1995 Nissan Pathfinder Xe Sport Utility 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Renault's planned luxury sub-brand gets reconsidered

Renault believes there's enough Alpine love to restart that brand with its own model almost immediately. The launch of the Initiale Paris luxury brand it's been mulling, on the other hand, will be more restrained: a report in Autocar says that instead of launching with a first model based on the Mercedes E-Class architecture, Renault is going to introduce an Initiale Paris trim line on the new Clio and Espace. More accurately, that should be 're-introduce and aggressively market,' since Renault has used an Initiale Paris trim over the years since it introduced the concept car (pictured) in 1995, even as recently as the current-generation Laguna Coupe.
Other models will be added after the Clio and Espace, and when Renault can assess what kind of future the trim has, it will decide on the launch of a subsidiary brand. Company CEO Carlos Tavares said we shouldn't hang around waiting for a decision, though, declaring that establishing such a brand - if it even comes to that - "will be a job for at least my successor to worry about, not me."

Nissan BladeGlider Concept shows its inner DeltaWing

Just like the DeltaWing and ZEOD RC racecars, it takes seeing the Nissan BladeGlider concept live to get a true appreciation for its design. But that doesn't mean it's any less weird. The wedge-shaped, three-seat concept car hit the stage today at the Tokyo Motor Show, and Nissan says the car is an "exploratory prototype" for a future production model.
The BladeGlider is defined by its design with front wheels that are just about three feet apart, while the rear has a more conventional track. Opening the scissor doors reveals a center driving position flanked by two passenger seats with a cockpit-inspired design. Although no power figures were revealed for the conceptual vehicle, Nissan does say that the BladeGlider is an all-electric vehicle with its battery pack mounted toward the rear of the car helping to provide a 30/70 weight distribution front to rear.
Check out our live images of the BladeGlider as well as the Nissan press release below.

Nissan Leaf Aero Style wears new body kit in Japan

Here we have the Nissan Leaf Aero Style, which the automaker says "offers 100% electric vehicle performance in a new stylish and sporty shape." We call it a Nissan Leaf with a not-terribly-attractive body kit and two-tone wheels. Suffice it to say, it's not much like the conceptual version Nissan showed off at the Tokyo Motor Show back in 2011...
Our blunt assessment of the Leaf Aero Style doesn't necessarily mean it's bad, of course. It's still, best we can tell, a Nissan Leaf through and through, which means it has the same 107 horsepower, 187 pound-feet of torque and 24-kWh battery pack as every other new Leaf. That, in turn, means it has an official range of 75 miles (though you're probably better off assuming you can get 50 or so miles per charge in the real world) and a top speed of 90 miles per hour.
The Nissan Leaf Aero Style will go on sale in Japan in December of 2013, and there's no word on whether or not it will make its way to the States. There's also no official word on whether the Aero Style is actually any more aerodynamic than the standard Leaf, one of the slipperier cars on the market. If you want to read all about Nissan's presence in Tokyo, scroll down below. If you just want to see the new body kit and wheels, check out our high-res image gallery above.