 |
Nissan ReviewsThe Nissan name was first used in 1933, but the company's history goes back much further. Originally known as Kwaishinsha Motorcar Works, the company produced its first automobile, the DAT, in 1914. DAT later became Datsun (son of DAT) in 1931 and Datsuns went on to become the first mass-produced vehicles in Japan. Americans got their first look at the Datsun in 1958 - the 1200 Sedan. The Datsun 240Z was released as a 1970 model and it became the best selling sports car in the world, selling 500,000 units in less than 10 years. |
Nissan broke ground on a new engine plant expected to come online in 2014. The plant will build 4-cylinder gasoline engines for Infiniti cars as well as the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
The plant will add 400 jobs and produce as many as 250,000 engines per year. Nissan produced a range of 4, 6 and 8-cylinder engines at the plant, located in Decherd, a small town near Nashville.
The contract manufacturer Magna Steyr will assemble “a future luxury entry level compact vehicle” for Nissan’s premium brand Infiniti. This according to a joint statement issued by both companies. Production of the mystery vehicle will start in 2014. Read More >
Yesterday was my day off, and by “day off” I of course mean, “day in which I work my ass off sans remuneration”. No doubt this’ll strike a chord with those of you who also have older houses with plenty of, uh, character.
It was a day no thumbs would die by accidental hammer-blow: there was work to be done on the car, and they don’t call me “Spanner” McAleer just because I’m a bit of idiot. Actually, maybe they do – well anyway, to arms! Read More >
Ford was America’s top-selling brand in April. The best-selling car was Toyota’s Camry. America’s favourite utility vehicle was once again the Honda CR-V. GM was down 8%. The Prius Plug-In out sold the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf. Fiat sold more 500s than they had up to this point.
These facts were either readily apparent from the get-go or made obvious by earlier coverage. Each month we break down all the data at GoodCarBadCar.net. The April 2012 recap is well underway. Here are some of the most interesting April 2012 auto sales facts which have been gleaned while sorting through the U.S. numbers.
I can sense from where I sit upside down in Sydney, Australia, that through my posts you are getting more and more knowledgeable about exactly which cars sell best: the Top 265 best-selling models in the USA over the first quarter of 2012 now have no secrets for you, as do the Top 318 best-selling models in Europe in 2011 and the Top 100 best-selling models in the World in 2011… So I thought I would give you even more recent data.
How about the best-selling models in the world in March 2012?
More of the same I hear you say?
Fine, you can find sales info for 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, all one by one. So don’t be shy and click away!
But to answer the question…
Actually, no. It’s not more of the same.
And I’ve got one word for you to prove it: hybrid.
For the 11th straight month in a row, Toyota’s Prius topped the list of Japan’s best-selling cars in April. Toyota’s new compact hybrid, the Aqua, known in the U.S. as the Prius c, was a close second. Read More >
No, TTAC hasn’t been hijacked by car dealers other than Mr. Lang. Scouring the local newspapers, TTAC’s Great White North contingent found brand new Fiat 500s being sold for the incredible price of $12,995 for the base “Pop” model.
Toyota is only planning to sell 2,300 RAV4 EVs over the next three years! Can anyone say “compliance car”?
Even though the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i already have their own standard for “quick-charge” stations – known as CHAdeMO, a standard supported by Nissan, Mitsubishi, Fuji Heavy Industries (parent company of Subaru) – the SAE is apparently pitching its own standard of quick-charger outlets (pictured above), creating a situation that would be akin to having certain cars only compatible with certain gas pumps.
With the closure of Japan’s last operating nuclear power plant hitting the news over the weekend, people asked me what that means for Japan’s auto industry. My answer: Nothing. The shutdown of the first nukes on March 11 a year ago was much more dangerous than the long scheduled downing of the last. Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn sees a much bigger danger: the power of the yen. The high yen at the currency exchange. And higher yen numbers on the electricity bill. Read More >
As sales of EVs are tallied-up, keep one thing in mind: Many are not meant to be sold in earnest. “They’re only built to meet California regulations for zero-emission vehicles–which is why they’re called “compliance cars,” says Green Car Reports. The green blog separated the “real” EVs from the compliance chariots. Read More >
When April sales data came out, a lot of noise was made of the shift towards gasoline-sipping small cars. Shrill voices feted sales of electric cars, which look like a rounding error, as a win in the war on terror. As so often, the truth is different. The new cars that hit the road in April get, on average, slightly less mileage (23.3 mpg) than those sold in March (23.4 mpg). If the war on terror would honestly be waged on dealer lots, then the true heroes would be foreign mercenaries, with Americans occupying rear echelon slots. Read More >
Reports are emerging that the Nissan Juke R will cost $600,000 (about $450,000 euro) once Nissan starts selling their steroid-enhanced crossover.
A few years ago I offered a strong thumbs up to the outgoing Nissan Versa. Plenty of room. A small touch of sportiness when it came with a hatchback. Good feature content. I even gave it kudos for offering a slightly frumpish French design that went far beyond the flying wedges and amorphous blobs of the time.
Times have changed. Small cars are starting to look good again. Thank God!
The 2012 Versa has been reviewed here, there and pretty much everywhere. A lot of auto journalists hate it with a passion that was once reserved for no hit wonders like the Saturn Ion and Suzuki Forenza.
Is it really that bad? American consumers are saying, “Hell no!” with sales up a stunning 30% from April 2011. At least from the sales numbers (8,300+ units last month and climbing) it looks like a car loaded with penurious plentitude is just what Dr. Recession ordered. To help us out I have asked two completely fictional car experts, Jacque Hedonist & Stefan Frugalist, to help us figure this out.
Renault-Nissan is buying a majority stake in Russian automaker AvtoVaz. For those not in the Russian Car Appreciation Society, AvtoVaz is the maker of Lada cars.
Recent Comments