Autoblog

While most of the attention Nissan has been getting recently revolves around the GT-R sportscar, its bread-and-butter models, like the Sentra S and the new Murano, have gotten slight bumps in price. The compact sedan sees an increase from $16,930, which included a $660 destination charge to $17,030, including a higher $695 destination charge. The Murano was just redesigned and launched with a mildly lowered price for this model year. Not so much anymore, as it now jumps to $29,250, including a slightly raised $780 destination charge.

In addition to these incremental sticker price adjustments, Nissan has announced a mild increase to the destination charges for all of its 2008 and 2009 model-year vehicles carrying Nissan or Infiniti badges. Though Nissan has yet to comment on the reason for the price hikes, we'd imagine that the weak U.S. dollar and high fuel prices undoubtedly play a part in both the base price bump and the associated destination charge increases.


[Source: Inside Line]

It's been easy to forget about Nissan's small car offerings with the recent introduction of the redesigned Maxima in New York and the impending arrival of the GT-R for the first time on U.S. shores. But some of Nissan's more compact vehicles remain the bread and butter of the brand and fill the transportation needs of the masses. However, they're far from exciting and recent sales in the U.S. bear this out. To cope with these slow movers, Nissan is planning to idle its Aguascalientes, Mexico plant for a seven days this month so it can realign production with demand. According to Automotive News, the slowdown of car sales in America is expected to cause a bit of a slump for Mexico's burgeoning automotive industry, as many of the export models built there are intended for sale in the States. After the seven day closure, things should be back to normal, and hopefully sales of Nissan's small cars will rise along with fuel prices.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Shiro Nakamura, Nissan's global design chief, revealed that plans to expand the Infiniti lineup could include a small vehicle to slot in below the current G, a two-door high-powered flagship and some form of people mover that would fill the gap left by the EX and FX CUVs.

Since the GT-R will find its way to U.S. shores sporting a Nissan badge (and rightfully so), Nakamura maintains that a halo car, either a coupe or convertible, would fit well into the Infiniti lineup. Although details are scarce, the idea of installing a modified version of the GT-R's twin-turbo V6 into Infiniti's flagship shouldn't be out of the question.

On the other side of spectrum lies an entry-level model that would sport a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine in favor of the 3.5-liter or 3.7-liter V6s that populate the majority of Infiniti's models. It stands to reason that the 200 HP QR25DE four-pot powering the Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V would be a good fit, and if Infiniti decides to continue with a focus on RWD vehicles, we smell a sales sensation.

Nakamura is quick to point out that, "These are just ideas we are thinking about." But if Carlos Ghosn's optimism for the brand is matched with the right amount of R&D dollars, there's little doubt that good things could be on the horizon.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

CVT transmissions definitely aren't new, but high gas prices have thrust the once unreliable continuously variable trannies back into the powertrain equation. Chrysler uses the CVT in a few of its products, Mitsubishi added the tranny to the new Lancer, and Nissan has begun using the CVT in the Altima and Sentra, among others. According to a Japanese business rag, Subaru is planning to add the gearless transmission into every model they make by 2010. The first Subie to mate a boxer engine to the CVT is rumored to be the updated 2009 Legacy, and a 2.0L diesel with a CVT may follow shortly there after. While the CVT will be available with every model, we're assuming (and hoping) that manual transmissions will be offered as well.

CVTs are usually a bit quicker off the line than automatics, but in our experience fuel economy savings are a mix bag. While the Sentra's MPG improved with the CVT, in the 2006 Ford Five Hundred, the FWD CVT version got two less MPG on the highway than the auto-equipped SEL model. As far as the driving experience goes, CVTs take a little getting used to since the transmissions keep the engine in the optimal rev range at all times and the transmission feels like it's slipping, but most drivers may never notice the difference.

[Source: Winding Road]

Wants some desktop wallpaper images of the 91-94 Sentra SE-R? Click above

Nissan has a history of giving BMWs a run for their money. Back when they were going by Datsun, the 510 was a capable facsimile of a BMW 1600/2002, but cheaper. Performance cred attained, Nissan continued to pump out various capable performers over the years. In 1991, the Sentra was due for a makeover, and Nissan managed to splice some 510 DNA into the SE-R. Car and Driver admonished 12-year olds to save the review so they'd know what to buy in 1998 for a screaming bargain and a hell of a good time. I saved the review, but failed to heed the stellar advice about picking one of these little screamers up in the late '90s. They're a lot more rare now, and finding one that's either inexpensive or unmolested is tough. It's the darndest thing – people know what these cars are.

Read on for more.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in Arlington, Va. has just concluded testing on some 75 vehicles' head restraint systems and after performing a simulated rear-end impact of 20 MPH, only 22 of the systems received the top score of "good."

At the head of the class was Audi's A4, S4 and A6, along with the Chevy Cobalt, Ford Five Hundred (Taurus, whatever) and its Mercury counterpart, Honda's Civic, Hyundai Sonata, Jag S-Type, Kia Optima, Merc E-class, Nissan Sentra and its lesser sibling the Versa, Subaru's Impreza, Legacy and Outback, as well as Volvo's S40, S60 and S80 (no surprise).

The flunkees included the Acura TSX, BMW 5-series, Buick LaCrosse and Lucerne, Caddy CTS, DTS and STS, Chevy's Aveo, the Honda Fit and Accord, Infiniti's M35, the Jaguar X-Type, Kia Rio, Mitsubishi Galant, Pontiac's Grand Prix, plus the Toyota Avalon and Corrolla.

Considering that the IIHS estimates that the injuries sustained to the back and neck in these types of collisions costs insurance companies around $8 mbillion dollars per year, their interest in the matter is obvious. Whether or not consumers will include this in their purchasing criteria is another matter however.

[Source: IIHS]

Click the image above for our full gallery of desktop wallpaper-sized pics

Nissan determined that Miami would serve as the East Coast launching ground for the next addition to its SE-R legacy. Why Miami? We don't know either, but ignoring the hard bodies, mojitos and other stereotypes of this great proboscis into the Atlantic, the question to be answered is this: does the new Sentra SE-R live up to its predecessors or is it simply an econobox with a red seatbelt? We were invited to the Homestead Speedway to find out.

Click image to enlarge

While everyone was lining up in orderly rows to watch the official unveiling of the Sentra SE-R and Altima coupe at Nissan's LA press conference, we snapped a few pics of a pre-production model of the 2007 350Z.

Although the exterior has gotten a few subtle tweaks that only those of us in the Z-car enthusiast camp would notice, they deserve a brief mention. While the headlamps and taillights have been revised with new housings, the most striking change was the addition of a power dome that eschews the two creases that formerly flanked both sides hood.

So what could possibly justify such a change? Why, more power, naturally. Nissan's venerable VQ35, 3.5-liter V6 is now producing 306 HP, which doesn't seem like a substantial increase over the last model's 300 HP, until you take into account that new output calculations have recently been adopted. As it turns out the same engine that's fitted to the new G35 and the 350Z is making between 15 and 20 HP more than the outgoing 2006 models, which should easily be felt by even the numbest backside.

The increase in power is mainly due to revisions made to the variable valve timing on the exhaust side of the valvetrain, allowing the new engine to rev past the 7k redline of former models, all the way up to a newly set 7,500 RPM.

This new engine will also find a home in the new Altima and Maxima, as well as the Altima coupe, which should make Nissan's new entry-level two-door one of the great performance bargains of 2007.

More pics of the 350Z's new exterior bits and interior are posted after the jump.

[Source: Nissan and Kicking Tires]

UPDATE: Sentra SE-R will be available in March of 2007


The Nissan Sentra SE-R, and its Spec-V sibling, is entering a market rife with performance bargains. On the turbocharged side of the fence lays the GTI and MazdaSpeed3, while the coupe and sedan versions of Honda's Si covers the naturally aspirated realm. Simply put, the SE-R has got serious competition from all sides.

The scooper of cars procured a shot of what looks to be the Nissan Sentra SE-R ahead of it's unveiling at this week's Los Angeles Auto Show. Bathed in "look-at-me" yellow and donning NISMO-grade 17-inch rollers, the SE-R looks the biz for its segment.

Power is expected to come from a 2.5-liter inline four, which should be producing something in the neighborhood of 190+ HP. No word yet on suspension, braking or transmission options, but we'd suspect that everything will get a through tweaking to justify its SE-R designation.

More info will be forthcoming on Wednesday. Stay tuned.

[Source: Car Scoop]