New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said an NYPD mounted policeman spotted a box smoking in the back of the Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicle and that the popular tourist destination in the heart of Manhattan’s Midtown was evacuated shortly after that.

“This appears to be a car bomb that the bomb squad is in the process of dismantling,” New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said.

“We do not know the motive.”

A police source who asked not to be named said the device was a car bomb and it included three tanks of propane and two canisters of gasoline. He said police had not fully cleared the Pathfinder.

He would not say whether the incident was being treated as an act of terrorism.

New York authorities have remained on high alert for another attack since the September 11, 2001 attacks in which hijacked airliners toppled the World Trade Centre’s twin towers.

Last year police said they thwarted a plot to bomb the New York subway system and arrested a number of suspects in a case that has led to some guilty pleas.

A New York Fire Department officer said the vehicle was found to contain explosives, gasoline, propane and burned wires and was being treated as a “failed device”.

The officer, who did not give his name because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said a man was seen fleeing the car and that police had protectively evacuated several blocks in case there were other devices.

In Washington, FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said the Joint Terrorism Task Force has responded to the incident along with the NYPD.

A US official, who asked not to be identified by name, said the US Department of Homeland Security was aware of the situation and was monitoring developments, but declined to comment further. The official said the New York Police Department was in charge of the investigation.

Times Square was eerily empty for several blocks on Saturday night, the busiest night of the week on the Great White Way as tourists and theatre-goers watched from behind barricades as anti-terrorism units swarmed the scene.

Apparently, he purchased a Nissan GT-R to celebrate. In honor of this joyous event (which we REALLY hope turns out to be fact) we go to Auto Fiends and some of the best Chuck Norris/GT-R jokes ever:

Newton’s Third Law is wrong: Although it states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, there is no force equal to a GT-R.

In Jurassic Park, the Tyrannosaurus Rex wasn’t chasing the jeep. A GT-R was chasing the Tyrannosaurus AND the jeep.

Pic: Jalopnik | Jokes: Auto Fiends

Nissan states Micra will offer larger interior space and a comfort level not seen in other economy class vehicles. European-market models will have two engines to chose from: a “naturally-aspirated” 1.2 liter three-cylinder petrol engine developing 60kW and 108Nm of torque, and a turbo-charged version of the same engine, producing 75kW and 142Nm of torque. A five-speed manual transmission is standard, but expect other European and possible American models to have a small automatic transmission. Nissan will also include their new Continuously Variable Transmission with the Micra.

Other 2011 Nissan Micra features will include a multi-function touch-screen with navigation, and a glass roof. Safety features will include ABS, dual front airbags, curtain and side airbags.

via The Motor Report

According to designers who chatted with Financial Times, “The Nissan Leaf will be equipped with a 24kWh Lithium Ion battery manufactured by NEC and, over time, the performance of the battery will decline. This is the nature of batteries. When the battery’s capacity reaches 80% of it’s original, it’ll need to be replaced…The plan will also help to reduce the purchase and lease prices of the Nissan Leaf by offsetting the high additional cost of battery.”

And from the press release via Nissan:
The world’s first EV designed for large-scale volume production
• High-performance, zero-emission power train and platform take the “joy of driving” to another dimension.
• A design that evokes a clean and intelligent image and a body that achieves optimal aerodynamics and wind noise characteristics are packaged into this innovative and original five-passenger, five-door hatchback.
• Has a range of more than 160km (100 miles) on one full charge, which is sufficient for most daily needs.
• Features an advanced IT system that is specially designed for zero-emission mobility. Navigation screen supports the driver by displaying range autonomy areas and battery-charging spots with a touch of a button.

honestly, we can’t wait to give one a test ride – but for now we hope you enjoy the Leaf Photos… and your daydreaming.
Source: Jalopnik

The small car / crossover market is growing. With the success of Nissan’s Cube it was time to up the ante with a more stylish, somewhat larger mini-SUV. With that, Nissan is proud to introduce Juke.

Juke measures 157 inches long, 69.5 inches wide and 61.8 inches high. “Juke brings a sense of adventure to the car market,” said Andy Palmer of Nissan PR. “It’s light, nimble, urban, reactive: qualities designed to grab a younger audience. It offers something entirely different to the traditional B-segment vehicles and cements Nissan as a car maker prepared to do something different.”

Inside and out the Juke looks like a sports car. It’s sporty red or silver exterior is reminiscent of Porsche colors. Inside, the crossover includes a stylish dash and racing style seating for front passengers. But don’t worry, we’ve got a roomy 5-seater here.

Juke will be powered by a 1.6-liter gasoline engine, producing somewhere around 117 HP, while the turbocharged version produces 190 HP. A third motor available in Europe is a 1.5 dCi diesel with 110 HP.

Juke has been confirmed for Europe, Japan and the United States – with a world debut schedule for Geneva early next month.

Here’s a quick rundown of the 8 new Nissan / Infiniti Models coming by the middle of 2011, thanks to CarConnection:

Infiniti M: A new six-cylinder and V-8 luxury sedan coming this spring.
40th Anniversary Nissan 370Z: An uprated version of the Touring spec Nissan 370Z that goes on sale this spring.
Infiniti QX56: A replacement for the aging QX full-size SUV is coming this summer.
Nissan Juke: A European designed compact crossover will be introduced locally in September.
Nissan NV 2500: A full-size commercial van similar to Ford’s Econoline that goes on sale in November.
Nissan Quest: A replacement for the slow-selling and now discontinued minivan is coming in January, 2011.
Nissan Leaf: One of the first all-electric vehicles from a major automaker will hit showrooms in December in the form of the new Leaf.
Brand new Infiniti: Not much is known about this model except that it will be derived from an existing model and possibly featuring a hybrid or all-electric powertrain.

Nissan’s V2G (aka – Vehicle to Grid) uses “bioresin impregnated carbon nanotube cloth” technology. Umm…not sure what the means, but doesn’t it sound really futuristic and environmentally friendly?! Nissan designers really took the 2030 “Youthmobile” concept to heart – putting together a top of the line eco-friendly vehicle – light and comprised of many recycled parts, an angle many car maker will have to take as our future unfolds.

The LA Auto Show designs included a variety of auto concepts: vehicles that incorporate human DNA, ones which changed shape, and cars that link into a mass transit system (i.e. the V2G) where drivers not only share the commute but trade music and compare class schedules.

No little white tape can hid that Nissan logo. As you can see the concept drawing and final product have a number of differences, including the front end curves & we’ve got 4-doors instead of 2. According to a report from Autocar, who broke the spy shots online this week, the 2010 Nissan Micra will sports a 1.2 liter gas and 1.5 turbo diesel with a max output of 147 lb-ft of torque.

“Weight-saving” is a major buzzword with the so-called V-cars – it’s reported they use up to 18% fewer parts: dashboard is built from 28 pieces instead of 56, and seats cut off 35 parts from their usual 85.

Creating that infrastructure will be a huge challenge, but Mark Perry, director of product planning for Nissan North America, tells the Tennessean the company will be ready when the first Leafs (Leaves?) roll into showrooms in December 2010. “There is a lot of work to be done and not a lot of time to do it,” he said.