2014 Nissan Titan S on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Nissan VP suggests next Z will offer multiple engines

Roel de Vries, the corporate vice president and global head of marketing and brand strategy for Nissan, told Australia's CarAdvice that as far as he's concerned, any engine in the 370Z "[needs] to deliver on what the car stands for and if the 370Z stands for real performance and real driving I think it doesn't need a V6 to do that." At first read, it could look like de Vries is softening us up for a next-generation Z that doesn't come with a V6, a move that would disappoint a lot of the coupe's fans. Or, what if de Vries was actually getting us ready for a Z with multiple engine options, instead of only a V6, in order to expand its global appeal? That appeared to be the gist of his comments, the exec saying that they couldn't sell a V6-engined Z in Europe, but even if they offer a four-cylinder there, the V6 could live on because, "why should we give it up?" With the coupe's current name a factor of the 3.7-liter displacement of it's V6, though, what is the future for a car with several engine options? Said de Vries, "We [will] definitely keep the Z name, but when we did 350 to 370 it was because of the capacity, but who says the next-generation doesn't have three engines and its not just called Z?" This kind of talk has been going on all year, the real question being how many engines will the car get and what's the endgame. At the beginning of the year, ex product chief Andy Palmer said the car codenamed Z35 would use a "downsized four-cylinder turbocharged engine." In August, Motor Trend reported that the next Z would offer "a mixture of smaller but powerful engines," including a hybrid, but that a V6 would remain the headliner. Two weeks later, MT said that Nissan wanted to transition customers from the naturally aspirated V6 to a turbocharged four-cylinder with the same power, eventually, but would begin with both on the menu. Parallel to that are Shiro Nakamura's out-loud musings about how to merge the next Z and the IDx concepts into "a more affordable, more approachable sports car." The answers, whatever they are, will be a big deal for the brand.

Nissan pulled planned reveal of longer-range Leaf from L.A.

The arrest and detention of its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, prompted Nissan at the last minute to pull the plug on plans to debut a longer-range version of its Leaf battery- electric car at the Los Angeles auto show, The Wall Street Journal reports. Nissan instead showed two mild-refresh models for 2019 — the Maxima sedan and the Murano crossover. It had reportedly hoped to make a bigger splash by unveiling the upgraded Leaf with actress and brand ambassador Margot Robbie at a media event at the Japanese American National Museum. It went ahead with an event at the venue, showing current models of the Leaf and holding the Nissan Futures event, the first time the series of panel discussion and keynote addresses had been staged in the U.S., with Robbie sitting down for a brief interview about owning an EV and sustainability issues. "The official announcement regarding details of the 2019 Nissan Leaf with additional performance capabilities is postponed to a later date," the company said in a statement. A spokesman told the Journal the postponement was "to ensure that this important product unveiling could receive the coverage it merits." Ghosn was arrested Nov. 19 in Japan on allegations of financial misconduct, including what Nissan has said was personal use of company money and deliberately under-reporting what he had been paid. Both Nissan and alliance partner Mitsubishi have ousted Ghosn as chairman, though his status remains unchanged for now at Renault, the third member of the partnership where he is both chairman and CEO. Renault has appointed a stand-in replacement while Ghosn remains in custody. Reuters reports that Tokyo authorities extended Ghosn's detention a second time Friday and have until Dec. 10 to file charges or release him. The auto world has been widely anticipating a longer-range version believed to be called the Leaf E-Plus, with a 60-kWh battery pack and an expected driving range of around 225 miles, up from the 40-kWh battery and 151-mile driving range of the current model. A recent report suggests that its starting price will be about $5,500 more than the 40-kWh version, meaning around $36,385 before federal EV tax credits. A spokesman tells Autoblog the postponement doesn't affect the new Leaf's on-sale date but added that date has yet to be announced.

Trucks, SUVs drive U.S. October new vehicle sales

DETROIT — Major automakers posted mixed U.S. new vehicle sales in October on Wednesday, though America's love affair with high-margin pickup trucks and SUVs remained in full bloom as larger, pricier vehicles fared better than passenger cars. Auto industry publication WardsAuto put the seasonally-adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for light vehicle sales in October at a robust level of 18 million units. But after a long boom cycle, carmakers are still ill-prepared for the slight decline in sales anticipated for full-year 2017 and have taken too few steps to trim production, said Doug Mehl, a partner in consultancy A.T. Kearney's automotive practice. "When you make a new vehicle, you have volume assumptions tagged to it, and who wants to be the guy who says, 'I'm going to make less of this really cool model'?" Mehl said. "But eventually the market is the reality, and it's going to force companies one way or other here." General Motors GM reported a sales drop of 2.2 percent for the month, with consumer sales down 6.6 percent. But sales of high-margin pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and crossovers all rose. GM also cut its inventory of unsold vehicles — a source of concern for the market — slightly. The automaker has worked to reduce its volume of excess inventory, including through significant production shutdowns in the third quarter. GM had said its inventory would rise in October. "We are heading into the fourth quarter with good momentum, thanks to a strong U.S. economy and very strong pickup and crossover sales," said Kurt McNeil, GM vice president for U.S. sales operations. GM slightly reduced consumer discounts as a percentage of average transaction prices to 13.5 percent, from 13.7 percent in the third quarter. Industry experts believe consumer discounts above 10 percent of the average transaction price are unhealthy as they erode resale values and are unsustainable in the long term. Consultants J.D. Power and LMC said last week that based on preliminary October sales numbers, discounts have exceeded 10 percent in 15 of the past 16 months. Ford The U.S. auto industry posted record sales of 17.55 million vehicles in 2016. New sales received a strong boost in September as consumers replaced vehicles damaged in southeast Texas by Hurricane Harvey the previous month. Full-year 2017 sales are expected to be slightly lower than 2016.