2014 Nissan Pathfinder S on 2040-cars

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Syrena Sport returns as rebodied Nissan 370Z

We wouldn't hold it against you if you'd never heard of the FSO Syrena Sport. FSO built the long-enduring Syrena for some 17 years nonstop, and while the machines were mostly plodding family sedans, engineers at FSO did create one version with a bit more zest. The Syrena Sport was a two-door coupe that borrowed design cues from Ferrari and was powered by a two-cylinder, air-cooled boxer engine. While originally intended for production, economic woes kept the machine from ever seeing the light of day.
Now, the Syrena Sport is back, though in a slightly different configuration. Entrepreneur Rafal Czubaj has resurrected the name for a special one-off creation designed by Pavlo Burkatskyy. This time around, there is no oddball boxer under the hood, however. Czubaj chose to use the underpinnings from the Nissan 370Z, complete with its 3.7-liter V6 engine. Buyers can choose between a 330-horsepower tune or a 450-hp iteration, and with a curb weight of 2,865 pounds, the car should be plenty quick. Expect acceleration to 60 miles per hour in around 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 180 mph.

Nissan Leaf battery cells put through torture test, live to charge again

One minor chink in the armor of the Tesla Model S is that a small number have caught fire, once their battery packs were penetrated. Nissan Leaf drivers, however, might just be able to weather such an event without an ensuing CarBQ. Our evidence for such a claim? A video that has surfaced of cells from a Leaf pack undergoing a battery of torture tests (pun somewhat-ashamedly intended). Shared by folks at the Hybrid Auto Center in Las Vegas – who offer for sale, among other things, used Leaf lithium battery modules – the footage shows salvaged cells being brutally assaulted with a screwdriver, and later, a propane torch. Granted, these tests are not the same thing as flinging a piece of metal into a working pack at 70 miles per hour, but they do claim to show that a puncture does not always equal a fire. Oh, and don't try this at home. When pierced through by the flat head tool, there is no explosion or eruption of flame. Instead, a rather modest wisp of smoke shyly emerges as the electrolyte next to the shorted area of the fully-charged foil pouch reacts with the influx of oxygen. Again and again, the blade descends, until the cell is riddled with holes. No fire. Amazingly, when connected with a voltmeter afterward there are still plenty of signs of life, and when it is charged and discharged (off-camera), it reportedly suffers only a slight loss of charge capacity. The video goes on to show another cell attacked with open flame with similar results. While the demonstration is, perhaps, somewhat crude, the message it sends is loud and clear: lithium batteries can be safe and rather robust, despite some freak accidents. Scroll below to watch the short presentation for yourself. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Tesla poaches Renault-Nissan communications boss Sproule

Need another sign that Tesla is growing into a force to be reckoned with? Bloomberg reports it has just snagged high-profile communications boss Simon Sproule from Renault-Nissan to become the EV maker's vice president of communications and marketing.
Sproule is an industry veteran, having spent 20 years at Nissan (where he grew to become CEO Carlos Ghosn's right-hand man). In addition, he logged stints at Ford, Jaguar (when it was still a Blue Oval-owned brand) and Microsoft. Despite all that experience, Sproule is still young, at just 45 years of age, as Bloomberg points out, yet he's held positions in the US, Japan and France over the years.
This is all good news for Tesla, which is in need of a strong spokesman outside of company CEO Elon Musk. It's been battling with the state of New Jersey and its governor, Chris Christie, over direct sales in the Garden State.