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Nissan Canada offers box-fresh racecar for $19,998 [w/video]

Nissan is seriously emphasizing its commitment to motorsports with projects like next year's GT-R LM endurance racer at Le Mans and the company's participation with GT Academy. At least in Canada, the automaker is adding another opportunity to get people onto the track with the new Nissan Micra Cup one-make race series. Sure, the Micra might not as quick as a GT-R, but this series offers Canadians a chance to start racing for a reasonable price. Nissan claims the events have "the lowest running cost of any Canadian series," and we can't think of a cheaper turnkey new racecar in all of North America.
The cars are all based on the not-for-US Micra 1.6 S M/T model with a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine making 109 horsepower and 107 pound-feet of torque and a five-speed manual gearbox. The only real performance upgrades are a Nismo suspension kit, new exhaust, improved brake pads and sticky Pirelli tires. For added safety, the interior is entirely stripped out and is replaced with a full roll cage with a driver protection net, FIA-approved racing seat with five-point harness, fire extinguisher and front and rear tow hooks. The whole, race-ready package will set competitors back $19,998 Canadian dollars before taxes.
The inaugural Micra Cup series begins in May 2015, and the first season is exclusively taking place in Quebec, with the promise of moving to other provinces if it's a success. Each event includes a half hour of practice, a half hour of qualifying and a pair of half-hour races. Nissan is estimating impressive fields of over 25 cars of competitors.

Nissan adds 500 jobs in Mississippi for Murano production [w/video]

Nissan is bolstering its workforce at its Canton, MS factory, adding 500 workers for this fall's production kickoff of the heavily redesigned Murano crossover.
"The addition of Murano to our portfolio, coupled with the continued growth and success of the Canton plant, will move us even closer to our goal to build more than 85 percent of the vehicles we sell in the US right here in North America," said senior vice president of manufacturing, supply chain management and purchasing for Nissan's North American ops, John Martin.
The Murano will eventually be exported to over 100 markets and will be built alongside the current Xterra, Frontier, Titan and Armada. The addition of 500 jobs to the Canton facility elevates its total workforce past 6,000 people.

Nissan Qashqai caught looking sleek

The next-generation of the not-for-US-consumption Nissan Qashqai has been out doing some testing in southern Europe this week. And, if the dressed-in-trash-bags look is any indication, it's been doing a lot of roadwork so it can make weight for the big meet the weekend.
Nissan designers haven't been scared to take big design chances with recent new models, so expectations are that the Qashqai crossover will get a bold new visage for its generational changeover. What we see in these photos indicates a sleeker, slightly trimmer CUV however, with no trace of the bug-eyed look we captured recently on a testing Titan.
In the rest of the world, it's a good bet that the Qashqai will be powered by engines ranging from a 1.2-liter turbo up to a 1.6-liter forced-induction unit; that larger one good for something like 215 horsepower. Diesel powerplants will be in the mix, too, for the compact CUV, and word is that Nismo might get its hands on this Rogue cousin for the first time ever.