Car Chute

Nissan Sharpens its Racing Edge at Barbican Turbo 2010

- Approved NISMO Street-Tuned Accessory Parts for Iconic 370z Sports car Feature on the NISMO Stand at Barbican Turbo 2010

PR Newswire — August 17, 2010

ABU DHABI, UAE, August 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — The Nissan ‘Z’ sports car needs little introduction. Nissan’s iconic sporty coupe lives in the sweet spot of performance, style and value, a position that Nissan invented with the original Z back in 1970.

The Nissan Z has also become synonymous with the tuning market the world over thanks to a readily available supply of aftermarket parts and the car’s high profile on a number of video driving games offered across a range of popular gaming platforms.

In partnership with this year’s ‘Barbican Turbo’ show at ADNEC, Abu Dhabi, 7/8/9th October, Nissan Middle East will feature its own factory approved ‘NISMO’ tuning parts for the latest 370Z sports car.

Established in 1984, NISMO – or Nissan Motorsports International – is the company’s wholly-owned racing division dedicated to the design and development of Nissan race and rally cars for entry into many domestic and international race series around the world. NISMO is the performance brand of Nissan known throughout the world in providing extreme performance Nissan parts and vehicles to customers with products derived from state-of-the-art technology and know-how cultivated through motorsports activity. Now, these NISMO accessories are made available for 370Z customers under the convenience of Nissan’s regular warranty.

The Nissan 370Z Coupe can be equipped with a selection of NISMO parts which have been carefully developed to offer the same durability, quality, fit and finish to comply with Nissan’s quality standards. The parts can be ordered and professionally fitted by Nissan dealers.

The selection of NISMO body parts not only make the 370Z Coupe look more aggressive, they have also been wind tunnel tested to improve aerodynamic flow over the car’s body and increase down force to enhance handling at high speed.

The complete NISMO ‘Aero kit’ for the 370Z Coupe includes a front chin spoiler, side sill protector, rear deck lid spoiler and rear bumper under protector.

Even sportier handling can assured by ordering the NISMO ‘S-tune’ sports suspension system which includes a specially developed spring and shock absorber package and new front and rear anti-roll bars. When fitted, the NISMO ‘S-tune’ kit reduces the overall height of the 370Z Coupe by 10mm with dynamic improvements, resulting in a more neutral and balanced handling vehicle.

For a sportier exhaust note, increased horsepower and a great look, the NISMO sports tuned exhaust system features larger diameter exhaust pipes for higher exhaust gas flow while still complying with international standards on noise levels.

Finally, the full NISMO look can be completed with special forged aluminium alloy 5 spoke 19-inch ‘Rays’ brand wheels which by being significantly lighter than the standard wheel offer improved braking response due to their reduced mass.

“We are excited to be partnering with this year’s Barbican Turbo event as we believe it’s the right platform to showcase our official NISMO accessory parts for the iconic new 370Z sports car” commented Yuta Yamazaki, Manager in the Nissan Middle East marketing department. “We hope to talk to many Nissan Z fans during the show and get their feedback on this initial range of parts we are offering for the first time in the region” he concluded.

As part of the pre-publicity build up for the event, Barbican Turbo will stage a travelling road show in Dubai featuring a selection of sporty Nissan models which will stop at the JBR Walk area in Dubai Marina on 23/24/25th September and 30th September/1st/2nd October. The three day event itself commences at ADNEC from 7th through 9th October.

Completing the Nissan flavour at Barbican Turbo, fans of the sport of drifting can also check out demonstrations by ‘Team Orange’ from Japan who compete in the D1 Grand Prix series using versions of the legendary Nissan GT-R supercar.

Tickets are now on sale for the event through http://www.timeouttickets.com and with limited spaces available, UBM is inviting potential sponsors and exhibitors to take part in Barbican Turbo 2010; for more information contact Matt Tarrant on +971-(0)-2-06-4471 or matt.tarrant@ubm.com. Also, follow Barbican Turbo on Twitter @Barbican Turbo and join the Barbican Turbo Facebook group.

Notes to the editor

For more information please see http://www.barbicanturbo.com or the Nissan Media Channel on http://www.nissan-me.com

About Barbican Turbo:

Barbican TURBO the Middle East’s premier custom car and bike show and includes custom cars, modified cars, car tuning and motorsports. Barbican Turbo is organised by UBM Middle East, and is one of the four founding partners of the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company.

Barbican TURBO: the Ultimate Auto Fest will cover a range of areas, providing both trade visitors and consumers everything they need to modify either their or their clients’ vehicles, including;

- Tuning and Performance (air intakes, exhausts, turbochargers; all aftermarket engine parts) – Restyling and Accessories (body kits, carbon fibre bonnets and spoilers, graphics, aftermarket front and rear lights, tints, paints, suspension, dress-up parts for exterior, interior and the engine-bay) – Car Care and Accessories (shampoos and polishes, oils and lubes etc) – Mobile Electronics and Technology (I.C.E – In Car Entertainment, stereos, TV screens, DVD players, radar detectors, alarms etc) – Aftermarket Wheels and Tyres (chrome wheels, racing wheels, SUV wheels, and all types of tyres) – Tools and Maintenance (all the equipment related to the servicing, modifying and maintenance of vehicles) – Business Services (such as specialist car and bike insurance companies and brokers)

About Nissan Middle East:

Nissan is a leading automotive brand in the Middle East. It boasts one of the most popular and successful vehicle line-ups in the region. Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. became the first Japanese car manufacturer to establish a regional Middle East HQ in June 1994. Nissan operations cover over 20 countries across the region making it one of the largest representations in the Middle East amongst Japanese automotive brands. Nissan reported its best ever Middle East regional sales results for the financial year 2008 with the company and its distributors achieving over 200,000 sales.

For media enquiries please contact:

Barbican Turbo Abdul Karim Samaan Grayling Momentum +971-4-390-1630 abdulkarim@graylingmomentum.com

Nissan Middle East FZE Hakam Kherallah Senior Manager Corporate Communications Department Nissan Middle East FZE Tel: +971-4-881-7500 Fax: +971-4-881-9747 Mobile: +971-50-240-2526 E-mail: Hakam@nissan-me.ae

Vivian Hawat Ketchum Raad Middle East Tel: +971-4-425-8800 ext. 8976 Mobile: +971-50-567-6132 E-mail: vivian.hawat@ketchum-raad.com

Subject Codes: PC/t.100817025611011, PR/dest.Public, PT/lang.en, IN/AUT, IN/MLM, IN/TRN, IN/TRT, SU/PDT, SU/TDS, RE/Middle_East

Nissan North America, Inc. 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 Krom Edition. Rogue is scheduled to go on sale at Nissan dealers nationwide beginning August 13th.

Read

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. announced today that 30 Nissan D22 4×4 pick-up trucks arrived in Haiti and were received by the United Nations’ World Food Programme. The trucks will be put to work immediately to deliver food, supplies and aid in the massive ongoing efforts to help rebuild lives in a nation ravaged by a devastating earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010.

The donation of trucks, in response to a request from former U.S. President Bill Clinton, founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and currently UN Special Envoy for Haiti, is an expansion of relief efforts in Haiti sponsored by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and its global community of employees.

With the donation of the pick-up trucks, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and its employees worldwide have contributed cash and products valued at nearly $750,000 to relief efforts in Haiti.

Immediately after the earthquake in January, Nissan employees took action to help – first with a donation of more than $100,000 cash, corporate matches for gifts from employees, and a commitment to partner with Habitat for Humanity International to construct new homes. In response to the request for trucks, Nissan’s Corporate Social Responsibility team worked with the U.N. to identify a partner relief organization and found a match in the World Food Programme, which took delivery of the trucks today in Port-au-Prince.

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It’s almost the end of the decade for the 2000′s and it’s time to look back and review what trucks were the most significant. PickupTrucks.com and AutoPacific has just announced a list of the Most Significant Trucks of the Decade. As expected the list were made up of trucks that were technologically cutting edged advanced and who pushed the envelope in terms of quality and design.

So here they are:

• 2000 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab
• 2001 Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra Heavy Duty with 6.6-Liter Duramax Diesel
• 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche
• 2004 Nissan Titan
• 2005 Toyota Tacoma
• 2006 Honda Ridgeline
• 2007 Toyota Tundra
• 2009 Dodge Ram 1500
• 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

And the Most Significant of the Decade:

• 2009 Ford F-150

Why It’s Significant: Remains the gold standard against which other half-ton pickup trucks are compared.

Ford gave its F-150 half-ton pickup a major revision for 2009 and gave buyers an astonishing seven different models to choose from before they even considered engine choice or cab type. Two more models have been added for 2010! It’s not the most powerful truck but the F-150 features an excellent six-speed transmission and innovative features like Ford Work Solutions that make doing jobs with a truck easier. From contractor to urban cowboy, Ford has an F-150 to meet almost anyone’s needs.

“On balance, we thought the 2009 Ford F-150 was the most significant pickup of the last decade,” said Jim Hossack, vice president of consulting for AutoPacific. “It sells in high volume, owners like it and its body, chassis and powertrain are all first rate. Features abound, and there are more models, series and options than can be counted. It’s a good looking truck and suitable for the widest possible range of tasks and uses.”

Congratulations to the Ford F-150 team for creating a Pick-up Truck that ruled a decade.

Press Release

Do you remember last time that there was a contest on how car designers view cars in the year 2030? Well it got a lot of entries but naturally there can be only one winner. And the one who won it is the Nissan V2G.

The Nissan V2G (Vehicle to Grid), was chosen for its holistic approach in answering the future’s design questions. With the consensus that the future will be much more integrated, the V2G offered a great vehicle design that took environmental aspects into consideration.
“The scope of this year’s concepts and designs – from the initial sketches to the final presentations – were very impressive,” said Chuck Pelly, director of Design Los Angeles and partner in The Design Academy, Inc. “In the end, it came down to which team had the most inventive and solution-oriented design. Nissan’s designers showed passion and were able to create the ultimate Youthmobile for 2030 with their V2G design.”

Well, there’s no note on whether the cars who joined this contest would be running on gas or not, but I guess they focused more on the design. It would be great if they can also figure in the “green” aspects of a car.

Entries were judged by multi-discipline design professionals who selected the winner based on its originality of creative concept, integration of futuristic design elements and level of adaptation to the needs of the youth consumer in 2030. All of the Youthmobile 2030 entries delivered a great variety of answers to the question posed by this year’s Design Challenge. However, the Nissan’s V2G design was most distinguished with its combination of story and design.

Well, here’s hoping that they include the green aspect next year.

Press Release

As I mentioned before, the evolution of cars from gas guzzlers to electric suckers is inevitable if you want to help the environment shape up. With car manufacturers recognizing the effects of using gas powered vehicles to the environment, most of them are looking for ways to create green cars that won’t alienate their current gas powered car customers and lovers. One of these manufacturers is Nissan as they just showed off their green car: The Leaf.

“This is not a golf car, it’s a real car,” Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told the crowd. The Leaf, with motors equal to a 100-horsepower gas engine, can be recharged to 80% capacity in a half hour, of fully overnight. The five-passenger sedan can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than 10 seconds.

As with most problems with green cars, it is extremely expensive! According to the article, there’s a very big chance that the price will range from $25,000 to $30,000. Now whether this will go down as more people buy green cars is really up for debate, but in the long run, the price of maintaining this is a heck of a lot cheaper.

The next problem now are the charging stations–and it looks like Nissan is actively participating in setting up the stations. It should push the other car manufacturers to do their share in making the world better for everyone. I’m hoping that this starts the ball rolling for more electric cars in the future.

Source

What if you could look into the future–let’s say 2030? What type of cars will we be driving? Will it be a flying car or still a land based vehicle? This is what the Southern California Automotive Design Studios thought when they created a contest.

“Automotive designers have always been fascinated with the next generation of drivers and this year’s Design Challenge has provided them with the opportunity to use their creative talents to revisit the concept of ‘the car’ with new eyes, using the hottest technologies to both explore and fulfill the needs of young people,” said Chuck Pelly, director of Design Los Angeles and partner in The Design Academy, Inc.

The following have submitted their entries:

Volkswagen/Audi of America Design Center California: Audi eOra and eSpira

General Motors Advanced Design: Car Hero

Honda Research and Development, North America: Honda Helix

Mazda R & D of North America: Mazda Souga

Nissan Design America: V2G

Toyota’s Calty Design Research: Toyota LINK

I’m not sure but do these cars still run on gas? I hope they’ve taken into consideration not only the environmental effects but also the economical effects of being too dependent on gasoline and oil. The last thing we need are even more gas guzzling giant vehicles. Nevertheless, they look cool and I hope to see and ride them in my lifetime.

Entries will be judged by Tom Matano, Director of Industrial Design at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University; Imre Molner, Dean of Detroit’s College for Creative Studies; Stewart Reed, Chair, Transportation Design, Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design and Jason Hill, Principal of Eleven, LLC and Designer of the Aptera electric and plug-in hybrid/electric vehicle.

Press

Nissan North America has announced the pricing for the new 2010 Sentra which is currently at local Nissan dealer showrooms. Armed with a number of enhancements, the retail price for the 2010 Nissan Sentra models are as follows:

• 2.0 CVT : $16,600
• 2.0 S CVT: $17,160
• 2.0 SR: $17,160
• 2.0 SL: $18,560
• SE-R: $19,580
• SE-R Spec V: $20,080

Among the new features of the 2010 Nissan Sentra includes:

(Source) Press

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today unveiled Nissan LEAF, the world’s first affordable, zero-emission car. Designed specifically for a lithium-ion battery-powered chassis, Nissan LEAF is a medium-size hatchback that comfortably seats five adults and has a range of more than 160km (100 miles) to satisfy real-world consumer requirements.

Slated for launch in late 2010 in Japan, the United States, and Europe, Nissan LEAF ushers in a new era of mobility – the zero-emission era. The car is the embodiment of Nissan’s radical, transformative vision for the future and the culmination of decades of investment and research.

Key characteristics of the LEAF include:

1. Zero-emission power train and platform
2. Affordable pricing
3. Distinctive design
4. Real-world range autonomy – 160km (100 miles)
5. Connected Mobility: Advanced intelligent transportation (IT) system

Press

Images from Hybrid Cars

AutoNation stores in Lithia Springs offset their Carbon Footprint. Team Honda, Team Toyota and Team Nissan of Lithia Springs, Georgia, already had an extensive recycling program in place for their used tires and oil when they decided to take the next step and offset their carbon footprint, becoming the first carbon neutral dealerships in Georgia.

“We found out that energy use was 90 percent of our carbon footprint” said the Controller of Team Honda, Toyota and Nissan, Clarence Ratcliffe. “It’s our job to make sure our dealerships run efficiently. Saving energy and natural resources have the benefit of helping the environment. Our customers were so impressed with our waiting room recycling unit that they’ve asked us where they can buy one too. We also reduced waste by giving each employee DCI Thermal Porcelain Cups, which eliminated the need for Styrofoam.”

All AutoNation dealerships, Team’s parent company, make it easy for car buyers to shop for more fuel-efficient vehicles with its E-Vehicle program. The program identifies cars and trucks that produce at least 28 miles per gallon or deliver 10 percent better fuel efficiency than average for their class. AutoNation also singles out what they call “F-vehicles” with a yellow leaf logo; these are cars and trucks that use flex-fuel technology.

“The three dealerships are taking responsibility for their carbon emissions,” said Verus Carbon Neutral’s Eric Taub, whose company measured the footprint and provided the offsets. “Seems especially appropriate when you offer hybrids that get anywhere from 35 to over 50 miles per gallon,” adds Taub. “Bottom line, they are trying to lower their electricity use but are still dependent on the grid. Until the local utilities employ more renewable energy, 50 mpg cars and offset projects help to reduce emissions.”

Team Honda, Toyota and Nissan decided to use a Georgia forestry project, managed by Valley Wood Timber, to offset their carbon footprint. The project is actively managed to sequester CO2 in a sustainable manner that protects over 60,000 acres of forest habitat. Proceeds support the Humane Society. Additionally, Team Lithia Springs also promotes Georgia Beautification license plate tags.

Press