Nissan Is Making It Easier To Buy A Car From Home With Nissan@home

Nissan is making it easier to buy a car from home with Nissan@Home

Nissan is trying to make it easier to buy your next car from the couch with a new program it's calling "Nissan@Home." The program ran as a trial at seven dealerships over the summer, but Nissan says it's expanding throughout the rest of the country over the next few months.

At its core, the program creates a Nissan@Home hub on Nissan's website where customers can go through a number of steps you might go through at the dealership. You can build your ideal car, find similar inventory, estimate your payments, look through a digital brochure, attain an internet quote and book a test drive from the hub. It's a fairly comprehensive one-stop-shop, and it looks like you can book a test drive for anything, even a GT-R.

Toyota Shows Off New Mirai Fuel Cell Car In Fresh Push For Hydrogen Technology

Toyota shows off new Mirai fuel cell car in fresh push for hydrogen technology

TOKYO — Japan's Toyota Motor Corp put its revamped Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car, with 30% greater range, on sale Wednesday in a fresh push to promote the zero-emission technology amid rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles, including its own.

Toyota has failed until now to win drivers over to fuel cell vehicles (FCV), which remain a niche technology despite Japanese government backing, amid concerns about a lack of fueling stations, resale values and the risk of hydrogen explosions.

Honda Announces All-new N-one Kei Car, Adds Manual-transmission Option

Honda announces all-new N-One kei car, adds manual-transmission option

The Japan-only N-One kei car has been a favorite among Honda enthusiasts since its debut in 2012. Mostly, that was due to its lovable styling — which was inspired by the 1967 N360 and the N600, its U.S. market variant — even though its was only available with a 3-cylinder mated to a CVT. Now, after eight years, Honda has announced an all-new N-One and given it a 6-speed manual transmission option.

It's a supremely rare move in the automotive world these days. Manual transmissions are hanging on by a thread, and automakers are taking them away these days rather than adding them to a new generation that didn't offer one before. Honda says it did so as a direct response to customer demands. So hey, maybe internet comments do make a difference!

The Toyota Gr Yaris Circuit Pack Is A Proper Rally Car For The Road

The Toyota GR Yaris Circuit Pack Is A Proper Rally Car For The Road

Few performance cars have captured the attention of car enthusiasts in 2020 quite like the Toyota GR Yaris. Even less have been so divisive, with some reviewers panning it – like JDM Masters (see the review here), while others are commending it, as is the case with this test by Jonny Smith from The Lake Brake Show who recently had the opportunity to put one through its paces in the UK.

The Honda Legend Will Be The World's First Level 3 Autonomous Car

The Honda Legend will be the world's first level 3 autonomous car

TOKYO — Honda said on Wednesday it will be the world's first automaker to mass produce sensor-packed Level 3 autonomous cars that will allow drivers to let their vehicles navigate congested expressway traffic.

"Honda is planning to launch sales of a Honda Legend (luxury sedan) equipped with the newly approved automated driving equipment" before the end of March 2021, Honda said in a press release. The Honda Legend is mechanically similar to the Acura RLX sold in the United States.

Honda Launches Used-car Leasing Program Through The Fair App

Honda launches used-car leasing program through the Fair app

If you can lease a new car, why not a Certified Pre-Owned used car? That notion would seem to offer even lower payments since the depreciation over the term of the lease would be less. To date, however, that idea has not caught on, but now Honda is — very tentatively — testing the waters of CPO car leasing.

For the program, Honda has hooked up with Fair.com, a used-car leasing site that was started a few years ago. Fair offers the ability to lease a used car on either a month-by-month basis or for a fixed term, and charges a start payment (down payment) along with a monthly fee that also includes routine maintenance and roadside assistance.

Bugatti Introduces Bolide Race Car With 1,824 Horsepower

Bugatti introduces Bolide race car with 1,824 horsepower

Since rising from its ashes for the second time in 1998, Bugatti has specialized in creating cars that are as fast and powerful as they are luxurious. And yet, competition — where luxury is superfluous — is a big part of its DNA. It renewed ties with its racing heritage by building a track-only two-seater around its mighty 16-cylinder engine.

Bugatti proudly calls the Bolide — which means "a very fast car" in French — the fastest and lightest concept it has ever built. Concept is the key term here; the Bolide is a one-off, and it has not been approved for production yet. It's proof of concept that illustrates what a modern-day successor to the victorious Type 35 could look like.

Car Navigation System Recounting 2011 Disaster

Car navigation system recounting 2011 disaster

A car sharing group in northeastern Japan is offering a vehicle equipped with a navigation system that shares stories about the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in the region.

The Japan Car Sharing Association is based in the city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture. After the coastal city was devastated by the disaster, it started providing services such as renting cars free of charge in areas hit by disasters.

Paul Newman's 1979 Championship-winning Datsun 280zx Race Car For Sale

Paul Newman's 1979 championship-winning Datsun 280ZX race car for sale

Actor Paul Newman's other great passion was auto racing, and unlike some with boldface names who dabble in the sport, Newman didn't just race, he won. He also co-owned racing teams. An early highlight of his decades-long motorsports career was during the 1970s and '80s driving for the Bob Sharp racing team, which campaigned Datsuns/Nissans. This Datsun 280ZX racer was driven exclusively by Newman during the 1979 season. In it, he won races at Summit Point, Watkins Glen, Brainerd (Minn.), Lime Rock, and Road Atlanta, culminating in an SCCA National C-Production Championship. (That same year he would race at Le Mans, finishing second in a Porsche 935.) Now restored to its '79-season spec and livery, this ex-Paul Newman racing car is for sale at Motorcar Classics on Long Island.

The car is sold with documentation including the notarized bill of sale from Bob Sharp. After Newman's race-winning season, the 280ZX was sold in 1984 to a privateer, who campaigned it for several more years before putting it into storage. At the time, it was just another used-up race car. Eventually, though, it was exhumed and brought back to its original condition. Recently, the car turned some laps at what was effectively Newman's home track, Lime Rock Park in northwest Connecticut, at the Lime Rock Vintage Festival.