2012 Nissan Versa Sedan Outsells Competition in Sub-Compact Segment

While it may not be the car most dream to own, the low $10,990 ($11,750 including destination) entry level price tag of the 2012 Nissan Versa sedan seems to have piqued the interest of U.S. buyers looking for a cheap new ride.

According to data released by Nissan today, in August, the first full month of availability of the new Versa sedan, the subcompact model sold of 8,566 units beating all of its theoretical competitors, including the Chevrolet Aveo, Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, Mazda 2 and the soon to be replaced, Toyota Yaris.

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Nissan Versa Hatchback Enters 2012MY with Equipment Refinements

After revealing prices on its low-cost 2012 Versa sedan, today Nissan announced pricing on the five-door hatchback version of its sub-compact series. Even though the Japanese company has launched a newer version of the hatchback model in certain markets including China, in the States, the five-door variant continues in the new model year with its first-generation design. Read more »

Nissan Releases Full Pricing of 2012 Versa, Starts from a Low, Low $10,990

According to Nissan, the second generation of its Versa sedan features “the lowest MSRP in America” at $10,990 (not including a destination fee), with the sub note that the company’s aforementioned assessment is based on “MY12 competitors at time of print”.

Some of you will say, we already knew that, and you’re right. But what we did learn today is the pricing of the entire Versa range that includes three more models aside from the cut price, entry-level S trim.

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New Nissan Leaf Commercial Mocks the Chevy Volt for Using Gasoline

Electric carmakers are trying hard to promote their products, with the environmentally friendly nature of these vehicles being their most exploited feature in advertising. Nissan is going down the same path with a new campaign for the fully-electric Leaf entitled “Gas Powered Everything”, in which the company mocks the internal combustion engine by imagining a strange world where all appliances run on gas.

The result is a funny commercial in which people have to put up with gas-powered alarm-clocks, microwave ovens, computers and many more appliances. Even the Chevrolet Volt becomes a subject of joke for being a gas-electric hybrid. But we can't help but wonder: isn't Nissan's approach a little hypocritical? It's not like their range includes electric cars alone...

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SPIED: Nissan Testing New 2012 Sunny / Versa Sedan in Europe

Our spy photographers have captured a lightly camouflaged prototype of the freshly revealed in the USA and China, Nissan Versa / Sunny series, during testing in Sierra Nevada, Spain. The prototype was a right-hand drive example with test license plates from Spain.

Aside from the odd-looking exhaust tail pipe that extends all the way to the outer corner of the rear bumper and possibly the headlamp and tail lamp designs, we didn’t notice any other styling differences compared to the North American Versa and the China market Sunny models.

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Video Walkaround of Nissan’s New Versa Sedan

Even though American consumers still tend to prefer larger vehicles, both domestic and foreign automakers are convinced that soaring gas prices will eventually convince buyers to embrace more compact-sized and fuel efficient models. The 2011 New York Auto Show marked the debut of the latest crop of compact cars including the 2012 Nissan Versa sedan, which will try to lure buyers with a low staring price of $10,990 and a promise for affordable costs of ownership.

Hot on the heels of the 2012 Versa sedan’s North American premiere in New York, the Japanese brand released a new video that walks us around the four-door model that will go on sale in the U.S. this summer.

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2012 Nissan Versa Sedan Unveiled, Priced from a Low $10,990

It looks like our first reaction to link the Chinese market Nissan Sunny, revealed in December 2010, to the North American 2012 Versa, was spot on, as these photos clearly prove. Nissan’s new entry in the affordable small sedan segment is a very awkward looking proposal (to say the least…), which probably stems from the fact the Versa / Sunny is based on the Micra’s V-platform architecture, hence the odd proportions of the body.

“The new Versa Sedan stands out as the only expensive looking car in the segment – with a lot of eye power,” said Al Castignetti, vice president and general manager, Nissan Division, Nissan North America.

“Its sculpted, dynamic proportions are modern without being gimmicky, projecting a much higher sense of design value than you might expect in a vehicle with a $10,990 starting M.S.R.P."

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All-New Nissan Tiida Unveiled at Shanghai Auto Show, Previews 2012 Versa in the U.S.

It won’t be long before Nissan takes the wraps of the North American market 2012 Versa, but the Japanese company offered us our first glimpse of the sub-compact model with the reveal of the new Tiida hatchback at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show today. As some of you may already know, the Versa is sold in numerous markets around the world under the Tiida nameplate.

The new generation of Nissan’s best selling model sports a swoopier exterior design with some styling references to the pure-electric Leaf. The fluid theme is carried over to the interior with a floating center cluster. The Japanese company also promises improved passenger space thanks to the 100mm (3.9-in.) longer wheelbase.

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Nissan to Show New Versa and a Motorsports Concept in New York, Infiniti to Announce New Addition to Range

One by one, automakers are revealing their plans for the upcoming 2011 New York International Auto Show. This time we have news from Nissan and its luxury division Infiniti. Starting with Nissan, the Japanese firm will debut a “new compact sedan” and a “new, zero emission motorsports concept”. While we have don’t have any information yet on the concept study, from what we know, the compact sedan will be the next generation of the Versa that was teased in an official sketch back in late 2010.

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Ford Sues Nissan Over Brazilian TV Ad that Ridicules the Focus for Being Overpriced [with Video]

Ford’s Brazilian arm has filed a criminal (!) lawsuit against the local division of Nissan for airing an aggressive TV commercial directed at the Focus sub-compact. To make a long story short, the parody-like ad points the finger at Ford for allegedly overpricing its Focus model.

The TV spot, which looks exactly like a rap video, shows two men dressed as Ford engineers living the big life with gold chains and rings, plenty of champagnes, and –the best part- an exotic assortment of sexy women in bikinis dancing around them. And oh, there’s also a silver Ford Focus on the background….

At the end, the commercial announces the price of Nissan’s Tiida sub-compact (sold as the Versa in the States), which in Brazil, costs around BR 3,000 or a little over US$1,800 less than Ford’s rivaling Focus.

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New Nissan Sunny Sedan Unveiled at China Auto Show. Is this the New 2012 Versa?

Taking center stage and making its world debut at the 8th China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition, is Nissan's all-new global small sedan, which will be locally marketed as the Sunny. According to the Japanese automaker, the new small sedan will go on sale first in China in January 2011 and then progressively across 170 countries worldwide under different vehicle brand names.

Even though Nissan's Spartan press release did not mention the Versa, there are one too many styling similarities between the new Sunny and the 2012 Versa sedan teased in an official sketch released by the automaker in October 2010. However, we have to stress the fact that Nissan has not made a connection between the two cars.

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Nissan Teases Next-Generation Versa Sedan with Sketch

A sketchy teaser shot with a footnote that says "Nissan announced today that the next-generation Nissan Versa will be sold in the Americas" is about all we get from the Japanese automaker regarding its all-new subcompact sedan. There's a good chance we may see the 2012 Versa saloon getting its world premiere alongside the Murano CrossConvertible at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show in November, though nothing has been confirmed yet. We'll keep you up to date with any new information we receive, but for the time being, hit the break for a larger version of the teaser shot.

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Fire Hazard from Garmin Nuvi Prompts Recalls from Suzuki and Nissan

After Garmin announced a voluntary recall of 1.25 million units of its popular Nuvi GPS system at the end of August amidst concerns that the batteries could overheat and catch fire, Suzuki and Nissan followed with a recall on several vehicles equipped with the affected Garmin Nuvi navigation systems including the 750, 760, or 765 models for the same reason.

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2011 Nissan Versa Sedan and Hatchback Models get Price Hikes

Nissan has announced U.S. pricing for its 2011 model year Versa sedan and hatchback models. While the MSRP (not including tax, title and license fees) for the entry-level Versa 1.6 sedan remains unchanged at $9,990, prices for the other models of the range have increased.

For example, the 2011 Versa 1.8S 6MT hatchback gets a $370 price increase and will start at $13,520, while the 1.6 4AT sedan receives a $250 price hike and will now start from $12,240.

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Nissan Planning to Sell a New Low-Cost, Micra-Based Model in the USA

Nissan officials confirmed today that the automaker is planning to add a new entry-level model based on the soon-to-be-revealed Micra in its U.S. market lineup. The next generation Micra (think Toyota Yaris and Ford Fiesta competitor), which was teased with a pair of renderings as well as a set of leaked design sketches, is based on Nissan's so-called "V-platform" that is said to give birth to two additional models aside from the hatchback, including a four-door sedan and a multipurpose vehicle.

"V platform" manager Vincent Cobee said that the Nissan's engineers spent four years to find ways to reduce production costs and weight out of a small car.

According to the company, the new platform will see a 50 percent improvement in fuel economy (we know, it sounds a bit too optimistic) over the current Micra while the firm's engineers have reduced the total number of parts in the car by 18 percent. For example, while the current Micra's cockpit has 56 parts, the new model will have 27.

According to Autonews that attended the press event at the Nissan's headquarters today, the U.S. market will play a significant role in the firm's plan to sell a million vehicles a year from all the derivatives of the newly created "V platform".

However, Nissan did not reveal which of the three models will come to the States nor when they go on sale or if the U.S.-market vehicle(s) will be produced in the States.

Nissan said that the new global Micra, which is set to make its debut next year, will be made in five different plants around the world, including India, China, Thailand and two other unidentified locations.

Via: Autonews

2011 Nissan Versa / Tiida Rendered, Gets New Turbo Engines

The Nissan Tiida, also known in the U.S. and Canada as the Versa, has been around in Japan since 2004. That is a long time in automobile-years so it comes to no surprise that Japanese magazines like “Best Car” have started publishing renderings of the Versa / Tiida’s replacement, expected in 2010. The artist’s rendering seen here, depicts a no-frills design proposal for the sedan variant that would also spawn a five-door hatchback version.

Best Car claims that, at least in what concerns the Japanese-market model, the 2010 Tiida / Verso will be offered with new range of turbocharged petrol engines. Since it is rumored that Nissan’s next-generation compact car will be based upon the Renault Megane architecture, the engine range could include Renault’s new 1.4-liter and 2.0-liter TCe turbocharged petrol units that deliver 130 and 180 HP respectively.

Expect to see the new Versa / Tiida hitting showrooms in the States and Europe sometime in 2011.

Rendering: Best Car

New Dodge Trazo: Nissan's Versa Sedan Gets Rebadged for South America

The new Dodge Trazesty Trazo is the fruit of Chrysler LLC and Nissan's OEM agreement that was signed in January 2008. Apparently we're not the only ones that think that there's nothing 'Dodge' about the Nissan Versa (Tiida in Europe and Japan) as the American automaker preferred to badge the sedan as the "Trazo by Dodge". As you can see in the image gallery after the jump, Dodge's signature ram logo is nowhere to be found. The Trazo will be offered for sale in select Latin American markets in sedan form only equipped with a 1.8-liter four-cylinder gasoline and E100 ethanol-capable engine with both automatic and manual transmissions. -Continued

Video: 2009 Nissan 370Z Test Drive

While Nissan is doing its best to keep the new 370Z under covers until the release of the first official pictures on October 29, the Japanese automaker did invite a few car magazines to give them a taste of their new sports coupe last week by allowing selected journalists to drive a lightly camouflaged preproduction prototype model. Among the "chosen ones" was Motor Trend magazine that took the opportunity to shoot an interesting video of their short encounter with the new 370Z. Check out the video right after the jump. -Continued

Thanks for the tip Marcus!

Nissan Tiida / Versa Global Sales Top One Million

Roughly three and half year’s after the Tiida (named Versa in North American) was launched on September 30, 2004 and Nissan announced that cumulative sales of its compact car topped one million in March 2008. The Tiida was initially launched in the Japanese market in September 2004, followed by a rollout to the general overseas markets including China in 2005 with subsequent launches in North America and Europe in 2006 and 2007 respectively. As of March, 2008, the Tiida / Versa is sold in 165 countries worldwide.

2008 Nissan Tiida / Versa Facelift Released in Japan

Four years after their initial debut in Japan, Nissan launched the subtlety revised 2008 Tiida 5-door hatchback and Tiida Latio 4-door sedan (called Versa in the States) in the domestic market today. The facelift models feature new exterior and interior designs, retuned electric power steering, powertrain enhancements and a new "Plus navi HDD" package, among other improvements.

In particular, both Tiida and Tiida Latio feature revised front-end designs, with new grilles, front bumpers and headlights while the 5d Tiida also gets new taillights and a rear bumper. Inside, the changes include the redesigned instrument cluster that features new illumination colours and a fuel consumption display function, a revised center stack with redesigned automatic air-conditioner controls and new illumination scheme, as well as new silver finishers. Additionally, new seat fabric patterns and stitching colors are available on all models. -Continued

The new Tiida and Tiida Latio models each receive a variety of powertrain enhancements, including the new availability of a 6-speed manual transmission on 1.8-liter models along with the retuned electric-assisted power steering system that promises to offer improved feel at low and high speeds.

Although Nissan hasn’t made any official announcement concerning the matter, we suspect that many changes will pass on the European Tiida and US market Versa models.