It’s a corny video so it might not have quite the intended impact on Porsche 911 fans, but here’s a mini film in which we see the Nissan GTR pick off the 911 in a race, the winner of which gets the inheritance. It looks like a fun drive around the estate and this time round, you could do worse than be the butler.

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This video of the Audi R8 V10 vs the Nissan GTR is more than just a drag race between two supercars by a couple of guys who wanted to play. It shows that the hype of bigger and larger engines doesn’t necessarily pay off in terms of performance. And that sometimes, the Japanese will build a better car, for half the price. Still, with the Audi a very sexy car, and if you had the pay packet to match, we figure you’d probably be choosing this one.

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New Ferrari 458 Italia spyshots by Autojunk.

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Here’s a video of the Nissan EV in action. The Electric Vehicle will be the new platform for Nissan’s development of electric cars, and we get to see a few features including the iPhone remote control application and indications on range and recharge stations on the road.

We also get a look at the wireless recharge technology, where the car is parked over a plate, rather than being plugged in. This technology means that recharge is totally automatic. The video is a bit weird, but it gives us an idea of the investment in this technology and just how serious some companies are about developing zero emissions cars. I’m impressed.

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The electric Renault Kangoo BeBop Z.E. will soon be available for test drives open to the public. The electric car born in France wants to reveal to everyone what it’s made of, and it intends to put its best foot forward and show off its best attributes. First and foremost: its self-sufficiency, already at acceptable standards today, but which will improve in the future. The Kangoo BeBop Z.E. is capable of traveling 100 km with just one charge-up, but in the 18 months that separate it from its current state to its marketing, it is forseen to reach up to 160 km.

The Kangoo BeBop Z.E. will be one of the first electric models that Renault-Nissan will put into production in 2011, and it represents a first step in the project towards travel with zero emissions that the well-armoured French-Japanese coupling is starting for the upcoming years. The objective of Renault-Nissan, reaffirmed numerous times, is to conquest this new market right from the beginning.

The little all-capable French car, in particular, was planned keeping in mind three fundamental characteristics of the trademark, that is comfort, space, and safety. These three parameters, the company has affirmed, will remain constant in the advent of electric vehicles.

Renault Kangoo BeBop Z.E.

Continue reading: Renault: test drives open to the public for the new Kangoo BeBop Z.E.

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Production of the first Nissan electric car will start at the end of 2010, as revealed by Nissan president Carlos Ghosn. In the initial phase, 50,000 vehicles are expected to be manufactured in the first year, and only from 2012 will that number significantly increase.

The Nissan electric car will be seen next year, to be revealed at the inauguration of the new Nissan Centre in Yokohama at the beginning of August. The car should be a development on the Nuvu Concept presented at the Paris motor show in 2008.

Fundamental characteristics will be its city car dimensions (with a length of about 300 cm), and a range of 120 km. It will be similar to the Renault Twingo ZE in both style and market position. In the gallery is the Nissan Nuvu concept.

Continue reading: First Nissan electric car to appear in 2010

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Drive magazine has taken a look at some of the best vehicles for the snow, but which have enough city and off-road features to keep people happy, and looking good in both urban and and off-road settings.

Some of the usual “lifestyle” vehicles and faux off-road models such as the Audi Q5, Renault Koleos, Land Rover Freelander or Volvo XC60 may suit for snow and ice driving condictions. Audi and Volvo often come across with some of the best AWD options, having sedans, hatchbacks, wagons and offroads throughout the range which can give you all the four wheel effect you want.

But which are the cars that really stand out? There are a few surprises in the list, which includes: the Mazda3 (for its stability control), the Nissan Dualis, Volkswagen Tiguan and the Subaru Liberty/Outback. In fact, given Subaru has all wheel drive across its range, any old one will do. The Audi A6 allroad wagon gets itself on the list, as does the Volvo XC60 and the Lexus RX350.

For full details, see Drive.com.au.

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Renault and Nissan have signed an agreement with Europcar to begin renting electric cars in 2010. Europe, Australia, and New Zealand will be the first to take advantage of this new service, but it is not yet clear if the rentals will be like classic car rentals, more long term rentals, or a type of car sharing system.

There are also no details about the cars; they could be the new electric series anticipated by the recent Renault BeBop Z.E., or an application of Project Better Place of Shai Agassi, which, though, would require the creation of infrastructure in a very short period of time. It could end up being that a new initiative will be created to launch the new “anti-Smart” city car of Renault, the awaited concept car for the next Frankfurt Motor Show.

Source | Automocionblog.com

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The New York show will have the spectacle of both the Nissan Roadster and Nissan Nismo being presented, one all elegance, and the other all substance. Above is a reconstruction of what the open top will look like.

It’s a bit gaudy for our looking, with the floating stars, and the rear wheels don’t even touch the ground. But criticism aside, this render generally reflects the new Roadster style, while for the Nismo we’ll have to wait for details from the show.

Source | Autoblog.com

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A significant downturn in the Japanese auto market has been registered for the month of February, with a 50 percent drop in the number of cars manufactured for Sol Levante. This comes after the 41 percent drop experienced in January.

Nissan saw the greatest decline with a drop of 68.8 percent in vehicles destined for the local market, and a 37.8 percent drop in those headed for export. Mitsubishi and Toyota also followed with a 65 and 64 percent decline in the Japanese market.

Dramatic figures also come from Mazda and Honda with a drop of 54.6 and 48.4 percent respectively, while Suzuki is the only manufacturer managing to maintain decline at 19.6 percent.

Source | LeBlog Auto

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