Form Over Function...

This one is for my Canadian peeps!

Since we here in the States won't be getting the Micra this won't apply here--though the belief behind it will.

Prolific Nissan tuner company Impul has released its body kit for the Micra at the recent Tokyo Auto Salon...and boy is it a doosie.

Putting a whole host of non-functional wings, body cladding, side skirts, LEDs and other knicknacks, the Impul kit transforms your run of the mill Micra into something this side of a bad dream.  There are no engine or suspension improvements found here....just lots of plastic to make your car heavier and more Matchbox-esque.  Still...all these body modification might make your Micra into a serviceable driveway plow if you lowered the thing by a few inches and put some studded tires on it...

Impul releases Micra bodykit...

Nissan Micra Coming to North America!! But Not The US...

To Canada in fact.

The little Micra sold all over the world will be coming to Canada in early '14 as a 2015 model.  It will be motivated by a 1.6L, 4 cyl. engine that is also found on the Versa Note.  Elsewhere in the world it is powered by a supercharged 3 cylinder engine and often known as the Nissan March.  The Canadian version will put out a whopping 107 HP vs. the "world" version at 97 HP.

The Versa Note goes for $13,500 in Canada and the Micra is intended to undercut that, targeting the urban dweller in need of cheap and gas frugal transportation.  Which is why it is NOT coming to the US.  The Versa here in the States is already one of the two (I think there is a Mitsubishi that is a tad cheaper) cheapest vehicles available and Americans evidently are not expected to embrace an even smaller vehicle.

The Micra has been popular in the world of Rally around the world and was driven by veteran Swedish rally driver Per Eklund to the 21st position in the 1988 RAC Rally and a 10th place finish at the Acropolis Rally Greece in 1989.  Head to Great Britain or Europe and you will see the Mirca/March rallied competitively all the time.  So maybe there's hope a Canadian driver might put this little mini-mobile to good use in the near future!

Heck, give this TFL video a perusal...they test the 3 cylinder engine version....but it should be fairly close to the Canadian version...and hey, look!! A stickshift!

2014 Tokyo Auto Salon--Nissan Models

 The Tokyo Auto Salon takes place the weekend of 1/10/14 and is Japan's answer to SEMA, showcasing not only concept and tricked out versions of vehicles from the major manufacturers but those from aftermarket companies as well.

Nissan is a regular attendee and '14 will be no exception.  As is typical the models being presented range from the hardcore race ready to the merely whimsical.  Japan has a love for what we probably would deem to be "silly" vehicles (Hello Kitty adorned kei cars for instance) but...it sure keeps things interesting.

Two GT-R models will be present including the GT-R Nismo GT500 racer that competes in Japan's Super GT Series and a GT-R Nismo with a special option package tuned for the Nurburgring.

The Deltawing derived ZEOD RC that is due to enter LeMans will be present as will the X-trail X-tremer concept (the future Xterra here in the States??  Perhaps).

Less hardcore are the Aero Style Leaf, Nissan March NISMO S and a gold and pink accented Dayz Roox Highway Star (a Mitsubishi co-produced product) amongst others.  So, if this isn't anything revolutionary at least it gives us something to look at direct from Nissan.  Hopefully there will be some other non-factory related showings as well.