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2015 Nissan Murano configurator is lux'd and loaded

We just got done driving the all-new, 2015 Nissan Murano and while you'll have to wait just a few more hours for our complete driving impressions, you can at least get online and build your very own example of Nissan's latest CUV, thanks to the company's new configurator. While Nissan has already published the Murano's starting price, this is our first glimpse at the full pricing details. As we said, prices start at $29,650, not counting an $885 destination charge. From there, things, um, increase. Moving from the base S to the mid-level SV will require an extra $3,060, and adds navigation with the NissanConnect telematics system, a power driver's seat, LED running lights, remote start and a USB port for backseat passengers. An additional $4,330 moves you up to the Murano SL, adding heated leather seats, a Bose stereo, AroundView monitoring, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, a power liftgate and blind-spot monitoring with cross-traffic alert. At the top of the range sits the Platinum, starting at $39,000 ($2,050 more than the SL). It includes 20-inch wheels, LED headlights, climate-controlled front seats, heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel. Regardless of trim, Nissan customers will get about with the help of a 3.5-liter V6 that's been mated up to an Xtronic continuously variable transmission. Adding the optional all-wheel-drive system will bump up the CUV's price an additional $1,600. Head over to the configurator and build your own ideal Murano.

Renault, Nissan attempt to calm rumors of impending split

TOKYO/PARIS — Shares in Renault recovered some lost ground on Tuesday after the French carmaker and its Japanese partner Nissan rejected media reports that their alliance was in danger of being dissolved. Some have openly questioned whether the alliance can survive without disgraced former CEO Carlos Ghosn to keep the two partners happy.  Renault shares fell to a six-year low on Monday after rumors circulated that its alliance with Nissan was in jeopardy. Nissan shares tumbled to their lowest in 8 1/2 years on Tuesday in Tokyo. At the opening of trading in Paris on Tuesday, Renault shares rose 1.3 percent, before falling back slightly to trade up 0.49 percent by 08:23 GMT. The alliance, which also includes Japan's Mitsubishi Motors, is "solid, robust, everything but dead," the chairman of Renault, Jean-Philippe Senard, told Belgian newspaper L'Echo. A split between the two automotive giants would force both to find new partners in a fast-consolidating industry that is growing increasingly difficult to navigate for independent companies. It will be especially difficult for Renault and Nissan, whose dirty laundry Ghosn intends to air for public consideration.   French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also weighed in, saying reports some executives wanted to break up the alliance were "malicious." Speaking to France's CNews TV, he also said he expected Renault to name a new chief executive within days to replace Thierry Bollore, a Ghosn-era appointee who was ousted in October. Luca de Meo, who stepped down as the head of Volkswagen's Seat brand last week, is seen as a frontrunner for the job, although a stringent non-compete clause in his contract firm may prove a hurdle, sources have told Reuters. Nissan, in response to "speculative international media reports," said it was "in no way considering dissolving the alliance." "The alliance is the source of Nissan's competitiveness," the Japanese automaker said in a statement. "Through the alliance, to achieve sustainable and profitable growth, Nissan will look to continue delivering win-win results for all member companies." Concerns emerged about the future of the Renault-Nissan partnership after the November 2018 arrest in Japan of Ghosn, the man who did more than anyone else to hold together the disparate alliance of often-contrasting carmaking cultures.

Nissan recovery to focus on U.S., Japan, China markets

Nissan will pull back from Europe and elsewhere to focus on the United States, China and Japan under a plan that represents a new strategic direction for the embattled carmaker, people with direct knowledge of the plan told Reuters. The "operational performance plan" is due to be announced on May 28 and goes beyond fixing problems from ousted leader Carlos Ghosn's aggressive expansion drive, the people said. The company's struggles predate the current global economic shutdown. Nissan's 2019 sales slumped severely.  Nissan was already planning to implement what was described as a "do or die" plan in January, before the global coronavirus pandemic froze automotive production and sales worldwide.  Pursuit of market share, particularly in the United States, led to steep discounting and a cheapened brand. Under the new, three-year plan — reported here for the first time — Nissan aims to restore dealer ties and refresh lineups to regain pricing power and profitability, the people told Reuters. "This is not just a cost-cutting plan. We're rationalizing operations, reprioritizing and refocusing our business to plant seeds for the future," one of the people said. The plan also aims to cut competition and expand cooperation with alliance partners, the people said. Nissan will follow Mitsubishi in plug-in electric hybrid vehicle technology, with the smaller peer taking the lead in Asian markets outside China and Japan. France's Renault will likely focus on electrical vehicle technologies and Europe. Nissan and Mitsubishi declined to comment. Renault did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The plan, led mainly by Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta rather than Nissan's low-key chief executive, Makoto Uchida, is aimed at freeing resources to invest in products and technology for the United States, China and Japan, the people said. "The net effect is even though we reduce our R&D spend this year versus last year and make other savings, we pump those freed-up resources back into core markets and core products," said one of the people, who declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak with media on the matter. The plan is likely to take up to two weeks to be finalized, with sales and earnings targets complicated by the anticipated long-term impact on auto sales of government measures worldwide taken to stop the coronavirus outbreak, the people said.