Bullz-Eye went sporty and funky driving the 2011 Nissan Cube 1.8S KROM in Caribbean Blue. We love when auto companies think outside of the box and actually build a vehicle that’s an original in it’s own right. That’s exactly what the folks at Nissan did when they brought us the Cube. Look for our full review in the coming weeks.
Nissan left the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) two years ago to focus on larger debuts in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City. But for 2012, Nissan will be present for both press conference days, on a stage in front of 5,000 journalists from 41 states and 60 countries (who attended 2011′s press days). But unlike 2011, blogs around the world won’t post their horror stories of covering a single 16-hour day of press previews: major manufacturers like Nissan, Ford, GM and Chrysler have supported the two-day press conference schedule. No more passed-out journalists or media room fighting.
“We’re thankful that NAIAS is, once again, an important part of Nissan’s international auto show strategy,” said NAIAS chairman Bill Perkins. ”NAIAS remains one of the most important motor events in the world, and our manufacturer partners know that we do everything possible to create an exciting, supportive venue.”
UPDATE: We’ve been told that the GT Academy winner has been crowned. Congratulations to Bryan Heitkotter – who was actually the top qualifier at Orlando as well – as he begins his training for the real deal. The show won’t air until September, but you can see Bryan’s Meet the Finalists video at nissanusa.com.
Back in March we had the chance to head to the GT Academy qualifiers – a tournament held to lower a field of 32 of the world’s best virtual drivers down to the 16 that would head to Silverstone and onto the GT Academy reality show. That show is now underway, with contestants competing in live racing events, all hoping to win the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to become a real pro driver on a Nissan racing team.
The series won’t air until the fall, but in the meantime, Nissan and Sony are offering some behind the scenes sneak peeks of what the competition is like for the 16 contestants. There is the usual picture and video content, but the pro drivers on hand at Silverstone have also been answering questions from the GT Academy Facebook page. Watch the video above for a tour of the Race Camp with the Academy contestants, and be sure to keep up with the show’s Facebook page. Just in case you missed it, you can see our writeup of the qualifiers at the Bullz-Eye Games channel.
Nissan’s Chairman of the Americas Carlos Tavares is bullish on Nissan’s ability to keep growing.
From AutoNews.com:
Since being named chairman of the Americas for Nissan Motor Co. two years ago, Carlos Tavares has overseen market share growth for the Nissan and Infiniti brands in the United States, Mexico and several Latin American markets.
At the start of this year, Tavares, 52, unveiled a campaign to shift more parts and vehicle sourcing away from Japan because of the yen-dollar exchange rate. Staff Reporter Lindsay Chappell spoke with Tavares recently at Nissan’s U.S. headquarters near Nashville.
Q: In the United States, demand is coming back strong, gasoline prices are rising fast, and Japan is held back by problems from the March earthquake. Which of those three issues concerns you the most?
A: All three, because they converge on the same business.
Yes, the market is coming back, but it’s not something that surprises us. It’s aligned with what we have been saying. We are looking for 13.2 million industry sales on a fiscal-year basis, and there may be some upside in the second half of the year.
This is a major victory for Nissan and the all new NV200 commercial van! In some ways this is even better than an award as can you just imagine how many potential business customers will be riding in these new Nissan vans in the Big Apple?
From CNN.com:
The iconic New York City taxi cab will soon look like a Nissan van, following a competition that pitted the Japanese automaker against two other finalists. Under a 10-year contract, Nissan won a deal to supply New York City’s taxis starting in 2013.
The new cabs will be based on Nissan’s NV200 commercial van. Among its special features will be a “low-annoyance” horn that works in tandem with blinking lights to gently urge pedestrians and drivers to get out of the way.
It will also have a mobile charging station and USB outlets that can be used by passengers.
Perhaps most importantly, though, the Nissan vans was the cheapest of the three to buy and operate, according to city officials, largely due to its fuel efficiency.
Click through for more on the Nissan cab and the other two finalists for Taxi of Tomorrow.
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