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Nissan bringing GT-R LM Nismo back to WEC

Things didn't go exactly as planned when Nissan entered Le Mans this year with the GT-R LM Nismo. First years of a new racing program seldom do. But the radical front-drive LMP1 prototype performed so poorly that it looked for a while like Nissan would scrap the program altogether. Fortunately, however, the Japanese automaker has announced that the GT-R LM Nismo it is coming back. Several changes are afoot for next season. For starters, while the prototype only competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year, Nissan says it "will return to race in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2016" – of which Le Mans is just part. It isn't saying how many of the races it will contest, exactly, but the calendar currently consists of nine events: Silverstone, Spa, Le Mans, the Nurburgring, Mexico City, Texas, Fuji, Shanghai, and Bahrain. Hopefully we'll be seeing the Nissan team at all nine events, especially the one at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, where it can be seen undergoing testing in the fresh and massive image gallery above. Schedules aside, Nissan has appointed a new principal to run the team. Brought in "to share the heavy load on Ben Bowlby's shoulders" will be Mike Carcamo, who moves from his job at Nissan Mexico to serve as the WEC team principal. Outgoing principal Bowlby does, however, appear to be staying on in an as-yet undisclosed capacity. Finally, Nissan says that "multiple changes have been made to the car since Le Mans," and you can bet that's a huge understatement. We won't know what those changes constitute, exactly, but the automaker is certainly hoping that they'll prove enough to make the car competitive. In its debut at Le Mans this year, two of the three cars failed to finish, and the third wasn't classified since it didn't cover enough distance. Related Video: NISSAN GT-R LM NISMO TO MAKE RACING RETURN IN 2016 Nissan's innovative LM P1 racer to complete test programme before returning to WEC YOKOHAMA, JAPAN - 1 October 2015: Nissan today announced that the innovative Nissan GT-R LM NISMO will return to race in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2016. The team has been working hard to address the technical issues faced at Le Mans in June and is in the middle of a comprehensive test and development programme to prepare the new car to race against the tough competition it faces in the LM P1 class.

Chevy City Express headed for dealers

With competition coming from the Ford Transit Connect, it's high time Chevrolet got in on the compact hauling action and took the fight to its cross-town rival... and it's doing so with a little help from Nissan. The Chevy City Express, a badge-engineered Nissan NV200, is now arriving at dealers, giving Bowtie fans a counter to Dearborn's compact van.
"Our existing customers will love getting behind the wheel of the City Express when it's at their Chevrolet dealership," Ed Peper, GM's vice president of fleet and commercial vehicles said in a statement. "But we're most looking forward to giving potential new customers the opportunity to experience one of many Chevrolet commercial vehicles that best fit their needs."
Prices for the 2015 City Express start at $22,950. Scroll down for the official announcement from Chevrolet.

Altima Coupe dead as Nissan charts the changes for 2014

The 2014 model year brings plenty of new designs and updates from Nissan - including the next-generation Rogue - but the Altima Coupe has been discontinued. The current generation of the Coupe won buyers over with sharp styling and, at one point, a 270-horsepower naturally aspirated V6 - the heart of the more upscale Infinity G37. It's unlikely that Nissan plans to make another one, but keep in mind the current Coupe was released to the public about a year after the sedan hit dealerships.
The vehicles joining Nissan's lineup for 2014 include the Versa Note hatchback, the NV200 Compact Cargo van and the next-generation Rogue compact SUV. Also new for 2014 is the Pathfinder Hybrid, but that will be added to the lineup in the fall.
Other models that are receiving enhancements are the sedan version of the Altima, which now comes standard with the CVT transmission and gets revised option packs; the Frontier, which gets updated option packs, enhanced navigation system functionality and a sliding middle rear window; the GT-R, which receives a bunch of small performance enhancements and, more importantly, initially will be offered in three versions (Premium, Black Edition and Track Edition), with another, limited special-edition model coming late in the year; the Versa sedan, all versions of which get 60/40-split fold-down rear seats and revised steering and suspension tuning; and last, but not least, the 370Z NISMO will have exterior accent color updates and a new steering wheel and tachometer.