2014 Nissan Versa on 2040-cars

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Ghosn hedges Nissan's 2020 autonomous deadline

Three years ago, Nissan was one of the first companies to promise a hands-free autonomous car by 2020. According Nissan Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn, when and how much we'll be able to take our hands off the wheel depends on more than just the components in the car. At a press conference during this year's Frankfurt Motor Show, the head of the Renault-Nissan Alliance said, "No matter how fast the technology develops, the autonomous cars are very dependent on the regulation." Basically Ghosn is saying that Nissan will be ready, but the laws allowing hands-free driving might not be so prompt. "You can build a lot of autonomy, but if the consumer or the driver cannot enjoy it because he still has to have his hands on the wheel, he still has to have his eyes on the road, it just puts cost in the car without the benefit," said Ghosn. The overall tone of Ghosn's comments was that Nissan is ready for autonomous driving, but without clear laws there could be no point in offering the technology to consumers. Ghosn also clarified what autonomous driving means in Nissan terms, clarifying a statement last year where he said a consumer product is still a long way off. The company's three-step plan begins next year, "where you can be on the highway as long as you don't change lanes and you can be in autonomous mode." Then in 2018, these systems will be able to change lanes without human intervention. For the final step in 2020, "We're going to have cars capable in the city and on the highway to make more complicated operations [in an] autonomous way," said Ghosn. "That's why I think when you talk about autonomous cars, we have to be much more specific about what kind of autonomy are we talking about... but we maintain our forecast that is going to come in different waves, and we define our waves by the functionality of autonomy in our cars [in] '16, '18, '20." That said, don't skip your driver's license renewal five years from now. According to Ghosn, you won't see a Nissan without a steering wheel. That's both Nissan's goal, and the company's way around the lack of regulation on driverless cars. "Frankly, a car without a driver is not our priority... There is a driver, and we are putting some functions into the car, allowing the driver to drive when they want, and to stop driving when they want... These are the same pieces of technology, which in addition to others, can lead you to the car without the driver.

2014 Nissan Rogue gives us our best look yet

Nissan is reportedly fast-tracking the development of its next-generation Rogue crossover, and judging by this latest set of spy shots, the new small CUV is coming along quite nicely.
To no one's surprise, the new Rogue takes the vast majority of its design cues from the Hi-Cross concept that debuted at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, and specific elements like the pronounced wheel arches, angular nose, flat roofline and more stylized taillmaps should make for a Rogue that's far more style conscious than the model it replaces. This stronger design language should help the new Rogue to better stand out in the sea of Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 rivals.
There's far more to the new Rogue than just some swoopier sheetmetal, though. This crossover is expected to be the first vehicle to ride on the Renault-Nissan CMF (Common Module Family) platform, an architecture flexible enough to eventually support a host of new products. As we reported earlier, the next Rogue will be built in the US, in Tennessee.

NHTSA investigating 200,000 Sentra, Versa models over brakes

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a second investigation into Nissan in May. The first covered inaccurate fuel gauges in the 2007 Quest minivan. The latest affects the Sentra and Versa from the 2013 and 2014 model years and the 2014 Versa Note, because of complaints of long brake pedal travel. If NHTSA finds a problem, it could affect an estimated 200,000 vehicles.
At the moment, this is still only a preliminary evaluation "to asses the scope, frequency and safety-related consequences of the alleged defect," according to the report, but it could lead to the full recall. NHTSA is still trying to find whether or not there are accidents, injuries or fatalities related to the problem. At this time, much of the data in the document is still marked Confidential or TBD. Nissan told Reuters in a statement that the company is working with the agency on the investigation and supplying the regulator with further information.
According to NHTSA, its Office of Defects Investigation has received eight complaints about long pedal travel in these models. They allege that the brake pedal goes all the way to the floor when pressed in some cases and doesn't sufficiently slow the vehicle. Autoblog has contacted Nissan for its reaction to the investigation. We will update this story when we receive a reply. Until then, scroll down to read the current investigation report.