2015 NISSAN MURANO – 10 FAST FACTS from Windsor Nissan New Jersey
1. Breakthrough Design. Not only does the all-new 2015 Nissan Murano look like nothing else in the segment, its 0.31 coefficient of drag (the same as many contemporary sports cars) is projected to be among the best in segment. Key contributors to the low aerodynamic Cd include the lower grille shutter, front and rear spoilers, rear tire deflectors, rear suspension fairings and optimized fuel tank design.
2. Tuned LED Headlights. The available LED headlights, while providing excellent energy use efficiency and durability (versus halogen and xenon lights), required extensive tuning to refine the shape and light intensity. Murano also features standard LED Daytime Running Lights, LED taillights and integrated LED lights in the sideview mirrors.
3. Zero Gravity, Extra Heat. Murano backs up its position as a “social lounge” by treating rear seat passengers to many amenities usually reserved for front seat occupants. This includes rear Zero Gravity outboard seat design, available high-speed seat heating and rear USB connection port. Rear seat knee room has increased by 1.4 inches (versus the previous Murano) due to a slimmer front seat seatback design.
4. Less Weight, Better MPG. The new Murano features an approximate 130-pound overall weight reduction, which when combined with optimized aerodynamics, low rolling resistance tires, engine and transmission enhancements and other drivetrain improvements, is projected to result in an approximately 20 percent gain in combined fuel economy versus the previous generation Murano (2015 Murano EPA fuel economy ratings not yet available).
5. Extra Set of Eyes. The new Murano includes up to four onboard cameras and three radar systems, to provide input to a range of standard and available technologies including Blind Spot Warning (BSW), Predictive Forward Collision Warning (PFCW), Forward Emergency Braking, Intelligent Cruise Control, Cross Traffic Alert (CTA) and class-exclusive Around View® Monitor with Moving Object Detection.
6. Let There Be Light, Lots of It. The Murano’s available power Panoramic Moonroof has been reconfigured for the new third-generation design. A single opening replaces the previous two separated panels and the glass area is a 40 percent longer sliding length, with the opening area increased by 29 percent (versus the previous generation Murano). The new Murano also an advanced lighting system, welcoming occupants to the premium interior day or night.
7. Off with the Switches. Murano’s new instrument panel is designed for ease of use. Along with larger information screens, such as the 7.0-inch high resolution customizable Advance Drive-Assist Display and available 8.0-inch multi-touch control center display, the number of audio and navigation switches has been reduced by 60 percent (from 25 to 10) for a more user-friendly experience.
8. Clutch Cargo (Area): Not to be overlooked among all the premium design features of the new Murano is its utility. The rear cargo area dimensions have been stretched 3.3 inches in width and 2.0 inches in length, which along with the reconfigured shape of the rear liftgate, results in four extra cubic feet of cargo space – projected to be among the largest cargo area in the segment. Cargo is now also easier to load with the fold-flat rear seats creating a flat luggage floor. The split-folding rear seat, with available power return, can be controlled completely from the cargo area – so there’s no need to walk to each door to raise the seats.
9. 1st in the U.S. The 2015 Murano will be assembled for the first time in the United States (the previous two generations were produced in Japan), becoming the ninth model in production at the Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant in Canton, Mississippi. Murano will be exported from Mississippi to more than 100 markets around the world.
10. Growing Market. The first-generation Murano was launched in November 2002 as a 2003 model. Nearly 700,000 have been sold in the U.S. to date. The mid-SUV segment is projected to increase 19 percent between 2013 and 2016. Key vehicles in the segment include Ford Edge, Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and Kia Sorento.
Windsor Nissan in East Windsor, NJ is thrilled with the upcoming release of the all-new 2015 Nissan Murano crossover. We know that this vehicle will be an amazing addition to our already award winning lineup; the Nissan Altima, Nissan Sentra, Nissan Pathfinder, Nissan Maxima & the all-new 2014 Nissan Rogue. We cannot wait for Fall 2014!
Nissan sport sedan concept a hint of the future Nissan Maxima Large car at the Detroit Auto Show?
Nissan revealed a sport sedan concept vehicle today at the Detroit auto show and many assume this concept will eventually become the all-new Nissan Maxima Sports Sedan. This family-friendly segment has been among the industry’s most competitive in recent years and Nissan plans on capturing major market share with this world class vehicle concept.
From its aggressive grille to its muscular rear, Nissan’s sport sedan concept foreshadows the styling of the automaker’s next generation of sedans; bold, beautiful and innovative. If I was a gambling man, I would bet big that this beauty will in fact be the all-new Nissan Maxima.
No surprise that this bold concept sedan also builds on the styling of the Resonance concept SUV that starred on Nissan’s stand at the 2013 auto show.
The lines of the hood and the dipping chrome bar across the grille constitute what Nissan calls its V-motion style, while boomerang-shaped taillights wrap around the rear fenders from the sedan’s sides to its rear. The sedan concept has a sharply raked windshield & unusually low roofline, which once again differentiates Nissan from the run of the mill boring sedans.
The Japanese automaker revealed the four-door sports sedan — which did not have a specific name — for the first time globally today.
The vehicle evokes the performance aura of a bad-ass sports car while also appealing to families. It boasts a fascia that dips low toward the ground as well as 21-inch aluminum-alloy wheels. It has a 3.5-liter, 6-cylinder engine with more than 300 horsepower.
Nissan said the front-wheel-drive sport sedan concept — which was developed partly by the automaker’s San Diego design studio — “offers cues to future production designs.”
Auto Dealers, such as Windsor Nissan in East Windsor, New Jersey, cannot wait to get their hands on the retail versions of these extremely exciting vehicles.
The company also showed off two concept cars for the first time in the U.S.: the Nissan IDx Freeflow and the IDx NISMO.
The IDx Freeflow was designed to appeal to lifestyle buyers, while the IDx NISMO has an über-sporty look. At 162-inches long, the concepts are about the same size as a Nissan Juke. There is no doubt about it that Nissan is in a prime position to truly catapult the brand to new heights with innovative designs and cutting edge technology, which has all been evident at the Detroit Auto Show in 2014 thus far.
The concepts offer two different versions of a small, simple coupe that’s reminiscent of early Datsun models. Their simple shape does without complex curves for what Nissan says young buyers are seeking: authentic execution of a simple affordable car.
The NISMO concept aims to look like a vintage car in a computer game, while the Freeflow’s white and flax colors are intended to evoke the casual appeal of a t-shirt and khakis.
Many of the details from this article were gathered by the Detroit Free Press.
GM Opens New Design Studio!
General Motors has opened a new design studio in Seoul, South Korea, this past Wednesday, April 20, 2010. This will be GM’s tenth global design studio, to date, and will be responsible for creating mini and small vehicles to be sold around the world. There will be over thirty designers at the Seoul Advanced Design studio working diligently to create new concept vehicles for GM world-wide.
As time goes by, I believe that this design studio will become a crucial part of GM as the United States, and the World, enforces more strict fuel-efficiency and emissions standards. Soon, more and more people will be driving mini or small vehicles in order to comply with fuel-efficiency and emissions standards, and this GM design studio will be one of the major players contributing to the designs of those vehicles.
General Motors Co. to payback the US and Canadian Governments Loans.
US auto giant General Motors has officially announced the repayment of its $5.8 Billion loan by the end of June ‘10. The loan is from the U.S Treasury and Export Development Canada, both of which currently hold Equity Shares in the company.
The company that emerged from bankruptcy in July 2009 also stated that once the repayments are complete “the focus will be to upgrade the plants in Detroit and Kansas to build their Next Generation- Chevrolet Malibu.”
The news of the repayment was made on the Wall Street Journal website on Tuesday April 20th by the CEO of GM, Ed Whitacre, as he announced “Our ability to pay back these loans less than a year after emerging from bankruptcy is a sign that our plan for building a new GM is working.”
The Detroit- Hamtramck and Kansan City factories will be updated with an investment of $ 275 million. The update will enable the plants to manufacture the Next Generation Malibu slated for release next year. On Wednesday, Mr.Whitacre addressing the Kansas City plant said that it will receive $136 million of the investment as the plant will be the prime manufacturing site for the Malibu.
As per the Automotive News Data Center, the new Chevy Malibu has a 53 day supply and Buick LaCrosse a 43 day supply, and the Kansas plant is working 3 shifts and on Saturdays to build both the cars which began production in April to maintain a 60 Day supply level as recommended by analysts.
The Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS sedans currently being produced at the Detroit Hamtramck plant will be downsized this year to accommodate the production of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in sedan, to be released in the fourth quarter of ’10. The Hamtramck plant investment of $121 will assist in the production of the Malibu in period of spike in demand.
GM Geely competes for limelight @ Beijing auto show
The most awaited and important event on China ‘s automotive calendar is just nearing. The Auto China 2010 will begin Friday, April 12, in Beijing . And almost all the automakers, both domestic and global, have said what they will put on display. And Of course each and everyone of the automakers is vying for its share of the limelight. This may be the toughest contest of the year for the Geely Holdings and General Motors Company. Both of these two companies will display more on their products in the show more than other automakers.
And in detail, Geely Holdings will display almost 39 models of their products and General Motors will display 28 products. They will also show more new models than most other automakers. Geely says it will put 11 all new models on stage at the event. Meanwhile General Motors has announced it will show 6 new models for the first time in front of a Chinese audience.
The General Motors vehicles are Chevy Volt MPV5 concept, the Cadillac Concept, the Cadillac XTS concept, the Chevy Aveo RS concept, the two-box Chevy New Sail and the new Chevy Spark. Last week Geely held an event in Beijing with several company executives taking turns to explain to reporters the long list of new models and power train technologies their company will display at the show. General Motors China convened reporters from across the country in Shanghai for a briefing on its middle and long term growth plans for China .
For sure, Geely Holdings didn’t start making cars until the late of 1990s. So it goes without saying that it still can’t mount serious competition for General Motors. With most of its products selling less than 70,000 yuan ($10,248), the company still confines itself to the low end of the domestic market. This will change very soon. In addition to rolling out more expensive models under its own brand, the private Chinese company wants to launch more Volvo models in China after it completes the purchase of the Swedish brand from Ford Motor Co in the third quarter.
With a brand that is now a byword for excellence in safety in its stable, Geely holdings should become a rival to reckon with for global players including General Motors.
A $3,000 car?! No Way!
Well, the car really isn’t advertised in dollars, but rather in Indian Rupees (Rp132,750 to be exact)! Nissan has announced it’s plan to produce three cars, over the next few years, that will rival the Tata Nano (which sells for $2,500), in India. The first vehicle will be the Micra Compact, and, by the year 2013, all three new models, plus three imported Nissan models, will be on the Indian market and Nissan plans to sell around 100,000 units a year (which is a BIG step up from the 360 units that were sold this past year)!
Personally, I know that I can not wait to take a look at this car after its production; hopefully Nissan will have a model here in the states for us to take a look at!
Renault-Nissan Alliance & Daimler: A Strategic Cooperation
Okay, so here is the skinny: the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG are combining forces to craft an ultimate strategic cooperation. The Renault-Nissan Alliance is already the most successful partnership in the automotive industry with revenues over 86.5 billion Euros in 2009, a footprint in over 190 countries, and an employment of over 350,000 people world-wide. And Daimler is just as successful in the automotive industry, as well as a huge player in the financial sector. But despite each company’s individual achievements, they both found an advantage out of partnering-up: “Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance are combining common interests to form a promising foundation for a successful, strategically sound cooperation that is based on a number of very concrete and attractive project cooperations. Our skills complement each other very well. Right away we are strengthening our competitiveness in the small and compact car segment and are reducing our CO2 footprint – both on a long-term basis. We know that we can make brand-typical products based on shared architectures. The individual brand identities will remain unaffected.”, said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
The cooperation will highlight the following four projects:
- New common architecture for small vehicles
- The launches for the jointly developed models will take place in 2013.
- Powertrains
- Both are going to focus on sharing each other’s highly fuel-efficient, diesel and gasoline engines.
- Collaboration on light vehicles
- Mercedes-Benz Vans will add a new entry-level vehicle in 2012 that will produced at the Renault plant in Maubeuge, France. Both companies will benefit from higher sales, more efficient capacity utilization, and a joint investment burden – which will result in a healthier overall cost basis.
- Equity exchanges
- The companies are going to exchange, benchmark and create synergies from their one-time cross-shareholding structure. Daimler will get 3.1% of Renault’s newly issued shares and 3.1% of Nissan’s existing shares; and Renault and Nissan will both receive 1.55% of Daimler’s shares.
After all is said, the main goal of this cooperation is to: “…create lasting value for the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler as we work on broadening and strengthening our product offering, efficiently utilizing all available resources and developing the innovative technologies required in the coming decade.” – Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance.
Nissan Juke, Nissan Juke, Nissan Juke!
Beep-Beep! Watch out, everyone, the 2011 Nissan Juke is heading your way!
The Juke, a production model of Nissan’s Qazana that was showcased at the 2009 Geneva auto show, is a vehicle aimed at, “the attention-seeker, aggressive kind of guy,” says Larry Dominique, Nissan’s U.S. product planning chief. It is not your typical kind of family SUV. The center consol is designed to look like a gasoline tank of a motorcycle (with a dashboard that changes color!), and the exterior has extreme curves with a coupelike roofline.
The Juke is powered by 1.6-liter, tubocharged four-cylindaer engine, producing 180 horsepower and 180 pound-feet of torque. All wheel drive is available, as well as a six-speed manual. The Juke’s selling price will be under $20,000, sitting right below the Rogue.
I have added some photos of the Juke for you to take a look at. Also, go to the Juke’s interactive website to check out all of its specs and see a 360 degree view!
How to Reserve Your Very Own Nissan LEAF!
As the arrival of Nissan’s electric car, the LEAF, approaches, many people are concerned about how to get their hands on one. We all know that there is a reservation process that needs to be done in order to purchase one, but just how does one go about doing that? Well, I am here to tell you to worry no more! I am going to explain all of the tips and tricks to reserve your space in line!
First and Foremost: Reservations are open to the public on May 15th, 2010.
Step #1: To being your Nissan LEAF Customer Journey Reservation Process, you need to go onto the Nissan LEAF website, http://www.nissausa.com/leaf-electric-car, to create an account.
Step #2: You need to complete the New Driver Snapshot (everything about this will be explained on the website)
Step #3: Create and configure your very own Nissan LEAF in the New Driver Snapshot
Step #4: Lock in your reservation through a reservation fee, which will be found on the reservation payment page
Things to remember:
1 – You can only place a reservation on the LEAF if you have created an account on the Nissan LEAF website.
2 – There is only one reservation per customer! If you try to create more than one entry, your name will be removed from the system. Similarly, only one reservation per address will be accepted.
3 – Reservations are meant to be solely for the individual reserving the LEAF. The reservation can not be transferred, traded, assigned, or sold.
4 – Nissan reserves the right to cancel any reservation that does not comply with the procedures outlined above.
Stop by Windsor Nissan for more information and details on how to reserve your very own Nissan LEAF!
Nissan Increases Sales!
I think it is safe to say that we have all been bored to tears by the word, ‘recession’. So, today, I am here to speak of the word, ‘growth’. Over the past few months Nissan has increased its sales, and kept its mark as #6 in auto sales in the United States. Nissan was able to do so by a strategic move to increase advertising, instead of increasing discounts. By increasing advertising Nissan was, and is, able to make more people aware of its vehicles (which = more potential customers). Advertising also gives Nissan the opportunity to share the vision of its company with the world – giving people the chance to connect with the company on a more intimate level (which also increases potential customers).
I am pleased to announce that Nissan plans on keeping this tactic of advertising, instead of increasing discounts, for some time to come! By doing this, Nissan’s market share should grow from 7.2% to 7.7% within the year’s end, and its March sales should be up 35% from last March.
Windsor Nissan is proud to be a Nissan dealer, no matter what type of economic standing America and the rest of the world is in! Inventory is at an all time high due to Nissan’s great lineup of vehicles, competitive lease programs, low finance rates and its friendly service and calming atmosphere.
To note: reservations for Nissan’s LEAF (coming out in December) will take place in April!
The Maguire Auto Blog 