The half dozen or so Americans who actually got really excited the other day about the prospect of Nissan selling its new Maxima diesel only with a manual transmission can go back to their routines. The rest of you who abhor the thought of manipulating a third pedal can now go back and re-consider the new compression ignition option. One of the crew from Motive met up with a Nissan engineer at a Maxima media drive and posed the question of transmission choice. It looks like U.S. drivers who opt for diesel will actually be saddled with an automatic regardless of their preference. While a manual is under consideration for the U.S. market, it's very unlikely to happen. With upwards of 95 percent of U.S. drivers opting for self shifting gearboxes, a manual probably wouldn't sell enough units here to justify the cost of certification.

[Source: Motive, thanks to Stu for the tip!]

Click the new Maxima for a high-res gallery of 60+ photos

According to Yo Usaba, senior veep of powertrains for Nissan, the upcoming clean diesel engine for the next Nissan Maxima may be paired only with a manual transmission. Although the stick would likely be the most efficient transmission choice, it doesn't seem all that appropriate for the American market, where automatic transmissions are the rule. It seems that Nissan is concerned with turbo-lag, which is the lull before the turbocharger kicks in and delivers the power. For this reason, the new diesel X-Trail for the Japanese market will come only in a shift-it-yourself flavor.

Apparently, diesels have the same poor reputation in Japan as in the U.S. and many Japanese drivers are stick-shift neophytes. Since this information hasn't kept Nissan from launching its first diesel in its home market with a manual transmission as its sole option, many are concluding that the same could be true in the states. We hope not, as sales would surely be negatively impacted by such a decision. A CVT would likely be a decent choice for this application, and Nissan has proven rather adept at making its seamless transmissions sell in America. We hope that it can make that combination work.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

click the Laguna coupe for a high-res gallery

Amongst the sun and stars of the Cannes Film Festival this weekend, Renault has unveiled the new Laguna Coupe with a pair of V6 engines. Each of the 6 cylinder powerplants uses a different fuel. One runs on gasoline, the other diesel. While Renault-badged cars haven't been available in North America for more then two decades, the Laguna's new diesel is of interest here because it is being co-developed with Japanese partner Nissan. The 3.0L common rail diesel will find a home in U.S.-market Nissan Maximas in 2010. The sparkless 6 cylinder is outputting 235hp and 331lb-ft of torque. That's 55hp shy of the 3.5L gas V-6 in the Maxima for 2009 but 70lb-ft more. Both engines will share a 6 speed automatic transmission in the front wheel drive Laguna which, unlike other recent coupes, actually only has 2 doors. Renault will release all the details on the new coupe at the Paris Motor Show in October. The initial Renault press release is after the jump.

Click the new Maxima for a high-res gallery of 60+ photos

Almost a year ago, Nissan announced that they would introduce their first U.S.-market diesel engines in 2010 in the Nissan Maxima. While we still have a while to wait for the new fifty-state legal diesel V-6 to turn up, the car that will carry it is debuting this week in New York. The 2009 Maxima is the first new production Nissan to carry the design language that debuted on the Nissan Forum concept at the Detroit Auto Show.

The bodywork of the new Maxima has a look that Nissan describes as "liquid motion." The look is livelier than the current model, which has something of a slab sided, sharp edged style. The hood has a wave-like appearance with a trough on either side of the center bulge while the fenders are more prominent than the old car. For its launch this summer the Maxima will be available with Nissan's 3.5L gasoline V-6 paired up with the Xtronic continuously variable transmission driving the front wheels. The new diesel is a 3.0L V-6 being jointly developed by Renault and Nissan that will be fully Tier 2 Bin 5 compliant. After it debuts in the Maxima, it will almost certainly be added to other Nissan models and a higher-performance version will go into Infinitis.


[Source: Nissan]