nissan

Just about every new car comes with a USB port and Bluetooth streaming, letting you bring in digital-audio devices and play music through the car's stereo. But many people have already moved from stored media to online music services.

Automakers are just beginning to keep up, integrating existing online music services with new models.

Not only can a built-in interface for an online music service make a car more attractive to a devotee of that service, but it also provides a safer interface. Where a Pandora fan might hook … Read more

As I saw previously with the new Altima model, Nissan has taken to a strategy of offering its customers more for the money, in this sense "more" being larger vehicles, bucking a trend in the industry toward smaller cars. The 2013 Nissan Sentra, the newly updated seventh generation of a once compact car, qualifies as midsize under EPA classifications.

The Sentra SL model delivered to CNET was the top trim model, but its base price still came in at just under 20 grand. For that money, the Sentra offered a roomy cabin and a surprisingly large trunk, a … Read more

Nissan's Pathfinder started life as a truck-based SUV, then went to unibody construction in a subsequent generation, becoming a crossover before there were crossovers. That generation was followed by a truck-based model, which gained a little off-road cred. With the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder the pendulum swings back to a crossover design, striving to retain its backcountry capability while adding all the comforts of a minivan. With the Platinum Premium package, Nissan even throws in a rear-seat entertainment system.

What Nissan really attempts with the Pathfinder is to be all things to all people. This effort is, for the most … Read more

Before the recession, automakers at auto shows regularly showed off futuristic concept cars, which seemed more about keeping the design departments busy than developing future products. When resources became scarce, concept cars largely became prototypes brought out to gauge public reaction.

Such is still the case, given the assortment of concept cars we saw during the most recent international auto show cycle.… Read more

You are driving your car. You see something flying at you.

What do you do? What do you think? Do you assume the aliens have arrived? Do you you decide that this is mere debris from a passing truck, so as long as it doesn't hit the windshield you'll be fine?

Well, that depends on if you're in Georgia. For in that state, iPads allegedly fly.

You might sense that my senses have flown to foreign parts. Before you judge, I will just ask that you peruse this report from Atlanta's ABC57 News.

There, you will … Read more

I distrust convertible cars. A thin covering of cloth over my head when driving down the freeway in a rainstorm does not inspire confidence. Driving with the top down on a sunny day seems like a recipe for skin cancer. Those concerns, however, mysteriously disappear whenever I get behind the wheel of a convertible, put the top down, and go for a cruise in the country. The open top experience engenders a carefree feeling, an enjoyment of the surroundings impossible with a metal roof overhead. The envious looks of other drivers and pedestrians as I cruise by confirm the wonder that is driving a convertible.

With the end of winter, we have rounded up five convertibles to consider for your driving pleasure. … Read more

Nissan opened a new research center in Sunnyvale, California this week, where it will develop autonomous and connected car technologies. The new center is expected to have a staff of 60 within four years.

Nissan held a launch event for the new center, with presentations by Professor Alex Pentland, Director of the Human Dynamics Laboratory at MIT, and Professor Chris Gerdes, Director of Stanford's Center for Automotive Research.

Gerdes focused his talk on his development of steer-by-wire technology at Stanford, undertaken with the assistance of Nissan. That type of technology enters production with the Infiniti Q50.

The new research … Read more

Oft-criticized for its appearance, something about the Nissan Juke appealed to gearheads, enough so that the company created the Juke-R, a high-performance, and costly, version of the compact SUV using the GT-R's engine. For those of us lacking the funds for one of those custom-built rocket sleds, Nissan comes out with the Juke Nismo.

The Juke Nismo was first shown as a concept at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show.

Nismo is Nissan's sport brand, which in the retail market covers performance parts and a version of the 370Z. The introduction of the Juke Nismo should be the first … Read more

The days of bragging about a car stereo's wattage may be coming to an end. Bose has developed a new audio system for the Nissan Leaf that focuses on reduced electricity usage. The new system will be available as an option on 2013 models.

As current battery technology limits electric-vehicle range, automakers look for savings in auxiliary systems, and get rid of niceties such as power-adjustable seats. Bose's proposition for the Leaf is that you can still have good sound quality without a hugely powerful amp.

Six speakers and a subwoofer make up the loudspeaker part of the … Read more