Nissan Renault News

stever

Anyone following the recent Nissan Renault scandal? It's been somewhat overlooked by the devastation caused in Japan from the March 11 earthquake.

stever

"Nissan is suspending all Japanese production operations until tomorrow and said will assess resumption of production after that date later this week. The tsunami reportedly damaged more than 2,000 Nissan and Infiniti-brand vehicles earmarked for Japan and U.S. showrooms. Most were reported to be Infiniti M, EX and FX models at a port to be shipped to North America when the giant wave swept over the area."

Quake Aftermath Severe, Deep Auto Sector Impact (AutoObserver)

The Leaf is hard hit.

"The auto maker said that a ship with 600 of the electric vehicles left port in Japan on Thursday, just before Friday's devastating quake and tsunami, but the plant in Oppama that builds the car is now closed through at least Wednesday, and Nissan isn't sure whether a more significant supply disruption may occur."

Nissan Faces Blow to Leaf (Wall St. Journal)

stever

The "company made drastic errors in its investigation and subsequent persecution of three high-ranking executives for industrial espionage, Ghosn himself effectively had to concede he was fooled by a bogus story and what has increasingly been depicted as corporate culture heavy on paranoia."

Renault Scandal Turns Sour For Ghosn (AutoObserver)

anythngbutgm

Official: Nissan Leaf earns five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash tests

stever

"Despite the Japanese yen trading at a virtually unprofitable 80 yen to the U.S. dollar, Nissan is forecasting an operating profit of 460 billion yen ($5.75 billion) for the year. That’s a 14.4-percent drop on 2010 levels but nevertheless puts Nissan way ahead of rivals Toyota and Honda, which are forecasting “just” 300 billion yen and 200 billion yen, respectively. For net income, Nissan is predicting 270 billion ($3.38 billion), which is a significant 15.4-percent fall on 2010 levels. Even so, at that level, Nissan would achieve the once unthinkable and generate almost the same level of profit as Toyota."

Despite Quake, Nissan on a Roll for 2012 (AutoObserver)

anythngbutgm

Not much gets posted about Nissan but this is pretty cool.

Report: Nissan GT-R Guts Get in a Juke

According to a recent report by Jalopnik, Nissan Europe is conducting a wicked science experiment with the Juke crossover. Described as the 'Super' Juke, the sketch here shows the little SUV with a serious secret: GT-R guts.Now, stopping short of screaming 'it's alive!' manically, the souped-up Juke will undoubtedly be the creme-de-la-creme of crossovers. Jalopnik has learned from sources inside the Japanese automaker that the car will recieve a stripped lightweight interior for added performance.

stever

Sounds like some jawboning going on, but moving factories is a possibility.

Nissan Again Signaling Shift Away From Japan (AutoObserver)

stever

"In the big picture, Nissan comes over as perhaps the most quick-thinking and streetwise of Japan's top automotive players and that, no doubt, helped the company succeed in terms of recovery from the March earthquake and Thai floods. Nissan also has a portfolio of many good products and a broad, efficient global production footprint to manufacture them. Put that all together and add a slice of good fortune in the mix to explain why Nissan has managed to been more successful than its rivals in dealing with this 2011’s intense adversities."

Why Nissan's Disaster Recovery Bested Rivals (AutoObserver)

anythngbutgm

link title

anythngbutgm

Nissan taps De Nysschen, former chief of Audi of America, to lead Infiniti

stever

Makes you wonder if Nissan/Renault will now start building cars to match survey questions.

Consumer Reports Car-Test Boss David Champion Joins Nissan (WSJ)

stever

"No major car company has yet figured out how to penetrate profitably the lowest price segment in emerging markets, even though these countries already make up nearly half of all global vehicle sales.
That Datsun is part of any Nissan power play, especially one this large, is an ironic twist for a company whose very decision to extinguish the car brand in the early 1980s was heaped in controversy. The nameplate was still popular at the time—it was the second-biggest selling foreign brand in the U.S. in 1981, with 580,000 cars sold—but Japan-based executives decided that year to stop using Datsun and replace it with Nissan to unify the corporate identity. The move, which caused widespread confusion among dealerships and buyers, contributed to Nissan's decline at the time and is still considered one of the worst marketing decisions in automotive history.

Other critics point to a similarly bold campaign by Mr. Ghosn—the pioneering battery-powered Leaf. Despite great fanfare as the car was rolled out, the Leaf has stalled out over the past year"

For Datsun Revival, Nissan Gambles on $3,000 Model (WSJ)

fintail

Can't see why not. The Logan has sold well, I think.

stever

Interesting - never heard of them before. They even make a Multi Convivial Vehicle. Cheap, easy to fix, made for rough roads. Sounds good.

fintail

The Dacia lineup has some appeal to those who want ruggedness, or are simply cheap. Relatively modern, not as crude as older models, simple to the point where they might have a charm to them.

stever

Genre-Busting Nissan Concept Teased Ahead of 2012 Sao Paulo Auto Show (Inside Line)

stever

Nissan Launches "Brand Smell" at 2013 Detroit Auto Show

Reminds me of the odors that Taco Bell injects onto the street to try to lure customers in.

stever

"This week, Nissan showed off the answer to this traveler’s nightmare with its ultralight DIG-T R 1.5 liter, three-cylinder petrol engine that is small enough to fit in carry-on luggage and boasts a power-to-weight ratio better than the engine of a Formula 1 racer."

Nissan's new 400 bhp engine fits in carry-on luggage (gizmag.com)