Carson Nissan

Safety is one of the main criteria drivers have when looking for a new car. Interesting, then, isn't it, that as a general rule, only top-of-the-line brands and models have the most high-tech, active safety features such as lane-departure warning, pedestrian warning and blind-spot warning? Thankfully, Nissan doesn't believe safety is a privilege. They never have and never will. Take their brake override technology, for example. Congress is now mulling the possibility of…

The tsunami that Japan experienced this year tossed around some of Nissans electric cars. But the batteries remained intact.

The exhibition booth, put together by Nissan, Autech Japan and Nismo, is designed to deliver the look and feel of a race circuit, and includes a spectators' stand. In line with this racing-themed booth design, Nismo will showcase the Juke Nismo Concept and the LEAF Nismo Concept. 

 New research from State Farm® shows that though texting while driving remains a concern on the nationâ??s highways, drivers are accessing other mobile web services at much higher rates. These behaviors may pose equal or greater concerns in the battle against distracted driving.

In a new survey of nearly 900 motorists, the company found that use of mobile web services has increased dramatically over the last two years.
For drivers 18-29:

• Accessing the internet while on a cell phone while driving increased from 29 percent in 2009 to 43 percent in 2011.
• Reading social media networks while driving increased from 21 percent in 2009 to 37 percent in 2011.
• Updating social networks while driving increased from 20 percent in 2009 to 33 percent in 2011.

"Calls from the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) and others to ban cell phones are focusing now on both texting and web use while driving. The mobile web is a growing issue for safety advocates concerned about distractions while driving," said David Beigie, State Farm Public Affairs Vice President. "Additionally, while the focus has been on young people, the data also indicates that motorists of all ages are increasing their use of the mobile web while driving."

Google won a U.S. patent for its autonomous-vehicle system, paving the way for us dumb meat pods to be eliminated from the driving process. The patent applies to how the system switches from person control to machine control using "smart" parking spaces.More Â»

If you also own a monster truck-grade lifted Diesel pickup, we don't recommend doing burnouts inside some warehouse. That said, hats off to you, Dodge driver, for laughing in the face of safety and respiratory health and smoking those '49s indoors.More Â»

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Spy Photos, Crossover, Nissan

If automakers have learned anything from the 2011 Ford Explorer, it's that changing a popular SUV nameplate to a crossover platform won't necessarily hurt the vehicle's image (or sales numbers). Nissan is hoping to capture that same sort of magic with its Pathfinder - judging by these spy shots, the traditionally body-on-frame SUV stalwart appears to be crossing over for its next generation.

The next-gen Pathfinder will likely be based on Nissan's FF-L platform that currently underpins vehicles like the Murano crossover and Quest minivan. Our best guess is that this Pathfinder, which will still remain a seven-passenger vehicle, could share many of its bits with the recently revealed Infiniti JX. Either way, whatever Nissan has planned for the new Pathfinder will surely be better than the aging, Titan-based model that's currently on sale.

The new Pathfinder appears to be pretty far along in its development, so we'll likely see its new CUV shape at the Detroit Auto Show in January. For now, scroll through our gallery of spy shots to get a better glimpse at the Pathfinder's new look.

Nissan Pathfinder prepares to cross over originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Spy Photos, Crossover, Nissan

If automakers have learned anything from the 2011 Ford Explorer, it's that changing a popular SUV nameplate to a crossover platform won't necessarily hurt the vehicle's image (or sales numbers). Nissan is hoping to capture that same sort of magic with its Pathfinder - judging by these spy shots, the traditionally body-on-frame SUV stalwart appears to be crossing over for its next generation.

The next-gen Pathfinder will likely be based on Nissan's FF-L platform that currently underpins vehicles like the Murano crossover and Quest minivan. Our best guess is that this Pathfinder, which will still remain a seven-passenger vehicle, could share many of its bits with the recently revealed Infiniti JX. Either way, whatever Nissan has planned for the new Pathfinder will surely be better than the aging, Titan-based model that's currently on sale.

The new Pathfinder appears to be pretty far along in its development, so we'll likely see its new CUV shape at the Detroit Auto Show in January. For now, scroll through our gallery of spy shots to get a better glimpse at the Pathfinder's new look.

Nissan Pathfinder prepares to cross over originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Europe, Crossover, Nissan, UK

Honda hasn't been profitable in Europe since 2007, and would like to break the two-percent market-share barrier in the EU and Russia. To do that, it is looking at a rival to Nissan's Qashqai. Nissan's compact CUV alone outsold the entire Honda lineup in Europe in the first nine months of this year, and by no small margin: 153,079 to 105,918.

Those kinds of numbers have Honda justifiably envious of Nissan's little crossover, as apparently offering the CR-V in Europe hasn't generated the same sort of consumer response. Even so Honda's CEO, Takanobu Ito, will say nothing more than that "we are thinking about doing something like that" - a decision could still be a ways off, to say nothing of an actual production vehicle.

Nissan also has city cars like the Pixo and Micra spreading the gospel in the A-segment, and it's likely turning some of those drivers into Qashqai graduates. Likely with that in mind, the company head said they are also considering expanding the Jazz/Fit line, but a true A-segment fighter looks a long way off, with Ito saying, "maybe there will come a time when we will consider A-segment cars for Europe."

Honda "envious" of Nissan's Qashqai, ponders rival originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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