Turning over a new LEAF: Meet the Nissan NISMO electric race car that approaches the torque of Volkswagen’s record-shattering I.D.R. Pikes Peak

Photo: Nissan Media Newsroom.

2018 has been landmark year for the ascendancy of electric vehicles in the motorsports world, especially with Volkswagen’s triumph in shattering, in an electric race car, the previous all-time record in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Now, as we look ahead to a new year of motorsports, Nissan is reasserting its presence with the debut last week, at Nissan Crossing in Tokyo’s Ginza district, of the new all-electric Nissan LEAF NISMO RC, a product of the automaker’s racing arm.

Eat your heart out, Tesla—check out this cool electric car that a Nissan predecessor company built over 70 years ago.

Photo: Nissan Official Media Newsroom.

OK. So it’s not quite as sleek and sexy as a Tesla Roadster.

But this vintage 1947 Tama electric vehicle built by Tokyo Electro Automobile Co., Ltd., has a funky charm of its own. And for Japanese car enthusiasts, it might be pretty cool to think that a company that is part of Nissan’s history was thinking this early about the benefits of electrification, in response to an energy crisis of its time.

Well, son of a DAT: Here’s one vintage Datsun/Nissan product that you probably won’t find a tuner chip for

Photo: Nissan USA Official Media Newsroom

My weekly travels often involve a stop at a strip shopping center where there is both an e-cig store and a Domino’s pizza location. No, I’m not patronizing either of those establishments—my weekly visits have an entirely different purpose that there’s no real need to go into.

Apparently, having both a vaping store and a mostly-delivery pizza joint in the neighborhood is the perfect formula for making a parking lot look like there’s a cars and coffee for the tuner-dudes crowd going on, even when there is not a planned car-guys event taking place.

A car that we’re glad exists: Nissan announces pricing for the 2019 Versa Note

Photo: Nissan Media Newsroom.

With a 1.6 liter, four-cylinder powerplant that makes 109 horsepower, the 2019 Versa Note is not an enthusiast’s dream. It does not exactly qualify as a hot hatch that’ll take you on a thrill ride. That’s in spite of Nissan press materials that seem to be trying to hint in the direction of the hot-hatch vibe, with their reference to the vehicle’s “sporty hatchback design” appealing to buyers looking for “an added level of style to go with a hatchback’s 5-door utility.”

But new cars are expensive today. And with MSRPs for 2019 ranging from $15,650 to $18,360, which Nissan announced on Wednesday, the Versa Note gives you a lot for the money.

There's really not much news in Nissan's 2019 370Z pricing announcement, but let's just enjoy the cool car pictures anyway.

2019 Nissan 370Z Heritage Edition. Photo: Nissan Online Newsroom.

2019 Nissan 370Z Roadster. Photo: Nissan Online Newsroom.

It's hard not to feel sorry for PR guys and gals sometimes, when you see them in those awkward moments when they have to put together a press release in a situation when there really isn't all that much to say.

2019 Nissan Altima Aims to "Reignite Interest in Midsize Sedans"

As American automakers continue to announce phaseouts of storied passenger car models like the Chevrolet Impala and Ford Taurus, many of us among the ranks of auto enthusiasts can look with hope toward overseas producers to maintain the vitality and interest of the sedan and coupe format.

If the designers behind the 2019 Nissan Altima have anything to say about it, the sixth generation of the company's top-selling sedan – with more than five million sold since introduction – is about to reinvigorate interest in midsize sedans.

Once the dominant body style in most major automotive markets, sedans sales have experienced erosion in favor of consumers' preference for crossovers and compact SUVs. That has left the leading global sedan manufacturers in a unique position of competing not only with each other, but within their own model lineups for sales.