When Nissan put out a hazy cinematic preview of future product in May, sports car fans were thrilled to see the Nissan Z among the assemblage. We got further thrill from what we thought would be the sports car's expected due date: 2021. Seems our calendar-watching got the best of us, because AutoExpress reports the coupe rumored to be called the 400Z won't debut until 2022 and won't go on sale until 2023. When the automaker announced its latest strategy, dubbed "Nissan Next: From A to Z," part of the plan called for launching 12 new models in the next 18 months. We figured the Z would be among that dozen. The plan, however, runs to the end of Nissan's 2023 fiscal year, which doesn't close until March 31, 2024. In that case, a 2023 on-sale date for the 400Z is better than it might have turned out. Assuming AE is correct, the redone sports car arrives 14 years after the current 370Z hit the market. 

In addition to our anticipation, it seems we should also temper our expectations. The 400Z is supposedly going to ride on the automaker's Front Midship platform for rear-wheel-drive models. This is the same platform the current 370Z rides on, as well as the Infiniti Q50 and Q60, so it's already not-new. On the other hand, Nissan's done some wonderful things with the architecture; the FM traces its roots to the JDM V35 Skyline from 2001 that came to the U.S. as the Infiniti G35 in 2002. The present GT-R rides on an evolution of the FM called Premium Midship. The 400Z might be the last little Indian on the platform, too, since the Nissan Next plan calls for Infiniti to switch to mass-produced Nissan platforms with AWD capability as Infiniti transitions to being "Nissan-plus."

Fukuoka City, the operator of the key western Japanese port of Hakata, has drawn up a policy that rejects port calls by cruise ships until an effective treatment or vaccine for COVID-19 is established.

The policy is based on an ordinance on port operation and has been in effect since June.

You don't see that very often but Nissan has agreed to postpone the closure of its plants in Barcelona, Spain by one year.

The Japanese government is set to extend its nationwide state of emergency for the coronavirus outbreak by nearly a month until May 31.

The government will ask an advisory expert panel for its opinion on the extension schedule on Monday. It will then inform the Diet of the plan before finalizing it at a taskforce meeting later in the day.

TOKYO — Honda on Tuesday said that it had furloughed workers at its U.S. plants, which will be closed until May 1 as demand for cars in the country has plummeted due to the spread of the coronavirus.

A spokesman for Honda, which employs about 18,400 workers at plants in Alabama, Indiana and Ohio, said the Japanese automaker would guarantee salaries through Sunday, having suspended operations on March 23. Operations at its Powersports plant in South Carolina, which makes all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), have been suspended since March 26.

Education authorities in Tokyo are thinking about keeping metropolitan high schools closed until early May to deal with the surge in the number of coronavirus infections in the capital.

Schools were temporarily closed in March, in line with Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's request for shutdowns through spring break to contain the coronavirus.

Infiniti confirmed it has delayed QX55 production by about five months. The as-yet-unveiled crossover is a swoopier, more stylish evolution of the QX50 with a fastback-like roof line inspired by some of the company's past models. The Nissan-owned company informed its suppliers production will start in November 2020, not in June as previously announced. It explained it needs to "ensure production capability" at the Aguascalientes, Mexico, facility that will manufacture the model. It didn't provide additional details, though a spokesperson confirmed the new timeline to Automotive News. The factory — a joint-venture between Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler and Nissan — also makes the QX50, the A-Class, the Kicks, and the Sentra, among other models. "Production schedules are internal and due to various operation priorities can move — sometimes forward, sometimes backward — as a normal course of business," a spokesperson told Autoblog.  The QX55 is based on the aforementioned QX50, and spy shots confirm the two models share several design cues when viewed from the front. Minor nameplate-specific details will set the 55 apart from the 50. It's a different story out back, where the 55 ditches the 50's family-friendly silhouette for a fast-sloping roofline penned with an eye on the first-generation FX released for the 2003 model year, five years before the original BMW X6.  Infiniti is not yet revealing technical specifications, but we expect the variable-compression VC-Turbo engine will be one of the available powertrains. The turbocharged, 2.0-liter unit makes 268 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque in the QX50. It also returns 26 mpg in combined driving, according to the EPA. What remains to be seen is whether the delay also affects the car's unveiling date, which hasn't been publicly announced yet. An Infiniti spokesperson told Autoblog the QX55 is scheduled to make its debut "in the next few months," and pointed out it's one of five new models due out in the next three years. When it does arrive, the Infiniti QX55 will compete in the same segment as the BMW X4 and the Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe.