2002 Nissan Frontier Xe Extended Cab Pickup 2-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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Renault to propose joint holding company with Nissan, Nikkei reports

TOKYO — Renault SA will propose to Nissan Motor Co a plan to create a joint holding company that would give both firms equal footing as the French automaker seeks further integration with its Japanese partner, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday. Under the proposal, both firms would nominate a nearly equal number of directors to the new company in which ordinary shares in both Nissan and Renault would be transferred on a balanced basis, the newspaper said, without citing sources. This would effectively dilute the stake held by the French government in Renault to around 7-8 percent, from its current 15 percent, it added. The new company would be headquartered in a third country, such as Singapore. Renault plans to make the proposal to Nissan soon, the Nikkei said, having modified an earlier merger idea that Nissan rejected on April 12. Nissan declined to comment on the issue. The Financial Times newspaper reported that both Nissan and the Japanese government have refused to engage in merger talks with Renault. The report of the proposal comes as the outlook for the alliance — one of the world's top automaking partnerships — has clouded since the arrest in November of its main architect, Carlos Ghosn, for suspected financial misconduct. It also comes as Nissan's financial performance struggles following years of focusing on volume sales over building its brand, particularly in the United States, its biggest market. Nissan slashes its forecast This week, the Japanese automaker slashed its profit forecast for the year just ended to its lowest in nearly a decade, citing weakness in its U.S. operations. Renault for years has been vying for a closer merger with Nissan, which it rescued from the brink of bankruptcy two decades ago. Ghosn had been working to achieve a deeper integration before his arrest on financial misconduct charges in November last year. While the automakers have been consolidating many of their operations over the past decade, including procurement and production, many executives at Nissan have opposed an all-out merger with Renault. Instead, Nissan has argued for a more equal footing with Renault, which holds a 43 percent stake in its bigger partner. Nissan holds a 15 percent stake in Renault. It was unclear whether Renault would hold the casting vote in major decisions at the new company, as it did in Renault-Nissan B.V., a strategic management company jointly held by both companies that oversaw operations for the partnership.

2014 Nissan 370Z Nismo

Michigan is one of those places where we can sub-divide the seasons into good and bad portions, with each producing a noticeable shift. The week prior to my time in the 2014 Nissan 370Z Nismo, it was 65 to 70 degrees and sunny, all week long. Anyone care to guess what the following week was like?
Windy, cold and damp weather typified my week in the Z, with temps hovering around 55 degrees and several days of showers. Yes, I got the first week of the bad part of fall. The Z was hardly happy during its time with me, but we both persevered, and I made a point of sprinting out to the garage anytime the ground seemed remotely dry enough to test this striking two-seater. That enthusiasm waned quickly, though, as the week wore on.
By all accounts, the Z is a car that I should like. It's an uncompromising sports car, but as I discovered during my travels, sometimes a little compromise is welcome, and living with a car like the Z - particularly the angrier, Nismo-tuned model - quickly becomes a case of too much of a good thing.

Car Club USA: Club Loose

Car Club USA travels to Englishtown Raceway Park to document a wild Friday Night Drift Party at Club Loose. We hear how Club Loose co-founder Matt Petty brought drifting to the northeast US from Japan decades ago, and how this small New Jersey car club has produced international drifting champions like Chris Forsberg. "We were working out of California for over eight years," said Forsberg. "But it just didn't have that same feel or camaraderie as Club Loose." Each Car Club USA episode features a different car club or event from across the US, where passionate owner communities gather to share automotive experiences and embark on incredible adventures. From Main Street cruises to off-road trails, catch all the latest car club activity on Autoblog. Motorsports Nissan Racing Vehicles Car Club USA Videos drifting