1989 Nissan Skyline R32 Gt-r [immaculate Original Condition Low Miles 1 Owner] on 2040-cars

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Nissan applies for 'R-Hybrid' trademark, but what is it for?

Patent and trademark filings are sort of like tasseography for those of us in the auto industry. If you know where and how to look at something, there's a lot to be figured out. Take this trademark filing from Nissan - it's similar to the Pure Drive badge found on a Versa or Sentra, but the bottom half sports the phrase "R-Hybrid." This wouldn't be remarkable if the "R" in R-Hybrid weren't the same style as the "R" in the Nissan GT-R's badge, right down to the serifs.
While it's easy to see this as grasping at straws, it makes a fair degree of sense. The R35 GT-R may be a dominant performance machine, but it's been around since 2008, which is donkey years in the automotive industry. And based on the recent crop of hybridized hypercars and racecars, a hybrid GT-R doesn't seem like such a stretch.
As Car And Driver points out, figuring out that the GT-R will go hybrid isn't hard - figuring out when it will arrive, is. The buff book rightly points out that a new GT-R isn't expected until 2017, but that designing and trademarking a badge four years ahead of time is a bit odd. Car and Driver speculates that we could see a mildly hybridized R35, although the chances do seem remarkably low. Head over to C/D for a more thorough rundown on why this just might be a GT-R badge, including comparisons with other R-badged Nissans.

Petrolicious uncages the Nissan Bluebird

With around 30 examples believed to be in the US, the Nissan Bluebird coupe is a very rare bird. Rather than keep it in a cage, owner Troy Ermish is happy to dump the clutch for a smoky burnout in the latest video from Petrolicious. This is definitely a man who's not letting a thing like the vehicle's scarcity affect his enjoyment. Ermish is an expert on the Bluebird and its North American cousin, the Datsun 510. He started out racing them, then began dealing in parts, and now specializes in restoring them, particularly for motorsports. Ermish has owned a whopping 230 of them over the years – so many that he's stopped counting. The opening that replaces one headlight is the first hint that Ermish's personal Bluebird is far from stock. Under the hood, the 1.6-liter engine remains, but it wears an aftermarket head and a set of massive carbs. The combo allows the little engine to howl as he brings the revs up. The interior is largely stripped out and replaced by two racing seats, a huge tach, and exposed wiring. Ermish's shop is like a 510 graveyard on the outside. However, it's closer to a museum dedicated to Datsun on the inside. There are beautiful examples packed in wherever you look, and all of them appear ready to take to the track at any moment.

Rob Parsons, paraplegic, can drift better than you

"When something happens, you deal with it, and you move on. You don't dwell on something you can't control." Those are positive words coming from anybody. But it's particularly inspiring when the speaker is Rob Parsons. He was a competitor and later an event judge in the Dsport series until a dirt bike crash took Parson's ability to walk. He didn't let that get in the way of custom building a drift car that works with hand controls. And now that it works, he's plans to use his car to help other who share his automotive passion but can't operate pedals. The vehicle itself is based around a 1991 Nissan 180SX chassis with a 5.7-liter supercharged LS1 V8 under the hood, according to his website. To make the machine drivable for people without the use of their legs, Parsons made a hand control setup, and he claims to be faster now than years ago. This story of fighting past the seeming insurmountable challenges is truly heartwarming, and it's amazing to watch Parsons at work. A warning: there is some brief, not-safe-for-work language early in the video. News Source: Chairslayer, Keep Drifting Fun via YouTube Motorsports Nissan Coupe Racing Vehicles Performance Videos drifting drift