Spy Shots: 2011 Nissan 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition spotted

The crew over at Inside Line got its hands on some rather curious spy photos of the new 2011 Nissan 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition. Why curious? Most of the time, spy photographers work from behind massive lenses at long distances because the secretive engineers don't want themselves or the car they're testing to be photographed. But these shots look almost... composed. Or at least like the person manning the camera is on a first name basis with the folks at Nissan.

Regardless, these are clearly photographs of the soon to be released 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition. As we've known for some time, there's not too much to the 40th Anniversary Z above and beyond a couple of badges. The slate gray body color and matching wheel color are unique to the limited edition coupe, as are the red brake calipers, but the wheels themselves are the optional 19-inchers from the standard 370Z.

Inside, IL claim's you'll find the "standard Z Touring seats" covered in red leather. But how can they tell what specific type of seats are in a car by looking at photos? Mechanically, we all have to wait until the Chicago Auto Show before we get the details, but Inside Line confirms a rumor we heard that the 40th Anniversary car might be more NISMO than standard Z. If Nissan decides to imbue the 40th Anniversary model with 350 horsepower (or more), along with the more sporting suspension in a less boy racer-ish body, they'll have quite a compelling performance package on their hands.

According to Inside Line the only exterior badging that distinguishes the 40th Anniversary car from lesser Zs is a small plaque on the car's rear bumper, just below 370Z. What's odd is that this little badge isn't visible in any of the photographs Inside Line posted. Look for yourself. And as far as we've seen, Nissan hasn't released any official photos of the 40th Anniversary car's rump. So how do they know? Could it be that Inside Line has additional "spy photos" of the 40th Anniversary Z's rear and isn't posting them? We kind of doubt that. And what's with the guys standing in front of a dark 1971 Datsun 240Z, seen next to the white Volkswagen GTI? And why would Nissan engineers be driving a VW? We're thinking Inside Line might know a bit more about the 40th Anniversary 370Z than they're telling.

Article courtesy of: Jonny Lieberman & www.autoblog.com

Report: New Nissan Titan coming in 2014

Originally launched in late 2003 as a 2004 model, the Nissan Titan light-duty pickup may not see its replacement until 2014 – a painfully long time in the full-size pickup market, and the Titan is already the oldest half-ton pickup in the segment. Titan sales in 2009 fell 44.1 percent from 2008. However, according to Larry Dominique, Nissan's Vice President of Product Planning, things may be turning around.

Improved traffic in Nissan showrooms, new "value packaging" that bundle popular options together, and an effort by dealers to target existing owners to replace or upgrade their Titans seems to be working. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the Titan sold 5,337 units compared to 4,153 during the same period in 2008. However, Dominique appears to understand that even the most loyal customers eventually lose interest in an outdated vehicles.

"My team is working on the best overall scenario for doing the next Titan internally," Dominique said. "Given the environment, given the economy and that Nissan's global resources are constrained, we can't do everything we want as fast as we want. We had a plan that was humming along with Chrysler to deliver the truck by 2011 but that deal went away. It's a few years away. We're looking at short term enhancements we can make until 2014."

In the meantime, Nissan's pickup team will ask headquarters to approve building a heavy-duty Titan. Pushing for development of a light commercial truck (2500- or 3500-series) to increase sales volume will help spread engineering costs across more models. However, it's clear that this process isn't a short road. Once Japanese executives approve the development of a new Titan, the Nissan light-truck still figures to be another two years from production.


Article courtesy of Michael Harley, www.autoblog.com