Old School Nissan OffRoad TShirt For $10!!

Or at least the design is old school...

In truth the tshirt was created very recently for the '13 edition of the Mint 400, the largest offroad race in the US.  The designer/artist who made up the shirt is one Rory Ward who is a huge fan of old school offroad racing and competes in the vintage class in NORRA events.  As you can tell by the artwork he is also a big fan of Dave Deal and what I would call a 1960's vibe of vehicle artwork.

Rory Ward did the design work for the original Team Xterra Racing tshirt that I worked up and was selling a few years ago.  I will have to see if I can track down a photo of one and/or the original design artwork which I have framed in my basement.  Rory does excellent work and with this Mint 400 tshirt he has gone back and included a drawing of a classic Nissan Hardbody which was typically run by the Mears boys back in the mid-80s.  Really cool to see an oldschool Nissan on a tshirt like this and for only $10 it would make a great stocking stuffer for any Nissan fan!

Mint 400 Nissan Tshirt...

Rory Ward's Racer's Only website...

THIS Is Your New Nissan Maxima...

Revealed at this week's Detroit Auto Show the Nissan Sport Sedan "concept" is a concept in name only.  Well placed sources have revealed that the production version of this vehicle has already been revealed to dealers and is projected to go on sale in 2015 as a '16 model.  Much like Nissan did with the Juke, the production version is a slightly toned down version of the concept.  Things like the angular exhaust ports seen with the concept will be turned to more typical circular exits and some of the angles and bulges will be softened.  The carbon fiber accents will be gone, the 21" wheels will be reduced, and the all glass roof will become a large sunroof, etc., etc.

What won't change is the "V" shaped grille which is spreading across Nissan's lines, nor the floating roof or the boomerang lights or overall low profile.  The engine, which in the concept is Nissan's standard V6 making some 300 hp also will remain, as will the CVT and paddle shifters connected to a FWD layout.

The '16 Maxima will LOOK revolutionary but given the carryover of engine, FWD and CVT will be more evolutionary.  The LOOK of the 4-Door-Sportscar might be there but this still seems likely to come up short in comparison to similarly priced BMWs, Audis, etc.--though "technically" the Maxima is not in that luxury segment.  It will be a nice car for sure in terms of build quality and an increase in performance over your standard Altima/Camry/Accord...but it would needs to change more than its clothing in order to be a true sports sedan.

Nissan Sports Sedan Concept Given Green Light...

The Next Nissan Maxima....

2015 Nissan Frontier and Xterra??

Automotive News is one of the most well connected, serious and reliable sources of information within the auto industry.  They are about as dry as dry can be, making the Wall Street Journal seem like Playboy in comparison.  So it is if they report something, I generally take it as gospel.

Which is why I am pleasantly surprised to see them report that yes, the Nissan Titan is being redesigned for 2015 by Nissan but that the Frontier and even more shockingly, the Xterra will be "refreshed" for 2015.  Multiple reports have claimed the demise of the Xterra is imminent.  Its sales have dropped to levels as poor as the Titan and has not seen an update (like all of Nissan's body on frame offerings) of a serious nature since '04/'05.  The Frontier can soldier on respectably as it is the only small/medium pickup on the current market other than the Tacoma and is seeing increased sales to over 60,000 units a year in '13. 

Hearing that they will continue with the Xterra through '15 makes me think that either Nissan believes they can scavenge some sales from Toyota when the FJ ends its production in '14 or that they really are going to produce a next generation model.  My only disappointment is that Automotive News says that the '15 Xterra and Frontier will only be "refreshes" meaning smaller changes to sheetmetal, body cladding and interior options--no major redesign like the Titan.  This is bad news for the Frontier as not only will it continue to have the Tacoma to compete against but the new Chevy Colorado that is being introduced at the '13 LA Auto Show.

Regardless of how good the Frontier and Xterra were back in '04/'05 they are both showing their age--particularly the VERY low mpg Xterra and both need some serious attention from Nissan and they need it now.
2015 Xterra and Frontier...

New 2015 Nissan Titan Spy Shot and Engine Info...

Not really that interesting in terms of the spy shot--just a shot of the Titan mule with its enlarged nose roaming around what looks like an airport for disabled airplanes (that DC-3 in the background doesn't have any propellers/engines).  Though maybe they are testing out the towing capacity of the vehicle by pulling large airplanes around!

That said, Cummins released the info on the commercial version of the V8 Diesel that will be going into the 2015 Titan.  The commercial version will see use from school buses to ambulances to work vans, etc.  Which is why you may see a Nissan NV commercial van with this same diesel engine in it at some point.  Also speculated is that the next Titan will have a coil sprung rear and carry many of the design and technical developments seen in Infiniti's QX56/Nissan Patrol.  We'll see.

We do know that the commercial version will put out between 200 and 275 HP producing 560 ft. lb. of torque.  The version going into the Titan will produce at least 300 HP so we'll see some tweaking on the torque ratings too.  The Titan will also possess ceramic glow plugs ensuring a 2 second startup in temps down to -25F.

New Nissan Cummins Titan and engine...