In an interview with Car, Nissan design director said that the supercar GT-R might also be sold under the Infiniti label.
“An Infiniti version is a future possibility” and “we are thinking about it,” told the designer to the magazine; however he also said that the company hadn’t even started a design study.
More than a simple change of label on the car, the Infiniti would get a unique exterior and interior styling in order to justify such a model in the brand’s lineup.
Nissan will launch its luxury brand, Infiniti, on the European market at the Geneva Motor Show and will likely unveil a world premiere. This might be the new FX55 SUV.
The FX model is a peculiar SUV which features a unique exterior and interior styling. The replacement model will keep the current overall shape while modernizing it. The FX model will be available with two V6 petrol engines, a 3.5-litre unit and the 3.7-litre engine. The range will be topped by a 5.5-litre V8 engine. Details remain scarce and it is unknown if the car maker plans to offer the FX with a diesel engine at least in Europe.
You probably remember Stephane Schwartz as he appeared in Nissan commercials to promote the company’s design. He stepped down and setp up his own design studio.
As Design Director of Nissan Design UK he lead the Nissan European studio located in London Paddington and supervised the design of the successful Qashqai model.
He started at Pininfarina where he designed the Ethos concept car. He left the coachbuilder to join the European studio of Nissan then located in Munich. There he was I charge of the Primera concept car and then moved to Tokyo.
Thanks to the success of the Qashqai model, Nissan will recruit 800 additional staff by creating a third shift at its plant in Sunderland.
Since its launch last March, the Qashqai found 130,000 owners obliging Nissan to boost production by 20% last June. This contributed to the plant achieving a record annual production volume of 353,000 units of Qashqai, Note, Micra and Micra C+C. Trevor Mann, Senior Vice President for Manufacturing & Supply Chain Management, Nissan Europe, said: “Currently on two shifts, we can produce 200,000 Qashqais per year. However, the car is proving so popular we now need to significantly increase our volume.”
With orders still above forecast and a customer order bank of 60,000 units, Nissan has no other choice than creating a third shift. By December 2008, 800 new persons will be recruited. Of these, 400 will be permanent positions, with the remainder temporary contracts.
Nissan has unveiled a facelifted Tiida four years after its first debut. The compact model features minor changes and includes a few technical updates.
The exterior styling includes new grilles, front bumpers and headlights at the front, and new taillights and a rear bumper at the rear end. Although better than the outgoing model, the Tiida still looks a little tame.
Inside the car evolves more significantly with a revamped centre stack which features redesigned automatic air-conditioner controls similar to the Qashqai’s, and new illumination scheme, as well as new metallic-finish panels. There is also a new instrument cluster design which features new illumination colours changed to an orange hue and a fuel consumption display function.
The Tiida is available with two engines, a 109bhp 1.5-litre petrol engine and a 128bhp 1.8-litre unit which are hooked up to a four-speed automatic gearbox as standard. From now on, the 1.8-litre engine can be associated with a six-speed manual gearbox while fuel economy has been improved on the in-house continuously variable transmission.
Like every Japanese models on sale on its domestic markets, the range is quite complicated and the revamped Tiida offers no less than 22 versions.
The entry model starts at ¥1,459,500/£6,900 and is powered by the 1.5 litre engine hooked up to the four-speed automatic transmission while the topping version, of course, powered by the 1.8-litre unit with the CVT transmission will cost ¥2,291,100/£10,800.
Nissan will likely unveil a revised 350Z at the next Paris Motor Show which will feature the 3.7-litre petrol unit already seen on the Infiniti G37. The revamped Z would be called 370Z.
The news doesn’t come as a surprise. Indeed, the two cars share the same platform and engine until this year when the Infiniti coupé was facelifted at 2007 New York International Auto Show.
In the current 350Z, the V6 engine dubbed VQ35HR, has an output of 313bhp while the 3.7-litre unit pumps out 329bhp. The VQ37VHR has a higher compression ratio (11.0:1) than the VQ35HR and gains 2 ft·lbf (2.7 N·m) of torque at peak. Coming with the Nissan’s VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift) system, the 3.7-litre unit offers a more flattened torque curve all around by as much as 15%.
With only 1,500 GT-R reserved for the American market every year and the frenzy that hits the Japanese market, some dealers planned to markup the GT-R as high as $15,000 per vehicle but Nissan has taken steps to ensure that doesn’t happen in order to offer a first class service to potential Porsche customers.
Indeed, each dealer which wants to sell the GT-R will have to be certified by the company. The certification will be based on the level of customer service and the implicit agreement not to markup the GT-R. Also all customer enquiries or complaints about the supercar won’t be routed to dealerships as usual but to Nissan regional vice presidents to make sure that customers won’t be tricked in any way by a dealer. One can sat that Nissan trusts its dealerships.
Will those measures be enough to prevent speculation? Nothing is sure as the Japanese market went frenzy despite having a bigger allowance and and being smaller than the US. And what will happen to Europe? Will we see the return of grey import like in the ’90s?
The Nissan Titan has been a failure as sales has picked to 60,691 vehicles for the first eleven months of this year while its direct competitor, Toyota Tundra, has been sold at 177,336 units over the same period. With such low figures, Titan’s profitability has been compromised and Nissan-Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn is seriously considering killing the pickup.
The pickup market has been sluggish in recent years and there is a fierce struggle on for a pie. Added to forecasted higher gas prices, the Titan’s future looks shadowed. Axing the product would be the last solution as Carlos Ghosn would prefer a partnership with another car maker. Last Friday it was rumoured that Nissan was in talks with Chrysler on a possible partnership. For Chrysler, it would be an opportunity to reduce costs at a time when the American brand struggles financially to survive.
For the 14th time, the Nissan VQ engine family has been chosen to be part of the list of the 10 Best Engines by Ward’s Automotive Group.
This year, Ward’s people picked up the new VQ37VHR engine which appeared in the Infiniti G37 Coupe. An evolution of the VQ35 petrol unit, it comes with the VVEL system which combines hydraulic-controlled variable valve timing and electronically controlled variable valve lift on the intake side to help improve performance and response.
The engine also features increased cylinder block height (from the previous 3.5-litre design), ladder frame construction for greater rigidity, asymmetric piston skirts, an electronically controlled “drive-by-wire” throttle system and a symmetric twin air intake system. All those technologies produces a nice 328bhp and a torque of 270 lb ft.
The prize winner will be unveiled on January 16, 2007 during the Detroit Motor Show.
Nissan has revealed a bit more information about its next concept car due to be unveiled in a few weeks at Detroit. The Forum will offer a unique seating configuration called ‘Turntable Seating’.
Featuring three seat rows, the Forum concept car enables the second’s to be rotated by 90 degrees to either side or 180 degrees to face the three-passenger 3rd row seat. It will also include the latest entertainment gadgets and an unexpected console-mounted microwave oven.