We managed to make our way to the 23rd annual Z Car Convention at the Nissan North America headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee this weekend. Aside from a slew of Zed-related goodness of unmatched acclaim, the 2011 Nissan Rogue was also rolled out as part of the celebration. Overall, the little crossover sticks close to last year’s recipe, though some subtle visual updates help the ute better stand out from the rest of the mall parking lot crowd.

The tweaked front fascia now has a more angular look aimed at giving the nose of the Rogue some definition. Likewise, the grille has been massaged to incorporate a larger Nissan badge, and the optional fog lights now reside in sculpted inserts. A chrome strip spans the 2011 Rogue’s flanks, and a similar piece of brightwork now glams up the rear liftgate. Lastly, buyers who opt for the 2011 Nissan Rogue Krom or Rogue SL will get new 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels, too. Otherwise, it’s much of the same from Nissan’s compact people hauler. Hit the jump for the official press release.

Redesigned 2011 Nissan Rogue Crossover SUV Debuts at
23rd Annual International Z? Car Convention

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (July 30, 2010) – Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) announced that it will unveil the new, redesigned 2011 Nissan Rogue crossover SUV on Saturday, July 31st at the 23rd Annual International Z? Car Convention in Nashville. The popular Nissan Rogue gets an upgraded look inside and out – including exterior, interior, comfort and convenience, and audio and entertainment system enhancements. Model names and options are also revised, helping keep Rogue fresh and exciting for its active lifestyle buyers. The 2011 Rogue is now offered in two trim levels, S and SV, along with the sporty Rogue S Kr?m™ Edition. Rogue is scheduled to go on sale at Nissan dealers nationwide beginning August 13th.

“It seems appropriate to debut the new Rogue among this important gathering of Z? enthusiasts, since Rogue shares many of the original Z?’s core values – exciting styling, excellent value and a fun-to-drive spirit,” said Al Castignetti, vice president and general manager, Nissan Division, NNA. “The Rogue S Kr?m™ Edition, with its more aggressive styling, sport-tuned exhaust and 18-inch wheels and tires, also fits right in among the many unique and modified Z? cars appearing at the convention.”

Among the many enhancements for the fourth year of Rogue production is a redesigned exterior featuring a new front fascia and grille, new front and rear spoilers, new chrome side door guard molding trim accents, new front and rear tire deflectors and a new chrome license plate finisher.

Also added for 2011 are new 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels for the Rogue S Kr?m? Edition and Rogue SL Package, new low rolling resistance tires (available with the 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels) and a new under-body cover. Fuel economy has improved by 1 mpg for both Highway driving (FWD models) and City (AWD models). The new EPA estimates are 22/28 mpg City/Highway for Rogue FWD and 22/26 mpg City/Highway for Rogue AWD.

About the 2011 Nissan Rogue
The new 2011 Nissan Rogue offers a standard 170-horsepower 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine, Nissan’s advanced Xtronic CVT? (Continuously Variable Transmission), Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) and 4-wheel disc brakes with Anti-lock Braking System (ABS). Rogue S, Rogue SV and Rogue S Kr?m™ Edition are available with an intuitive All-Wheel Drive system.

Rogue is designed to satisfy the buyers’ functional and emotional needs – including the versatility provided by a large 58 cubic feet of cargo space combined with a 60/40 split rear seat and available fold-down front passenger seat. Utility is enhanced by numerous storage and functionality features, including an oversized glove compartment and large center console.

Rogue also offers a long list of standard safety features, including six standard air bags – front seat-mounted side impact supplemental air bags and roof-mounted curtain side impact supplemental air bags with rollover sensor for improved front and rear-seat outboard occupant head protection.

Available Rogue technology features include Nissan Intelligent Key?, Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System, XM® Satellite Radio (XM® subscription required, sold separately) Nissan Navigation System, RearView Monitor, Xenon headlights and a Bose-developed audio system.

The new Rogue SV model is designed to provide excellent value, with standard 6-way power driver’s seat, driver’s seat power lumbar support, RearView Monitor, Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System, Nissan Intelligent Key? and several other features previously available in the 2010 Rogue SL. Two available option packages, the Premium Package and SL Package, include the Nissan Navigation System.

For buyers looking for a sportier look, the Rogue S Kr?m™ Edition features a unique front grille and bumper with fog lights, unique rear fascia, center-exit sport-tuned exhaust, integrated body-colored rear spoiler, body colored power outside mirrors and new 18-inch brilliant-finish aluminum-alloy wheels.

[Source:Autoblog]

Last month, the Lexus HS250h was the subject of a serious recall involving fuel leakage resulting from rear-end collisions. Now, Nissan faces a similar predicament involving 2009 and 2010 model year Cube hatchbacks, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a full recall, covering 46,000 Cubes built between January 30, 2009 and July 30, 2010.

Much like the HS hybrid, NHSTA cites that the amount of fuel leakage following a rear-moving barrier crash “exceeds the allowable limits,” and that this could result in a fire. While a fuel leak is bad news, it’s important to note that this NHTSA test isn’t simply a case of a simple crash test and resultant fuel leak – the government agency’s methodology includes striking the vehicle from the rear with a deformable barrier at 50 mph with a 70 percent overlap. Post-impact, the vehicle is then spun on its longitudinal axis degree-by-degree for a total of 90 degrees, somewhere along which a fuel leak was detected. While any fuel spillage is a bad thing, we suspect you can put any images of the massively overblown Ford Pinto debacle out of your head right now.

In any case, the full recall is expected to start on or before August 30. To fix the problem, dealers will install a special protector to the gasoline recirculation tube where it meets with the filler neck connector. Naturally, the service will be performed free of charge at any authorized Nissan dealer. The full details are available in NHTSA’s press release after the jump.

Vehicle Make / Model: NISSAN / CUBE
Model Year(s): 2009 / 2010
Manufacturer: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Mfr’s Report Date: JUL 21, 2010
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 10V330000
NHTSA Action Number: N/A
Component: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE
Potential Number of Units Affected: 46000

Summary

NISSAN IS RECALLING MODEL YEAR 2009-2010 NISSAN CUBE VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JANUARY 30, 2009 THROUGH JULY 30, 2010. THESE VEHICLES FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 301, “FUEL SYSTEM INTEGRITY.” WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS ROTATED FOLLOWING A REAR MOVING BARRIER CRASH TEST AS REQUIRED, THE AMOUNT OF FUEL LEAKAGE EXCEEDED THE ALLOWABLE LIMITS.

Consequence

FUEL LEAKAGE, IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL DEVELOP A SPECIAL PROTECTOR AND ATTACH IT TO THE GASOLINE RECIRCULATION TUBE AT THE LOCATION OF THE FILLER NECK CONNECTOR. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE AUGUST 30, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.

Notes

OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .

[Source:Autoblog]

Hitachi Automotive supplies engine control units to Nissan. Further up the chain, an unnamed supplier hasn’t been able to fulfill Hitachi’s need for a custom integrated circuit, so Hitachi hasn’t been able to fulfill Nissan’s orders for ECUs. That has put Nissan in the potential position of needing to halt Altima and Sentra production for three days, July 14-16, at factories in Tennessee and Mexico.

The Altima and Sentra would take the fall first as they’re Nissan’s volume models. Hitachi’s delay has already interrupted production in Japan, but thus far the issue has only involved 15,000 units. A U.S. and Mexico plant stoppage of two company staples would bite more deeply into Nissan’s combined 1.2-million-unit production capacity. It’s suspected that Subaru and perhaps Honda are also affected by the ECU delay.

[Source:Autoblog]

Up to this point, Nissan has relied on hybrid technology purchased and licensed from the undisputed leader in hybrid vehicles. That would be Toyota, naturally. But the two Japanese automakers will be moving in separate directions in short order as Nissan has developed its own hybrid powertrain technology, and unlike most other automakers, Nissan’s system will debut powering a rear-wheel-drive machine wearing the Infiniti badge.

And there’s apparently another way Nissan and Infiniti’s first in-house hybrid system will differ from Toyota’s full hybrid and Honda’s mild hybrid architecture. According to Reuters, Koichi Hayasaki, Nissan’s chief engineer of its rear-wheel-drive hybrid system maintains that “Typically, carmakers say the fuel economy improvement on their cars using a ’strong’ or ‘full’ hybrid system is roughly 30 percent, while for ‘mild’ hybrids, it’s 15 percent. We’re aiming for an improvement of 60 to 90 percent.”

Further, Nissan claims its hybrid system will use a single electric motor and twin clutches (instead of two electric motors as used by Toyota), a move that ought to help make the system simpler and lighter than its competitors. It will also use lithium ion batteries instead of cheaper but less energy dense nickel metal hydride cells. If Nissan can manage to hit all of its targets, we may be looking at a new hybrid standard bearer.

[Source:Autoblog]

While Nissan refines its pickup truck plans and gets ready for an all new Titan in 2014, it is doing only a little bit of tweaking to the 2011 Titan and Frontier. The Titan swaps three of its four trim level names, with XE becoming S, SE becoming SV and LE becoming SL, and any four-wheel drive model will get a “4×4″ badge. More substantively, captain’s chairs will be fitted as standard on the top-level SL trim. The 317-horsepower, 5.6 liter V8 remains unchanged.

The name swap carries over to the Frontier, however, with the PRO-4X model keeping its name on the Frontier and Titan. The smaller pickup loses the six-speed manual on the long wheelbase SL King Cab and SV Crew Cab, but gains a six-speed manual option for the lowest trim S model and the PRO-4X short wheelbases. The top line SV trim adds a Luxury Package to its option sheet, and with a little mix-n-match you can get LATCH child safety seats.

The 2011 Titan goes on sale in August, the V6 Frontiers hit showrooms in September, the four cylinder Frontiers in October.

[Source:Autoblog]

Rumors of a hybrid-drive next-generation Nissan GT-R have been floating around since late 2009. And given Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn’s wholesale commitment to electric vehicles, it should come as no surprise that the automaker is seriously considering adding some form of battery power to the next iteration of its sports car. Speaking at an event in Australia, GT-R chief engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno confirmed that an alternative powertrain will be a necessity to keep the GT-R relevant and meet future emissions and fuel economy standards.

Both Mercedes-Benz and Audi have already announced plans to build electric versions of the SLS AMG and R8 respectively. According to Mizuno, Nissan is considering a straight battery variant, a hybrid or even a diesel version, although the latter is unlikely. A battery version is certainly possible, but Mizuno also says a hybrid would be easy to do thanks to the GT-R’s front engine/rear transaxle layout. The Leaf and other EVs will give Nissan some breathing room on regulations, so a new GT-R is still a ways off. At this point work has yet to start on the new model and no decision has been made on the powertrain.

[Source: The Motor Report]

Renault-Nissan and Daimler recently announced a strategic alliance that promised technology and facility sharing that could result in the saving of over $1 billion per year. We’ll have to wait a while before we can see any parts or factory sharing, but that isn’t stopping the rumormill from running rampant.

The latest tease comes courtesy of Japanese enthusiast rag Best Car, which claims that the Infiniti M and G will share a common platform architecture with the Mercedes E-Class. The move would make sense from a money-saving perspective, as Infiniti could save hundreds of millions of dollars in development costs. Daimler could reap huge sums of savings through increased economies of scale, while likely receiving funding from Renault-Nissan to help pay for the costs of developing the architecture. The two companies are reportedly also looking into sharing engines, factory space in the U.S. and possibly even commercial vans.

But while it makes sense for Daimler to share the E-Class platform with Infiniti from a cash standpoint, we’re taking this bit of news with a healthy dose of skepticism. Infiniti already has an excellent rear-wheel drive platform and there’s a good chance that it’s cheaper to build. But then again, if Daimler and Renault-Nissan are truly serious about saving over $1 billion per year, these are exactly the kinds of parts-sharing agreements that will help them reach their cost-saving goals.

[Source:Autoblog]

f you aren’t already on the list to purchase a 2011 Nissan Leaf, you’re officially out of luck. During a speech to the Detroit Economic Club today, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn announced that the U.S. market allotment for the first year’s production of Leafs is already sold out more than six months before the EV even goes on sale. Nissan has now received 13,000 orders for the $32,780 electric car – quite impressive for a vehicle almost no one’s driven.

So far, the orders are comprised of refundable $99 deposits, so it will be interesting to see how sales and orders hold up once people begin getting calls from dealers. Prior to going on sale in 2008, the Smart ForTwo also received thousands of orders before deliveries began – and we all know how well that turned out. While the Leaf will undoubtedly be a much more pleasant and practical car to drive than the Smart, it remains to be seen how customers will react once they get used to the real world electric range.

Ghosn remains extremely bullish on electric vehicles and will be adding production capacity in both the United States and Europe over the next three years.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

We’re beginning to hear the first rumblings about the next round of updates to the Nissan GT-R, and if the rumors are to be believed, Nissan’s goal of keeping pace with the refreshed Porsche 911 Turbo (and its S sibling) will continue through the 2012 model year.

As with its German counterpart, the R35 is expected to undergo a host of evolutionary changes, including some reworked aero bits, suspension and brake upgrades, and a retuned 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 that’s likely to output over 500 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque.

The exterior updates will likely be limited to a new front splitter, rear diffuser and a revised wing, all in an effort to increase downforce and drop lap times. And about those lap times…

We’ve heard from our sources on the ground in Germany that the revised GT-R underwent a new round of testing at the Nurburgring last month and that the newly estimated lap times were (of course) below the original GT-R’s 7:26 run. How low? We’re hoping to find out when it arrives early next year.

[Source:Autoblog]

If you want a Porsche to beat all other Porsches, Switzer Performance is a good place to start. The Ohio-based aftermarket tuner continues to crank out 800-horsepower 911s that would make even 9ff sweat. But what if you don’t want to beat a Porsche with your Porsche? What if you want to beat a Porsche with, say… a Nissan GT-R? Not an uncommon pursuit, and Switzer is glad to help there, too.

One GT-R owner turned to the tuning house with a simple mandate: increase the power-to-weight ratio. Switzer answered by reducing the weight while increasing the power at the same time. The P800 package includes new intercoolers, air intakes, turbochargers and exhaust – the latter a ceramic-coated titanium system – plus a new spoiler and sport seats. The result? 200 pounds off the scale and 300 more horsepower, for a total of 800 horses and 700 pound-feet of torque. Yeah, that ought to do the trick. Check out the photos in the gallery below.

[Source:Autoblog