide for you. The makers of the Leaf and e-NV200 took both vehicles on five road trips in the UK and on The Continent, then worked up a home video of the adventure. All the highlights are in the video above. From shortest to lengthiest, the jaunts are Dundry to Bristol in England, Versailles to Paris in France, Sitges to Barcelona in Spain, Malmo, Sweden to Copenhagen, Denmark, and Rieti to Rome in Italy. Every one of them is indeed a gorgeous way to spend a day, but in view of the Leaf's 135-kilometer range and the e-NV200's 170-km range you'll want to take your time on those trips to get the most out of them. That UK drive is 5.8 miles, less than 10 kilometers. The French route is 23.3 km, the Spanish route is 36.9 km, the oversea excursion from Denmark to Sweden eats up 44 km, and Italy chews through 87.4 km of range. We'd suggest renting a Tesla Model S and using the widespread Supercharger network to go the distance in Europe, but we understand why Nissan didn't include that option in their own promotional video. Nissan chose four of the locales for deeper purposes, as well: Bristol recently opened 100 EV charging stations, Paris will soon host a UN climate change summit, Nissan builds the e-NV200 in Barcelona, and crossing the 4.9-mile Oresund Bridge meant to test cold-weather hardiness. Rome was because, well, why not? Related Video:

2013 Nissan Pathfinder: February 2013

I took the keys to our long-term 2013 Nissan Pathfinder from Editor-in-Chief Neff (who left me with an empty gas tank, for the record) directly following the Detroit Auto Show. That means that, by the time you all read this, I'll have been in possession of the Pathfinder for more time, and driven it more miles than any Autoblogger so far. I'd like to think that I've made good use of it... with one small exception.
For those of you that live outside of the Snow Belt and who may routinely ignore the Weather Channel out of cocky certainty - I'm looking at you, American Southwest - there's been some real weather in our part of the world this winter. A year ago, I'd basically packed up my shovel and my driveway salt by Valentine's Day; while the last quarter of 2012 and beginning of 2013 have seen back-wrenching piles of snow fall on and around my Michigan home. Good times, in other words, to test the all-weather capabilities of our all-wheel-drive Pathfinder.

10 of 18 midsize SUVs earn 'good' IIHS side impact safety rating

It's not terribly surprising that midsize SUVs earned better safety ratings than small SUVs in the latest side-impact tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Just how much better they scored, on the other hand, certainly raises an eyebrow. Ten out of 18 midsize SUVs earned the highest rating of 'good' in the stringent new test, altered for vehicles starting with the 2020 model year with a heavier barrier (4,200 pounds) that moves at a higher speed (37 miles per hour) and is fitted with a hard honeycomb frontal structure. By way of contrast, just one out of of 20 small SUVs earned a 'good' score.  SUVs that receiving 'good' scores were the Ford Explorer, Infiniti QX60, Lincoln Aviator, Mazda CX-9, Nissan Pathfinder, Subaru Ascent, Toyota Highlander, Volkswagen Atlas, Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport and Volkswagen ID.4. For EV fans, it's worth noting the ID.4 was the only electric vehicle included in the test. The Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse scraped away with 'acceptable' ratings while the Honda Passport, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Palisade, Jeep Wrangler 4-door, Kia Telluride and Nissan Murano were deemed merely 'marginal' in the tough new test. Only two models — the Mazda CX-9 and Volkswagen ID.4 — earned a "Good" rating in every test category.  Interestingly, the Jeep Wrangler would have scored a 'good' rating if it were equipped with side airbags for the rear seating positions. It would likely be an engineering challenge to equip its removable top and/or doors with airbags, but the lack of that safety feature allowed the head of the rear passenger dummy to hit the vertical support of the top. Otherwise, the Wrangler scored good ratings across the board. The new Ford Bronco, which makes more allowances for side-impact safety, has not yet been tested.  The popular Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride SUVs stand out in the test with 'poor' ratings for driver pelvis injuries. The Nissan Murano, a vehicle last redesigned for the 2015 model year, was the only vehicle tested that received a 'poor' rating for its structure and safety cage. Videos of the tests of 12 of these 18 SUVs can be found on the IIHS' YouTube page. Related video: Green Buick Chevrolet Ford Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jeep Kia Mazda Nissan Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Safety Crossover SUV IIHS Insurance Institute for Highway Safety