2013 Nissan Altima Earns “Top Safety Pick Plus” from IIHS

The 2013 Nissan Altima added another award to its trophy case with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) “Top Safety Pick Plus” designation, which recognizes passenger vehicles for excellent performance in five passenger safety tests.

Starting with 2013 models, IIHS introduced more stringent criteria and requirements to include the “Top Safety Pick” front, side, rollover and rear crash tests, as well as the newly added small overlap frontal test. The Altima scored well for each of these tests, adding the “Top Safety Pick Plus” award to the five-star safety rating it received in September from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s New Car Assessment Program.

“Driver and passenger safety are top priorities for Nissan, which is why we make features like Safety Shield technologies available,” said Bob Yakushi, Nissan’s director of product safety. “The 2013 Altima is truly Nissan’s most innovative Altima ever, and the ‘Top Safety Pick Plus’ designation by IIHS reflects the engineering and design that have gone into this car to make it stand out in the class.”

The Nissan Altima comes equipped with a variety of standard safety features, including the Nissan Advanced Air Bag System, driver and front-passenger seat-mounted side-impact supplemental air bags, roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental air bags, Vehicle Dynamic Control, 3-point ALR/ELR seat belt system, LATCH System (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children), zone body construction with front and rear crumple zones and Tire Pressure Monitoring System with Easy Fill Tire Alert, which sounds the car horn to notify a person filling a tire with air when the recommended tire pressure has been reached.

Available features include next-generation Safety Shield technologies, including Blind Spot Warning, Lane Departure Warning and Moving Object Detection systems using an innovative single rear camera.

South Point Nissan Loses A Member of the Family

On Dec. 9, 2012 South Point Nissan lost a member of its family, Nissan-certified technician, Roy Colunga.

Funeral services will begin at 10 a.m., Thurs. Dec. 13 at the San José Catholic Church off of West Oltorf St. Services will be open to the public and a rosary will be held the night before at 7 p.m. Wed. Dec. 12 on South 1st St., north of Mary St. W.

He will be missed by everyone here at South Point Nissan for his great friendship and service to this company.

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Pathfinder Drives November Nissan Sales to New Record

Nissan North America Inc. reported record November U.S. Sales Monday with 96,197 units versus last year’s 85,182 November sales, up 12.9 percent. With the release of the all-new 2013 Pathfinder, sales of the SUV rose 249.5 percent over the previous year with 8,097 units sold this November.

Nissan had a significant portfolio refresh this year contributing to the uptick in sales with five new models in 15 months. The all-electric Nissan LEAF also posted strong sales in November with 1,539 units sold, up 129 percent. The Altima and Rogue were also big sellers with increases of 14.8 percent and 16.8 percent, respectively.

A list of vehicles sold can be found below.

NISSAN DIVISION
	Nov.		Nov.		Monthly		CYTD		CYTD		CYTD
	2012		2011		% chg		2012		2011		% chg
Nissan Division Total	84,300		76,754		9.8		935,116		854,136		9.5
Versa	8,826		9,291		-5.0		102,709		89,791		14.4
Sentra	7,176		7,871		-8.8		98,640		106,281		-7.2
Cube	791		203		289.7		7,078		14,053		-49.6
Altima	20,305		20,613		-1.5		278,968		243,005		14.8
Maxima	4,730		4,886		-3.2		55,212		53,669		2.9
LEAF	1,539		672		129.0		8,330		8,720		-4.5
Juke	3,003		2,514		19.5		33,619		32,858		2.3
370Z	450		356		26.4		6,932		6,879		0.8
GT-R	85		56		51.8		1,139		1,259		-9.5
Total Car	46,905		46,462		1.0		592,627		556,515		6.5
Frontier	3,882		4,324		-10.2		51,747		46,074		12.3
Titan	1,750		2,146		-18.5		19,738		19,608		0.7
Xterra	1,343		1,636		-17.9		15,843		16,244		-2.5
Pathfinder	8,097		2,317		249.5		34,682		23,272		49.0
Armada	1,817		1,779		2.1		15,938		16,374		-2.7
Rogue	12,662		10,845		16.8		130,861		112,257		16.6
Murano	5,129		4,875		5.2		47,676		48,153		-1.0
Quest	1,673		1,132		47.8		17,075		10,425		63.8
NV	1,042		1,238		-15.8		8,929		5,214		71.3
Total Truck	37,395		30,292		23.4		342,489		297,621		15.1
North American produced	58,968		56,101		5.1		682,406		619,532		10.1
Car	41,037		42,661		-3.8		535,529		492,746		8.7
Truck	17,931		13,440		33.4		146,877		126,786		15.8
Import	25,332		20,653		22.7		252,710		234,604		7.7
Car	5,868		3,801		54.4		57,098		63,769		-10.5
Truck	19,464		16,852		15.5		195,612		170,835		14.5
INFINITI DIVISION
	Nov.		Nov.		Monthly		CYTD		CYTD		CYTD
	2012		2011		% chg		2012		2011		% chg
Infiniti Division Total	11,897		8,428		41.2		107,250		87,471		22.6
G Sedan	3,860		3,623		6.5		42,346		38,360		10.4
G Coupe	978		885		10.5		11,982		13,355		-10.3
M	784		921		-14.9		8,281		9,734		-14.9
QX	2,121		1,446		46.7		13,078		11,693		11.8
JX	2,529		n/a		n/a		18,966		n/a		n/a
EX	434		428		1.4		3,161		5,486		-42.4
FX	1191		1125		5.9		9,436		8,843		6.7
Total Car	5,622		5,429		3.6		62,609		61,449		1.9
Total Truck	6,275		2,999		109.2		44,641		26,022		71.6
NISSAN & INFINITI
	Nov.		Nov.		Monthly		CYTD		CYTD		CYTD
	2012		2011		% chg		2012		2011		% chg
TOTAL VEHICLE	96,197		85,182		12.9		1,042,366		941,607		10.7
Total Car	52,527		51,891		1.2		655,236		617,964		6.0
Total Truck	43,670		33,291		31.2		387,130		323,643		19.6
Selling days	25		25				281		280

 * All numbers include Hawaii

Nissan Leaf Drives Into Record for Largest Parade of Electric Cars

In a feat of electric car prowess, Nissan brings together a convoy of 225 Nissan Leafs to break the record for “largest parade of electric vehicles.” The cars were paraded around the Silverstone racing circuit in London to break the 218 vehicle Guinness World Record previously held by Chrysler.

Nissan LEAF owners travelled from around the UK, from as far afield as Aberdeen and Belfast, to meet up at the world-famous Formula One circuit on Saturday, November 24. The event was organized by Nissan to bring together owners of the world’s best selling electric vehicle to share their ownership experiences and to gather information about how they use their cars.

Joined by famous faces including actor and presenter Robert Llewellyn and UK television presenter Dallas Campbell, the cars paraded around the circuit for just over two miles under the watchful eye of the Guinness World Record adjudicators.

Paul Willcox, Senior Vice President for Nissan Europe commented: “It was great to see so many LEAFs on the track at the same time and to hear how far some of our owners travelled to take part. We are delighted to have broken the Guinness World Record and to have our customers at the heart of that success.”

The Nissan LEAF entered the record books earlier this year by becoming the fastest car over a mile in reverse, set at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June by stunt driver Terry Grant.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nissan Opens First EV Quick Charging Station in Mexico

Nissan opens the first public electric vehicle quick-charging station in Latin America on Nov. 16 adding another place to charge to Nissan’s network of over 1,000 charging stations worldwide.

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan, said that the launch represents a great partnership of public and private interests toward a zero emission future.

“We take seriously our role in developing public-private alliances to create adequate conditions for zero emissions mobility. Since we established our commitment to a zero emissions future for transportation, we have sold more than 50,000 Nissan LEAF electric vehicles in over 100 countries and placed more than 1,000 charging stations worldwide,” said Carlos Ghosn.

The quick charging station located in Colonia Roma, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Mexico City, will charge vehicles’ batteries to 80% in an average of 30 minutes.

Nissan’s goal is to place 3 public charging stations in Mexico City, eight in Aguascalientes and other 50 locations, including Nissan’s corporate offices and three dealers’ facilities. Two Nissan dealers in México City and one in Aguascalientes already are certified to service Nissan LEAF electric vehicles.

Jose Luis Valls, president and managing director of Nissan Mexico, said Nissan is leading the path toward zero emissions with its commitment to providing charging stations in Latin America.

“No other car company is demonstrating the level of commitment that Nissan has to zero emissions mobility. We do not plan to stop here. Our intention is to donate six additional charging stations in other cities around the country, helping to build EV charging station corridors that complement existing infrastructure and the resources available at users’ homes,” said Jose Luis Valls.

Nissan Announces U.S. Pricing for 2013 Murano

Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today announced U.S. pricing for the 2013 Nissan Murano, which is on sale now at Nissan dealers nationwide.

The mid-size crossover SUV has been in production since 2002 and has gone through 2 generations of changes since its inception.

For 2013, Murano adds advanced Safety Shield technologies, including Moving Object Detection (MOD), Blind Spot Warning (BSW) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) systems, to the LE Platinum Edition and SL Navigation Package.

Also added is a new Value Package for SV models, featuring a power liftgate, Bose® audio system with 9 speakers plus dual subwoofers and Nissan Navigation system. The Value Package has a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price* (MSRP) of $2,270 USD – a savings of $830 USD** over the cost of items if purchased separately. Two new exterior colors, Midnight Garnet and Gun Metallic, are also added for 2013.

Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices* (MSRP) for the 2013 Nissan Murano include:

Murano S FWD	$29,960 USD
Murano SV FWD	$32,500 USD
Murano SL FWD	$37,310 USD
Murano LE FWD	$39,150 USD
Murano S AWD	$31,750 USD
Murano SV AWD	$34,100 USD
Murano SL AWD	$38,910 USD
Murano LE AWD	$40,750 USD