2012 Nissan Versa Price

According to Nissan, the second generation of its Versa sedan features “the lowest MSRP in America” at $10,990 (not including a destination fee), with the sub note that the company’s aforementioned assessment is based on “MY12 competitors at time of print”.

Some of you will say, and you’re right. But what we did learn today is the pricing of the entire Versa range that includes three more models aside from the cut price, entry-level S trim.

The 2012 Versa, which was introduced to America at the New York Auto Show this past April, is based on the latest Micra’s platform with all four variants powered exclusively by a 1.6-liter gasoline engine delivering 109-horses at 6,000 rpm and 107 lb-ft of peak torque at 4,400 rpm.

For those of you not lured by the $10,990 price tag of the based 1.6 S model that comes with a five-speed manual gearbox returning a fuel economy of 27mpg city, 36mpg highway and 30mpg combined, Nissan offers the same trim with a Xtronic CVT transmission priced at $12,760. The latter is rated at 30 mpg city, 38 mpg highway and 33 mpg combined.

The two other available and better equipped versions are the Versa 1.6 SV CVT and 1.6 SL CVT priced at $14,560 and $15,560 respectively. All the aforementioned MSRPs exclude applicable tax, title, license fees and destination charges.

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Nissan Leaf Outsells Chevy Volt in Electric Car Battle

The battle for supremacy in the electric car category has begun –even though at present there are only two prime contestants. According to Bloomberg, the Nissan LEAF sold 3,875 cars the first half of the year, compared to 2,745 of GM’s Volt over the same period.

From January through May, the Volt was only 17 cars behind the Leaf, but in the following month, sales of the Volt plunged to just 561 cars, while those of the LEAF took off with a record 1,708 units, giving Nissan’s EV the lead. The LEAF costs $33,000 before a $7,500 federal tax credit, while the Volt costs $41,000 before government incentives.

Nissan’ CEO Carlos Ghosn predicted that Evs will account for 10% of global sales by 2020. He added that he expects his company to sell 12,000 LEAFs this year in the US, and predicted that this number may climb as high as 200,000 units –though he declined to specify a timetable.

Analysts, however, don’t share Ghosn’s optimism. George Peterson, president of consulting company AutoPacific in California, says that “we ‘re not going to see thousands of these on the roads soon. Rechargable vehicles may rise to about 3% of total US car sales in a few years”.

Nevertheless, GM plans to manufacture 16,000 Volts in 2011, with the production rising to 60,000 cars in 2012 after the Hamtrack plant upgraded is finished.

The two automakers had better hurry, because their competitors plan to enter the arena real soon. Next year Toyota will introduce a plug-in version of the very popular Prius and electric versions of the RAV4 SUV and the Scion iQ city car, and Honda plans to launch both a battery-only version of the Jazz/Fit supermini and another, yet unnamed, midsize plug-in vehicle.

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Nissan Celebrates Production of 1 Million Qashqai Crossovers

Four years, six months and 23 days after the first Qashqai small crossover rolled off the Sunderland Plant’s production line in the UK on December 5, 2006, Nissan has passed the 1 million milestone.The Japanese automaker said the Qashqai is “easily the highest-volume car produced in the UK” adding that no other car in Britain has reached the one million mark in such a short period.
“The Nissan Qashqai has been a phenomenal success since its start of production just four and a half years ago,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, Nissan Vice President for Manufacturing in the UK.
The company plans to put the landmark vehicle, a silver 2.0-litre diesel TEKNA Qashqai, on display at The O₂ Arena in London and then have one lucky person win the special car. Nissan said it will soon announce further details on the competition.
Currently, around 1,200 examples of the Qashqai are built every day at the plant, or about one every minute that the production line is open, with more than 80 percent of the vehicles destined for export to 97 markets across the world.
The Qashqai is the fourth best-selling model in the C-segment, which includes cars like the VW Golf, Renault Megane and Ford Focus, across Europe in the 2010 Fiscal Year. Its top five markets were the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain and France.

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VIDEO: Nissan Announces New Midterm Business Plan, will Introduce a New Vehicle Every Six Weeks

Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Co. revealed on Monday its new midterm business plan dubbed “Power 88”, with which it aims to boost both its global market share and profit margin to 8 percent within six years – hence the “88” reference in the name. Last year, Nissan, which is 44.3 percent owned by French partner Renault, had a 5.8 percent global market share.
The new plan calls for the introduction of 52 new cars for fiscal years 2011 to 2016, or about one new vehicle every six weeks.
Japan’s second biggest automaker in terms of sales said it will also try to capture 10% of the premium segment or about 500,000 cars today with its Infiniti brand that will be available in more than 70 markets with a range of at least 10 vehicles.
"Nissan Power 88 is the roadmap for our company's profitable growth," said Nissan President and Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn. "We will accelerate our growth, bringing more innovation and excitement to our products and services as well as cleaner, more affordable cars for everyone around the world, in line with the energy and environmental challenges of the 21st century."
Nissan will also focus on the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
The highlights of Nissan’s “Power 88” plan are:

· Nissan's extended new product plan will deliver, on average, an all-new vehicle every six weeks for six years. The company's global portfolio will have 66 vehicles and will cover 92% of all markets and segments.


· The emphasis on sustainable mobility will continue, encompassing zero-emission vehicles and low-emission technologies that support PURE DRIVE. Cumulative electric vehicle sales for the Renault-Nissan Alliance will reach 1.5 million units.


· "Mobility for all" will expand with dedicated new cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) developed for entry-level segments and emerging markets.


· Nissan will introduce more than 90 new, advanced technologies, averaging 15 per year.


· In 2012, Nissan will have a production capacity of 1.2 million units in China. China has become - and will continue to be - Nissan's largest single global market. Nissan aims for a 10% share of the Chinese market. Nissan will also increase its presence in Brazil, Russia and India, as well as in the next wave of emerging markets.


· In Brazil, Nissan will build a new plant, with a capacity of 200,000 units as a first step.


· Nissan NV200's selection as New York City's "Taxi of Tomorrow" illustrates the company's momentum in the LCV field. By 2016, Nissan will be the world's leading light commercial vehicle manufacturer.


· The Infiniti premium brand will grow from its 2010 sales level of 150,000 vehicles to 10% of global market share among luxury brand segments, a level today that would represent 500,000 vehicles. Infiniti will be present in more than 70 markets with a product range of at least 10 vehicles.

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Nissan Claim Two Oddball Speed Records at Goodwood Festival

Without doubt, one of the highlights of this year’s edition of the famous Goodwood hill climb will be Nissan’s participation. And no, we’re not talking about the Sumo Power GT team’s GT1 race-winning Nissan GT-R, but for the Juke small crossover and the Leaf EV.
You see, the Japanese company has set its sights on claiming two special records at the Goodwood Festival of Speed that takes place in Britain on 1-3 July with the aforementioned models.
With the pure-electric Leaf, Nissan will attempt to set a record for the fastest car ever to be driven up the hill climb course...in reverse. And unless something goes wrong, Nissan has a very good chance at it as unlike conventional gasoline / diesel -powered models, in which reverse gear allows only low speeds, the Leaf’s electric powertrain -in theory- enables it to be driven backwards as fast as it can move forwards.
While regular production models come with an electronic feature that stops the vehicle from reversing quickly, Nissan’s engineers disabled this feature on the Leaf that will participate in the hill climb next weekend. The Japanese company said that the modified Leaf will be able to reach speeds of up to 90mph [145 km/h] in reverse.
Nissan will also try to set another odd record with the Juke crossover, which will attempt to become the first four-wheeled machine to drive up the Goodwood Hill on two wheels.
Both the Juke and Leaf will be driven by professional stunt driver, Terry Grant, who will try to set the records by performing the stunts once every day.
“I’ve experienced Goodwood before but never attempted to set a new record,said Grant. “To have the chance to grab not only one but two records at the same event will hopefully provide everyone with a very entertaining spectacle,” he added.

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Nissan Rebadges Mazda5 MPV for Japan," the New Lafesta Highway Star "

After preparing its customers with an announcement in January, Nissan today went ahead and introduced a re-badged version of the Mazda5 MPV (called Premacy in its home market) in the form of the new Lafesta Highway Star. The compact minivan is supplied to Nissan by Mazda on an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) basis, and will be sold exclusively in Japan.
The transformation of the Mazda5 into the Lafesta Highway Star was a rather straightforward process accomplished by adding Nissan’s logos inside and out, restyling the front end that gains a new hood, lights and bumpers, smoothing out the Mazda’s swoopy profile lines and adding a chrome strip between the tail lamps.
The 7-seater model is offered with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine coupled to an automatic transmission with five-speeds in the front-wheel drive model and four-speeds in the all-wheel drive versions.
In Japan, prices for the new Lafesta Highway Star range from 1,991,850 Yen to 2,483,250 Yen (US$24,650 to $30,700) with Nissan aiming to sell around 1,200 units per month.

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Nissan Leaf vs Chevrolet Volt In Sales Battle: Who Will Win !!??

Even though the new Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt are two very different cars when it comes to details, they do have a common denominator: they are the most technologically advanced eco-friendly vehicles that are mass-produced and readily available in the U.S. market. That said, it’s interesting to see how they’re doing in sales this year.

Believe it or not, it’s a fierce neck-to-neck sales battle so far in 2011 with only 17 cars separating the Leaf from the Volt. Nissan has delivered 2,184 examples of the pure-electric Leaf from January to the end of May, while GM has sold 2,167 units of Chevrolet’s extended range electric vehicle in the same period.

However, that may soon change as Chevrolet has just expanded the availability of the Volt from seven states plus the District of Columbia to all 50 states in the USA. GM also lowered the base price of the 2012MY Volt by $1,000 to $39,995 (or $32,496 after applying a $7,500 federal tax credit), but the Chevrolet is still significantly more expensive than the Leaf which retails for $32,780 ($25,280 with the tax credit).

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2011 NISSAN LEAF EV

2011 CHEVROLET VOLT

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