Autoblog

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Nissan announced today a price increase for the 2009 GT-R, raising the MSRP nearly $7,000 from $69,850 to $76,840. The price for the Premium model has been increased even more, going from $71,900 to $79,090 in one fell swoop. Fortunately, the adjusted prices do not affect customers who placed their orders with dealers before September 5. Nissan cited increased material costs as the reason for the adjustment.

Since the GT-R is already one of the best performance bargains on the market today and customers are paying a premium to own one, we doubt that the price increase will have any effect on sales. Still, $7,000 is a serious chunk of change that could go towards aftermarket toys from Cobb Tuning or HKS.

[Source: Nissan]

Click above for high-res gallery of Nissan's Paris Motor Show lineup

Nissan is bringing a trio of vehicles to the city of lights for the 2009 Paris Motor Show: a new concept called the Nuvu, an all-new production car car called the Pixo and a revised Note. We don't have an image of the Nuvu yet, but Nissan says it's a compact all-electric city car with 2+1 seating. It takes its green theme seriously with solar panels shaped like tree leaves on the roof that channel the sun's power through a "tree trunk" conduit in the center of the vehicle.

Next up is the Pixo, a new production car for the city with four-doors and a rear hatch that's powered by an eency-weency 1.0L three-cylinder engine. Built in collaboration with Suzuki, the new A-class car will obviously be geared towards fuel economy and low emissions when it goes on sale in Europe in the spring of 2009.

Finally, Nissan will have a revised version of its Note compact car that features a new, sleeker front end. New wheels, colors, a revised suspension and an available 1.5L dCi engine round out the changes. The Note also gets Nissan's new in-car nav/infotainment system called Nissan Connect. It comes with everything the market demands including a touch-screen navigation system, connectivity for digital audio players and Bluetooth connectivity.


[Source: Nissan]

Click above for a gallery of the HKS Nissan GT-R GT570.

Serious Nissan GT-R tuners aren't coming out of the woodwork – yet – but one of Japan's largest aftermarket firms has thrown its hat into the ring, and to good effect. HKS will begin offering its GT570 kit to consumers in Japan later this year (no word on U.S. distribution) and as it's name implies, output is getting close to the 600 hp mark. The package includes new wastegate actuators for the stock turbos and an electronic boost controller, along with aluminum intercooler piping, silicon hose couplers and straight pipes that replace the stock catalytic converters, reducing back pressure, but negating the GT-R's road-legal status.

All of those tweaks add up to a total of – you guessed it – 570 PS, or 562 hp and 540 lb.-ft. of torque at the wheels. Check the gallery below to see the dyno charts and a few shots of the wastegate and plumbing mods.


[Source: SSH and HKS via 2009GTR]

A production Suzuki Equator has been snapped while hanging out in California, and the nose job looks successful. The Equator is virtually pure Nissan Frontier, besides the front sheetmetal, but that's not a bad thing. The Frontier is a handsome 2/3rds scale Titan, probably the most attractive of the "compact" pickups. Configurations will mirror the Frontier, too, with 2wd and 4wd models motivated by Nissan's big 2.5-liter four or 4.0-liter V6. Both extended and crew cab setups will be on offer for buyers needing space, and we're waiting for the 'Zuki pickup to hit stores this fall so we can check out interior fitment and prices.

[Source: Automobile]

Even in a down pickup truck market, the all-new Dodge Ram should be a boon to Chrysler and not just because it's a far better truck than the one it replaces. The new Ram will also be the next Nissan Titan, a deal that helps Chrysler keep its truck factories running closer to maximum capacity. With Nissan borrowing Ram mechanicals and engineering, the assumption has been that Chrysler's 5.7L HEMI V8 was going to be part of the package. Nissan officials have continually denied that any decision about the truck's engine of choice has yet to be made and that its own Evolution 5.6L powerplant was still under consideration.

Chrysler chairman Jim Press put any speculation to rest when he declared at an LA Motor Guild meeting recently that the Nissan Titan would indeed receive HEMI power. After our friend Mike Levine from Pickuptrucks.com broke the news, Nissan responded by saying that it has made no decisions concerning the HEMI engine and when it does, the announcement would come from Nissan. It makes sense that the next Titan would be HEMI-fied, especially considering that the engineering needed to mate the HEMI and Ram platform has already been done and paid for, and part logistics are already in sync with truck assembly. Plus, the new HEMI produces a class-leading 390 horsepower and gets decent fuel economy for a big, burly truck engine. Nissan could do much worse.

[Source: Pickuptrucks.com]

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Wald International has never been one to offer subtle styling. Whether it's the Lexus IS-F or the Mercedes-Benz CL, the Japanese tuner loves to create a bold look with vents, wings and wheels. The tuner recently turned its attention to the Nissan GT-R, and while we don't have official information on the car, the photos offer a good look at what the package will include. A vented front fascia and splitter, side skirts, rear fender flares, a rear diffuser, carbon fiber rear spoiler and 22-inch wheels all lend to the more aggressive look. We actually like the majority of the body kit, although we'd prefer the rear fender flares to be the same color as the body, and the larger wheels probably don't do much for the performance of the car. In the end, though, we'd probably spend our hard earned money on some of the Club Sport components from NISMO. Thanks for the tip, James!

[Source: Wald International via Nihoncar.com]

Click either image for a high-res gallery.

NISMO has finally released all the details on its line of upgrades for the R35 Nissan GT-R, and per usual, there's good news and bad news.

On the positive side, the parts are the typical blend of OEM quality and fitment, with a focus on tighter handling and weight reduction. The Club Sport tuning package includes the Chassis pack made up of race-tuned Bilstein Damptronic adjustable dampers sheathed in 18.5kg/mm (front) and 9.6 kg/mm (rear) springs. The combination of rock-hard coils and adjustable damping at both low and high speeds should make the GT-R stickier in the corners and more stable while bombing through a fast sweeper. Rounding out the handling package is a set of Rays forged aluminum wheels, sized 20x9.5-inches in front (+45mm offset) and 20x10.5-inches (+25mm offset) in the rear, and wrapped in Bridgestone RE070R run-flats, sized 225/40 and 285/35, front and rear. These are rumored to be the same rollers we'll see on the Spec-V when it's unveiled in Paris this October.

The rest of the parts focus on weight reduction, beginning with a lightweight axle-back exhaust that drops 11 pounds from the GT-R's curb weight, along with a carbon fiber undertray that reduces air turbulence and parasitic drag. Upgraded carbon-fiber backed and leather-trimmed seats are also part of the package, which retains the side airbags but nixes the electronic controls, reducing weight by another 13 pounds total. Naturally, some NISMO badging rounds out the upgrades.

Now here's the bad news: the parts are only available in Japan as a package, can only be installed by 12 NISMO-authorized shops and come in at a whopping ¥5,460,000 (over $50,000). However, some U.S. importers have already worked out a distribution deal with NISMO, but for those of us in the States, we don't get the added benefit of the three-year/60,000 km warranty.


[Source: NISMO via JPCNews]

Click above for hi-res gallery of the Nissan Shiraz Concept

Design student Miguel Ángel Iranzo Sánchez created the vehicle you see above, and he describes it as "a mix between a[n] SUV and a sportscar infused with Nissan brand DNA." For his efforts, which took an entire summer, he won a scholarship to get his Masters in Car Design in Valencia, and -- put on your Price is Right voice for this -- a brand new car! A Nissan Note, to be exact.

Billed as 100-percent all-terrain, ecological, sporty, and Nissan, we admit it's interesting. The doors are gullwing, and the interior is terrific concept car simplicity. And our guess is that the purple glassworks have to do with the purple drink after which the car is named. But that vastly arcing front end that descends to the windshield... well, that just reminds us of a moose. Bullwinkle, to be exact. And the rear end reminds us of something that... excretes things. But have a look at the gallery of hi-res images below, and let us know what you think. While the Shiraz isn't exactly us, with the Seat Brisa on the other hand, now we're getting somewhere... Thanks for the tip, Yogesh!


[Source: Design Launches]

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Nissan Murano

It just so happens that the all-new 2009 Nissan Murano is one of those nondescript mid-size crossover utility vehicles that may blend into the crowd. Its styling is certainly modern, if not overly exciting. The cabin is accommodating, if not excessively spacious. The handling is inspiring, if not unduly sporty. The engine is strong, and even reasonably efficient. How would this perfectly acceptable, yet hardly over-achieving CUV handle five passengers and full luggage on a 1,000-plus mile road trip across the Southwestern desert? Read on to find out.

All photos Copyright ©2008 Michael C. Harley/ Weblogs, Inc.

Sensing the ripe market opportunity, Nissan will start producing various light-commercial and medium-duty trucks in 2010. The targeted segment is currently dominated by Ford and GM, where the miscellaneous cabs and frames are used to produce such vehicles as dump trucks, tow trucks, and school buses. Now, Nissan wants a piece of the pie. Larry Dominique, Nissan's VP of product planning, wouldn't disclose details right now, but he did say that a handful of new products will be needed to satisfy the new commercial truck dealers – and Nissan is more than willing to oblige. Joe Castelli, the former director of Ford's commercial trucks (and now a VP of commercial trucks at Nissan), said the Japanese automaker will be pulling from their global stable of commercial components (branded Atlas and Atleon in other markets) to quickly adapt them for the U.S. market. Nissan's official commercial truck plans will be announced in January at the Detroit Auto Show, and we'll be there to judge reactions.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]