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Mercedes, Renault-Nissan to work together on truck project

Just a few weeks ago, Mercedes-Benz barged into the automotive world with news of a pickup as a mysterious but enticing future model from the German brand. Rumors of a possible collaboration with Nissan followed, but Renault-Nissan Alliance CEO Carlos Ghosn refused to give any clear details. That speculation is now over, because the automakers made their truck partnership official. This new information reveals that the Mercedes truck won't be a full in-house creation from Daimler. For example, the pickup will share some of its underpinnings with the latest Nissan NP300 Navara. The German company's engineers, however, will work to change the design to their liking. Also, as in the rendering, Mercedes will use a double-cab body for the model. "Thanks to our well-established partnership with the Renault-Nissan Alliance, we are able to drastically reduce the time and cost to enter this key segment." Daimler Chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche said in the company's release. Nissan will play a further major role in the project by helping Renault develop a pickup based on the Navara as well. By 2020, all three trucks will be built together in Cordoba, Argentina, for Latin American markets and in Barcelona, Spain, for other parts of the world. Mercedes will target both regular customers and commercial buyers with its truck. While still not officially slated for North America, there's a chance that the Mercedes truck might be sold here. The US arm of the company reportedly has until the end of the year to decide to offer it with some added luxury-oriented upgrades compared to the rest of the world. Daimler & Renault-Nissan Alliance expand cooperation to 1-ton pickup trucks April 07, 2015 Daimler & Renault-Nissan Alliance expand cooperation to 1-ton pickup trucks Nissan and Daimler to jointly develop midsize pickup truck Mercedes-Benz pickup to share some of the architecture with the all-new Nissan NP300 Mercedes-Benz vehicle to be engineered and designed by Daimler to meet specific needs of its customers Mercedes-Benz pickup will target Europe, Australia, South Africa and Latin America Pickup trucks to be built in Barcelona, Spain, and Cordoba, Argentina Latest milestone in the five-year strategic cooperation between Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance STUTTGART/PARIS/YOKOHAMA –The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG will expand their five-year strategic cooperation into the pickup truck segment.

Four Wheeler crowns Ultimate Factory 4x4... who wins?

Nearly every automaker doing business in the SUV or pickup truck segments offers a package designed to improve the off-road capabilities of its wares. But, of course, not all such factory kits are created equal. How, then, to separate the wheat from the chaff? Gather each of them up and put them through their paces, naturally.
The folks from Four Wheeler and PickupTrucks.com joined forces to run just such a comparison test, with the winner named the Ultimate Factory 4x4. A total of seven vehicles showed up to the fight: the 2012 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, 2013 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2012 Nissan Frontier PRO-4X and Xterra PRO-4X, 2012 Ram Power Wagon, and 2012 Toyota 4Runner Trail and Tacoma TRD T|X Baja Series.
With the contestants in place, the whole crew put each vehicle through a battery of tests that included skidpad and acceleration measurements, a hillclimb, a rocky stairstep course and a rock garden. Considering the nature of the beasts, on-road ride and comfort were not part of the routine.

Nissan previews new Sway hatchback concept bound for Geneva

Nissan has announced a new concept it's bringing to the fast-approaching Geneva Motor Show with the release of the teaser image above. Bearing the name Sway, the concept previews the Japanese automaker's vision for a new small hatchback for the European market – ostensibly to replace the current model known as the Micra in Europe and Canada and as the March in other parts of the world. There's little to go on from the teaser, but it will clearly adopt the company's latest grille shape, flanked by angled LED headlights and with the requisite spindly door mirrors (or cameras, as the case may be) and oversized wheels packed into flared arches. Beyond that, Nissan hasn't released much in the way of details, except to say that it would apply the same "innovative design" and "radical thinking" that gave birth to the Qashqai and Juke to the small hatchback segment. THIS SWAY FOR EXCITEMENT - NISSAN AT THE 2015 GENEVA MOTOR SHOW Innovative design and product planning gave birth to Nissan Qashqai and Juke, two of the biggest automotive success stories of recent years. What would happen if the company applied the same radical thinking and quality standards to one of the most important sectors in Europe: the small hatchback? To be unveiled at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, Sway is a glimpse at how a future generation of small Nissan models could look if the company's striking new design language was applied to a European hatchback. The car will be revealed during Nissan's press conference on March 3rd at 11.30am. About Nissan in Europe Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 17,600 staff across locally-based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations. Last financial year Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced more than 675,000 vehicles including award-winning crossovers, small cars, SUVs, commercial vehicles and electric vehicles, including the Nissan LEAF, the world's most popular electric vehicle with 96% of customers willing to recommend the car to friends. Nissan now offers a strong line-up of 23 diverse and innovative models in Europe under the Nissan and Datsun brands.