Auto News For Thursday, May 12, 2016 - Nissan Buys 34%, $2.2 Billion Stake In Mitsubishi Motors

Here are the seven must-read, must-watch auto news stories and videos for Thursday, May 12, 2016. 

34%
Japanese automaker Nissan is buying a 34% controlling stake worth $2.2 billion in Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors. – Bloomberg

CAVALIER
Before the Cruze was the Cobalt. Before the Cobalt there was the Cavalier. General Motors is reviving the Cavalier nameplate, but not in North America. – Car & Driver

RISKY BUSINESS
"We may experience delays in realizing our projected timelines and cost and volume targets for the production, launch, and ramp of our Model 3 vehicle." So says Tesla. – Los Angeles Times

ZOMBIES
There are a large number of long-expired vehicles which linger, and linger, and linger on vehicle lots. – TTAC

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FASTEST-GROWING CARS
Canada's new vehicle market is exploding, in a good way. But Canadian sales of passenger cars are fading. Yet there are cars, including the two top-selling cars, which are accelerating rapidly. – Autofocus

FRENCH
If you're not into quirky French cars, what's wrong with you? But even if you don't want to read this Citroën C4 vs. Citroën 2CV pseudo-comparison test, you'll love the Parisian photography. – CAR

WATCH
We're only a couple of weeks away from the 2016 International Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Race, known colloquially as the Isle of Man TT. If you're not familiar with the absurdity of the TT, this POV from Guy Martin and Michael Dunlop will very quickly familiarize you.

GCBC's The Bad 8 For 2016

In 2016, for a second consecutive year, GCBC's The Bad 8 features only two new nameplates. Six contestants remain from last year, as an insufficient number of new vehicles have been awful enough to replace them. As was the case last year, these are the vehicles that would be least welcomed in GCBC Towers' driveway, definitely rejected for the long-term even if welcomed briefly. 

Let's put it this way: Do you want to get us something for Christmas? Please don't get us any of these vehicles.

They're listed here for a number of reasons, some for just one reason. Whatever the reason, it's bad enough to cause your sales analyst of choice to reject the car so completely that I'd prefer to own anything else on the market; to reject the car so completely that you, too, should strongly consider avoiding it at all costs.

One key premise behind modern car reviewing suggests that, in 2016, there's no such thing as a bad car. That's not completely true, but even if it was, that doesn't mean you can't do better. In the case of these eight cars, you can definitely do better. It's not purely about reliability or durability or outright performance - it's about desirability, and the point at which desirability lines up with perceived value. These eight vehicles have their pluses, but the minuses – however few or however many - far outweigh the positive side of the ledger.

Click any of the images to be taken to the model's Sales Stats page. Don't forget to check out GCBC's The Good 12, the list of vehicles you should definitely park in GCBC Towers' driveway on Christmas morning.

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	Acura RLX The RLX is a fine car. But in execution, all its rivals do every little thing a little bit better. Cumulatively, that's a lot of things. A lot of things multiplied by a little bit equals a whole lot better.  Alternative: Cadillac CTS
	BMW X4 In a sense, the X4 is everything the X3 is, only with less space, less style, and more cost. What's worse, the X4 is here as a representative of a whole class: BMW X4, BMW X6, Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe. Alternative: BMW X3
	Buick Encore The Buick Encore doesn't like to accelerate. The seating position will make some people think Buick is playing a cruel joke. It's expensive, painfully cutesy, and pointless. Alternative: Mazda CX-3
	Fiat 500L It would be one thing for the 500L to be awkward, or painful to drive, or unreliable. But the 500L is all three. Alternative: Kia Soul
	Jeep Renegade Limited Not all Renegades are awful. But when you start luxing up a Renegade, it gets very sketchy. The price reaches into territory no car with NVH this awful deserves to inhabit. At this price point, buy something properly refined and roomy. Alternative: Kia Sorento
	Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Convertible This is just silly. And silly is acceptable. Sometimes. But not when the sand is going to be blown back into the cabin.  Alternative: Porsche Macan S
	Mitsubishi Mirage The Mirage is actually being restyled for model year 2016. It's still ghastly. And styling aside, the car still feels like a third-world city car attempt. There's simply no need. Alternative: Nissan Micra
	Nissan Versa Sedan This problem has been resolved. In part. The Versa sedan is no longer on sale in Canada. Americans, however, must turn away from this stain on automotive design. It's not as though there are other redeeming qualities. Alternative: Honda Fit

Auto News For Friday, December 18, 2015 - GM Isn’t Delivering Diesel Colorados And Canyons

Here are the six must-read, must-watch auto news stories and videos for Friday, December 18, 2015.

DIESEL
Why haven’t purchasers of diesel-powered Chevrolet Colorados and GMC Canyons received their pickup trucks yet?

INSIDE THE AUTO INDUSTRY
It’s been a strong December, and there’s reason to believe, maybe this year will definitely be better than the last. U.S. auto sales are surging once again in December, forecasters say, and the record set in 2000 of 17.4 million sales seems almost certain to be broken by around 100,000 vehicles. 

AUTOFOCUS
Canadian minivan sales are falling. But there are some vans that are selling a whole lot better this year than last.

TTAC
Over the course of the year, GCBC’s founder and editor has tested $2.2 million worth of new vehicles. In this post at The Truth About Cars, you’ll see the biggest surprises, the biggest disappointments, the best of the best, the worst of the worst, the most efficient, and the least efficient. And yes, a diesel-powered Volkswagen consumed less fuel than any other car we tested. The fact that, months later, a scandal erupted, doesn’t change the fact that the Jetta was in fact tested by GCBC and did in fact consume less fuel than any other car tested.

RECALL
Nissan is recalling 18 copies of the 2015 and 2016 Puerto Rico market GT-R because, "The affected vehicles have a Certification Label that is missing the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) and Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) information. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of 49 CFR Part 567, "Certification.”” In other words, the GT-Rs aren’t in any danger of, you know, blowing up. 

WATCH 
Motor Trend’s title asks if the 2017 Acura NSX is the slowest supercar in the world. And because you want to know if that’s true, or what they mean, you watch the video.

Auto News For Tuesday, December 8, 2015 - Tesla Has 1,656 Job Openings

Here are the five must-read, must-watch auto news stories and videos for Tuesday, December 8, 2015.

EMPLOYMENT
Need a new gig? Want to work in Palo Alto, or one of the many other attractive destinations around the globe? Tesla currently has 1,656 job openings, from radar engineers to service managers. 

FUTURE
The Hyundai Ioniq will take on the all-conquering Toyota Prius with a bevy of powertrains: hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and all-electric. The teaser image is rather Volt-like.

DISTANT FUTURE
Could another Honda S2000 be in the works, and could it be a more direct rival for the Mazda MX-5 Miata? AutoCar has details.

REVIEW
While the Nissan Frontier quickly becomes an also-ran in North America's small/midsize pickup truck market, CAR Magazine is reviewing the new, 2016 Nissan NP300 Navara, and they're saying nice things about it.

WATCH
Earlier today, GCBC highlighted the Alex On Autos video review of the 2016 Toyota Tacoma. Surprisingly flexible but not quite as rugged as that Tacoma is this 2016 Audi S7, again reviewed by Alex Dykes, the most thorough and detailed video reviewer on YouTube.

Auto News For Thursday, November 19, 2015 - Five Important Los Angeles Auto Show Production Debuts

Here are the six must-read, must-watch auto news stories, recalls and videos for Thursday, November 19, 2015.

HYUNDAI
The new Elantra, Canada's second-best-selling car in each of the last four years, isn't a revolutionary leap forward like the last car was. But it is significantly altered, perhaps more than appearances suggest. This sixth-generation Elantra joins a fleet of recently updated or completely reengineered compacts from Honda, Chevrolet, and Nissan with a new 2.0L four-cylinder (147 horsepower) and an optional 1.4L turbocharged four-cylinder. The car will be roomier, quieter, and more Sonata-like inside. Before dipping in 2014 – and rising again in 2015 – U.S. Elantra volume had improved in six consecutive years.

NISSAN
The Nissan Sentra was already on a roll before Nissan revealed this restyled car at the Los Angeles Auto Show yesterday. Among U.S. passenger cars, the Sentra's market share increased from 1.43% in 2012 to 1.66% in 2013, 2.31% in 2014, and 2.57% through the first ten months of 2015, nearly doubling over that period of time. Yes, cars aren't as interesting to buyers right now as SUVs and crossovers are – Nissan's Rogue sees to that – but the Sentra is bucking the trend.

BUICK
Sure, you're not going to buy a new Buick LaCrosse. We're not going to buy a new Buick LaCrosse. But enough LaCrosses will be sold in order for you to rent one; in order for you to be sorely tempted by the terrific pre-owned deals on LaCrosses. U.S. LaCrosse sales plunged 44% between 2005 and 2014. Canadian Allure/LaCrosse volume dropped from 14,408 in 2005 to only 1557 units last year, an 89% plunge. Regardless, the new car looks absolutely delicious, if a little too-Impala-copycat above the rear wheels. (They're related.) But it's 300 pounds lighter than the previous LaCrosse, fills the wheelarches like GM products never used to be able to, and the interior is positively upmarket.

MAZDA
The first-generation Mazda CX-9 joined the 5 in, sort of, replacing the Mazda MPV. The CX-9, to be frank, flopped. It's great to drive, but that's not enough in a segment where people don't really care so much about whether a car is great to drive. The new CX-9 will be more efficient, Mazda says. It's also more handsome. But the biggest factor that could cause Mazda USA to sell more than 1700/month as they do now is the overall newness of the vehicle. The first CX-9 is a Ford-related vehicle from 2007.

FIAT
We covered the Mazda MX-5 Miata's twin from Fiat, the 124 Spider, in yesterday's news. We're not fans. However, opinion is rather divided. In a poll at Autoblog with nearly 10,000 respondents, four in ten prefer the look of the Fiat.

CONCEPTS
Why shoot yourself in the foot? This is the way of the automotive world, but it continues to amaze us, as automakers set themselves up to disappoint potential customers. The Tokyo Motor Show's Impreza 5-Door Hatch concept is a spectacularly surfaced vehicle that won't look like the next-generation Impreza. At the Los Angeles Auto Show, Subaru showed a similar Impreza concept, only in sedan guise. Subaru insists this is very much the production car, only with detail changes. But once the crazy headlights, stunning wing mirrors, and massive wheels are removed, the car will look very, very different. Details matter. And without the stunning details, the production Impreza will not be half this exciting. Subaru isn't the only offender. You really think a production Scion C-HR will look like this?

Auto News For Monday, November, 16, 2015 - Volkswagen Dealers Need More Cars

Here are the five must-read, must-watch auto news stories, recalls and videos for Monday, November 16, 2015.

VW
Against expectations, Volkswagen U.S. sales increased in October 2015, albeit modestly. Now, Volkswagen dealers have a new problem. They don’t have enough cars and Tiguans to sell. 

AUTOFOCUS
This list of Canada’s 25 best-selling passenger cars through the first ten months of 2015 is packed at the top end with vehicles that aren’t selling as often this year as they did in 2014.

REVIEW
It was only last night that we saw an old Land Rover Defender waiting at the Eastern Passage Autoport in Nova Scotia to be loaded onto a ship headed for who knows where. There’s nothing like a Defender, which North Americans haven’t been offered for sale in many years, to give a Land Rover fan a true case of the wants. But what if you could have a Defender, what if you had the money to actually buy your own? Would you - or would the driving experience be too off-putting?

TTAC
Five crossovers from Chevrolet and GMC are as old as the hills. But they’re selling better than ever.

WATCH 
Early reviews of the 2016 Nissan Titan XD are in, and the word from PickupTrucks.com’s Mark Williams is good. The Titan XD splits the difference between regular full-size trucks and their heavy-duty brethren, as Nissan attempts to find a larger niche to exploit in the booming truck market. So it’s good, but will anybody buy it?

Auto News For Friday, November 13, 2015 - Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 Is The Best Winter Tire

Here are the six must-read, must-watch auto news stories, recalls and videos for Friday, November 13, 2015.

VW
Volkswagen is encouraging its workers to feel perfectly comfortable blowing the proverbial whistle. For another couple weeks, that is.

INSIDE THE AUTO INDUSTRY
Buick has historically been an enormously popular auto brand in China. Buick used to be an enormously popular auto brand in America. The two shall finally meet if, when, Buick begins selling the Envision in the United States early next year. And yes, the Envision is built in China.

RECALL
Kia is recalling 256,459 copies of the 2014-2016 Soul and Soul EV because, "the adhesive used to secure the steering pinion gear to the steering gear assembly may have insufficient strength, and as a result, the pinion gear may separate from the steering gear assembly."

Porsche is recalling 21,835 Macans (model years 2015 and 2016) because they, "have a low pressure fuel line in the engine compartment that may leak."

WINTER
As in a recent Car & Driver winter tire test completed in Finland, Kal Tire's winter tire test produced a Finnish winner, as well: the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2. On average, the winter tires in the test enabled a car to stop nearly 15 metres sooner than non-winter tires.

REVIEW
The GLK-succeeding Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class small SUV is beginning to trickle into the autoport near GCBC Towers on the east coast of Canada. It is definitely a looker. But in a class full of attractive utility vehicles – Q5, X3, XC60, Evoque, Discovery Sport – the GLC needs to be more than just attractive. So is it any good?

WATCH 
In yesterday's news, we showed you Alex On Autos' video review of the refreshed-for-2016 Honda Accord. Today, we're showing Alex On Autos' video review of the refreshed-for-2016 Nissan Altima. No video review on YouTube is more detailed and thorough than an Alex On Autos video review.

Auto News For Tuesday, June 23, 2015 - Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback On Its Way

Here are the seven must-read, must-watch auto news stories, review and videos for Tuesday, June 23, 2015.

INSIDE THE AUTO INDUSTRY
Although GM's latest compact car, the Chevrolet Cruze, was a massive leap over the Cobalt, which was itself a massive leap over the Cavalier, it's somewhat small lineup has limited its appeal. While Toyota can make the Corolla succeed with a sedan only, many rival small cars need more than one body style. For the next generation of the Chevrolet Cruze, GM will begin selling the hatchback version seen in so much of the world in North America, as well.

INSIDE THE PICKUP TRUCK INDUSTRY
Perhaps V8s are overrated. The turbocharged diesel in Ram's heavy duty pickup trucks uses only six cylinders. But the Cummins inline-six – it's not a V – now makes 900 lb-ft of stump-pulling torque. In Canada, the overall Ram lineup set a sales record in 2014. U.S. sales rose to the highest level since 2003.

INSIDE AUTO CEO SALARIES
Nissan paid its CEO, Carlos Ghosn, $8.4 million in 2014. Still working the counter at Burger King? You're in the wrong line of work. Ghost is also the company's largest shareholder. Yet he could possibly expect a bigger raise. His pay went up 4% as Nissan's profits jumped 18%. Nissan/Infiniti now own 8.7% of the U.S. market.

REVIEW
The Tiguan lives, so why not drive it? Car & Driver recently spent time in the 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan R-Line, a front-wheel-drive model. While U.S. interest in the aged Tiguan has waned over time, Canadian price cuts have made the fun-to-drive Tiguan more appealing, and it's selling better than ever north of the border.

RECALL
It's a LaFerrari recall! Ferrari is recalling 85 LaFerrari supercars because, "The affected vehicles have L32 seats as standard equipment for the passenger seat and as optional equipment for the driver seat. In a crash, the headrests of L32 seats may not absorb the required amount of energy." A separate LaFerrari recall covers tire pressure monitoring troubles.

INSIDE THE AUTO PRESS ROOM
Because Chevrolet is excited to be finishing eighth grade at a private girls school, they've issued a press release purely in emojis. Jalopnik's Jason Torchinsky attempts to translate.

WATCH
Asks Chris Harris: "Do you need anything more than a BMW 320d?" He drives it to the Nürburgring to find out. And to race an Aston Martin.

Auto News For Tuesday, June 16, 2015 - Number Of Deaths Linked To Takata Airbags Rises

Here are the five must-read, must-watch auto news stories and videos for Tuesday, June 16, 2015.

INSIDE THE AUTO INDUSTRY 
Don’t expect to find one on the North American side of the Pacific, but Down Under, Australians will pay $54,990 for the handsome new Ford Everest. It’s powered exclusively by a 3.2L five-cylinder diesel. Don’t assume that a direct currency exchange will tell you how much the Everest would cost if it could be had in the U.S. While $54,990 AUD converts to $42,600 USD, a car like the Mustang is priced around the equivalent of $39,900 USD in Australia, about $10,000 more than the price of a similar Mustang in the U.S.

FUTURE
Forget refreshes. When Nissan begins selling a new Sentra for model year 2016, just three years after the latest car’s launch, it really will be new. Or, “almost” all new.

TAKATA
Honda now confirms that a seventh death, that of Kylan Langlinais of Lafayette, Louisiana, is linked to airbags provided by Japanese auto supplier, Takata. As you can see in today’s recall list, Honda’s list of vehicles continues to expand.

RECALL
American Honda is recalling 2,300,000 Accords (model years 2003-2007) and Civics (model years 2001-2005) because, “The affected vehicles have a passenger side frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture upon its deployment.”

WATCH
Which would you take, BMW M3 or Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG? evo’s Dan Prosser attempts to settle the debate with this video comparison.

Auto News For Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - Mazda USA Won't Sell The New 2

Here are the five must-read, must-watch auto news stories, reviews, and videos for Tuesday, May 26, 2015.

INSIDE THE LUXURY AUTO BUSINESS
If, as Automotive News is reporting, the Ford Explorer is moving further upmarket than ever before in its new-for-2016 $50K+ Platinum trim, what does that say about Lincoln? And if, as Automotive News is reporting, Nissan wants to sell more upper-trim Maximas now that the new generation is launching, what does that say about Infiniti?

INSIDE THE AUTO BUSINESS
The New York Times calls him, "Detroit's Chief Instigator." He's Sergio Marchionne, and the lengthy NYT profile on the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles boss reveals details of an email he sent GM CEO Mary Barra and plays up Sergio's sweaters. 

TTAC
Mazda USA won't be importing the new, Mexico-built 2 hatchback. Here's the numerical explanation. The 2 will still be sold in the U.S., but only as a Scion iA sedan.

REVIEW
evo says the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG is, "a hugely compelling fast saloon and estate." But Antony Ingram's verdict also says, "the engine delivers a knockout punch but the chassis can't quite match the M5."

WATCH
You know the Ariel Atom. But this is the Ariel Nomad. 

Auto News For Monday, May 25, 2015 - GM Increases Wentzville Truck Production

Here are the seven must-read, must-watch auto news stories, reviews, and videos for Monday, May 25, 2015.

INSIDE THE AUTO RACING BUSINESS
Juan Pablo Montoya – former Formula 1 Driver, former NASCAR driver, former Indianapolis 500 winner – won the Indy 500 on Sunday, May 24. Also on Sunday, Formula 1's Monac0 Grand Prix was won by Mercedes' Nico Rosberg. Juan Pablo Montoya last won the Monaco Grand Prix in a BMW in 2003. He finished second in a McLaren-Mercedes in 2006.

INSIDE THE TRUCK BUSINESS
Forget lunch. Forget "six-minute production lulls." Get to work, people of Wentzville, Missouri. GM needs more trucks.

AUTOFOCUS
Canada's best-selling premium brand car through the first four months of 2015 is the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Here are the 24 next-best-selling luxury vehicles in Canada.

TTAC
Chevrolet Volt sales have been plunging for a while. Now Nissan Leaf volume is taking a dive, too.

KINJA
If the wagons that are on sale are hardly purchased, don't expect more wagons. Volkswagen USA sold fewer than 1500 in April 2015.

REVIEW
The first Mazda CX-3s are trickling into Mazda stores. And yes, they really are eye-catching vehicles. The first customers to test drive them will likely be interested because they're affordable crossovers with flexible packaging but a compact, city-friendly size. But they'll be pleasantly surprised by the handling, according to every review.

WATCH
How hard do you have to go to grab pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix? Here's Lewis Hamilton's best qualifying lap.

Auto News For Tuesday, May 19, 2015 - VP Says Corvettes Are Better Than Porsches

Here are the six must-read, must-watch auto news stories, reviews, and videos for Tuesday, May 19, 2015. Your normal news editor, Steffani Cain, is off today, as GCBC Towers has bizarrely taken on the role of fostering puppies.

INSIDE THE AUTO BUSINESS
In mid-2016, Porsche will be selling Boxsters and Caymans with four-cylinder engines in North America. No, these aren't the inline-fours from your Corolla; they're boxer four-cylinders from Porsche. Flat-fours. Horizontally-opposed. They'll probably make a great noise.

INSIDE THE VICE PRESIDENT'S CAR SPEECH
"Corvettes are better than Porsches," VP Joe Biden told a group of graduating students at Yale last weekend. 

REVIEW
Perhaps you wouldn't buy a Cadillac ATS-V over a its German rivals. But it seems that every reviewer, including the Wall Street Journal's Dan Neil, believes the ATS-V is the driver's choice.

TTAC
Mercedes-Benz's SLS AMG era is over. The AMG GT era has begun.

RECALL
Nissan North America, Inc. is recalling 263,692 Pathfinders (model year 2004) and Sentras (2004-2006) because, "upon deployment of the passenger side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture."

WATCH
Jalopnik writer and friend of GCBC, Patrick George, decided to simply be up front about the fact that he crashed, in a relatively minor way, a camouflaged 2016 Chevrolet Camaro. 

Auto News For Monday, May 18, 2015 - 2016 Camaro Debuts To Challenge(r) Mustang

Here are the six must-read, must-watch auto news stories, reviews, and videos for Monday, May 18, 2015. Your normal news editor, Steffani Cain, is off today, which is Victoria Day in Canada.

FUTURE
Leaked ahead of the debut on CNBC, General Motors introduced the sixth-generation of their Chevrolet Camaro on Saturday in Michigan's Belle Isle park. Turbocharged, four-cylinder power is part of the story.

INSIDE THE AUTO BUSINESS
Jose Munoz, Nissan's chairman in North America, simply wants dealers. Where they come from and the grandeur of their overall enterprise matter not. And Munoz knows what it's like to see dealers thrive. He comes from Nissan Mexico, where the automaker is an industry leader.

REVIEW
Car & Driver calls the 2016 Audi Q7 an SUV "worth waiting for." Wrote Jens Meiners: "The interior is so contemporary, functional, and aesthetically pleasing that it may set the new class benchmark."

TTAC
What did Porsche use in order to set a U.S. sales record in April 2015? Not their cars, which all declined, but rather, the Macan and Cayenne. Meanwhile, Infiniti's Q70 is putting up better numbers thanks to help from the Q70L. But "better" doesn't mean "high." Finally, which car is winning the U.S. sales battle, the Audi A7 or the Mercedes-Benz CLS?

RECALL
No change since Friday's raft of Toyota and GM recalls.

WATCH
The Tesla Model S is an impressive device. In P85 form, we were awestruck. As a P85D, there's really nothing like it. But - and you won't be surprised - the doorhandles still break, according to Consumer Reports own test car.

2015 Nissan Micra S Review - S Stands For Basic

If there is but one thing that unites Canadians of all stripes, its their ability to coalesce around the idea of one-upping their neighbours to the south. 

Conservatives, Liberals, and NDPers alike all savour a hockey victory over the Americans in a semi-final almost as much as winning the actual gold medal. 

THE GOOD • Plenty peppy • Excellent ride quality • Ample space • 5-speed manual • No power features

THE BAD • Always revving high • Not athletic at all • Seat foam isn't... nice • Unhelpful clutch, ropey shifter • No power features

Maritimers in The Maritimes and Maritimers in Fort McMurray, while possessing detailed knowledge of U.S. presidential history, all want to see an American Jeopardy contestant struggle to name the capital of Saskatchewan. And whether they're new Canadians in Vancouver or Canadians-since-1949 in St. John's, Canadians love to have things that Americans don't. 

Universal health care. The metric system. Poutine. Michael Bublé. A newly elected socialist government in the country's most conservative region. Ketchup chips. 

And the $9998 Nissan Micra.

That's right, Americans can't buy this car. Nissan has reserved the Micra for Canadians only. (And dozens of other markets around the world.)

S
Granted, this particular Micra might not be the one Americans, particularly those in the south, would want. Lacking power windows, power locks, and power mirrors is one thing – it's actually three things – but I'm glad it was a cool week in April when the Micra S arrived on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia without air conditioning.

2015 NISSAN MICRA S Base Price: $11,564 * As-Tested Price: $11,564 * Drive Type: front-wheel-drive Transmission: 5-speed manual Engine: 1.6L DOHC 16-valve I-4 Horsepower: 109 @ 6000 rpm Torque: 107 lb-ft @ 4400 rpm Curb Weight: 2302 pounds Length: 150.7 inches Width: 65.6 inches Height: 60.1 inches Wheelbase: 96.5 inches Tires: Firestone FR710 Tire Size: 185/60R15 Passenger Volume: 2472 litres Cargo Volume: 408 litres Max. Cargo Volume: 820 litres NRCAN OEE City: 8.6 L/100km NRCAN OEE Hwy: 6.6 L/100km Observed: 39.9 mpg Observed: 5.9 L/100km * Canadian dollars, includes $1567 in fees.

The Micra, loaned to us for a week by Nissan Canada, isn't nearly as inexpensive a car as you thought it'd be by the time A/C is added. In this most basic S-trim car, with freight and PDI and the automatic transmission mandated in order to acquire air conditioning, the price is actually $14,865. 

You could stick with the manual transmission in a Micra SV, in which air conditioning is standard fit, but then the price is $15,265. Not only is air-con a pleasant feature for you, most likely a first-time new car buyer, it'll also improve resale value and the ease of resale.

There is, nevertheless, a pleasing sense of nostalgia created by the blacked-out button to the right of the climate controls where the presence of A/C is made known. 

That non-button, in concert with the dearth of other typical features, reminds me of many of the cars in which I spent much of my youth: my sister's purple, first-gen Hyundai Accent; a cousin's '90 Nissan Hardbody; my future in-laws' '92 Protege. 

Set aside how well those vehicles held up or even how they were perceived in their day and you'll recall that they were all vehicles the driver had to actually drive. 

All Photo Credits: Timothy Cain ©www.GoodCarBadCar.net
Click Any Of Images For A Larger View

The automatic-equipped Accent was so gut-wrenchingly slow that anticipating the road's twists and turns and carrying an inordinate amount of speed through a corner was vital to making any kind of progress at all. (A new Accent will accelerate to highway speed in as little as eight seconds.)

The Nissan pickup in which I learned to drive a stick had a clutch pedal so utterly devoid of feel that modulating throttle input and clutch release was a work of art, if I do say so myself. (A new Nissan Frontier has navigation, Rockford Fosgate audio, and leather seats.) 

The Protege's chassis was so interactive and its engine so unwilling that marrying the two was like bringing Alberta voters and the NDP together. (A new Mazda 3 still offers the handling but produces 79% more horsepower.)

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Historical Monthly & Yearly Nissan Micra Sales Figures
2014 Nissan Versa Note SL Driven Review
2014 Toyota Corlla LE Driven Review
2013 Chevrolet Spark Driven Review

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Yet while the Micra isn't actually slow, although it's infinitely better-built than that old truck, and despite the fact that it's designed to far higher safety standards than that Mazda, it's reminiscent of another era because the Micra needs you. Like a dog with separation anxiety who won't even eat his food when you're gone, the Micra simply won't go without your active participation. You do it all in this car.

DRIVING
Remove the key from your pocket, insert the key into the driver's door, unlock the door. Hop in and reach across to the other front door to let somebody else in. Now both of you reach back with deft movement, avoiding back cramps, to unlock the rear doors. Clutch depressed, insert the key into the ignition – no push-button start here, Infiniti driver – and fire up the 1.6L, 109-horsepower four-cylinder. Yep, there's a little burble there, and the 1.6L is sufficiently refined that you won't ever mind revving the snot out of it to hear the four-pot work. Release the parking brake, shove the looooong-throw shifter into first, and figure out some other time where the bite point of the clutch is. 


You're off. And you're working it, baby. The Micra is geared in such a way as to make it feel much quicker than it is, meaning you're tasked with furiously rowing through the gears to merge on the Trans-Canada Highway. The Micra revs well above 3000rpm on the highway, thus sitting right in the powerband for genuine passing power in this, a sub-subcompact, while remaining in fifth gear. 

You're reminded of the cars you used to drive, the fun of shifting even in a car where the clutch isn't communicative and the shifter isn't straight out of a 370Z, so you're downshifting and upshifting just for the sake of downshifting and upshifting, just to hear the amusing braaap of the 1.6L that feels so lifeless when hooked up to the Nissan Versa's continuously variable transmission. 

The Micra's no sports car, of course. There's plenty of body roll and understeer. The steering's a bit quirky. The Firestone FR710 tires aren't made for autocrossing. But you are driving the Micra, and it's not a painful process. Indeed, the process isn't as painful as realizing that most modern sports cars negate so much of the thrill of driving by being tuned for illegal speeds. After all, a car can't be capable of 270 kmh and not be capable of coping in all ways at 270 kmh. In so doing, too many of those cars are dull in the environment in which you spend 95% (or more) of your time. 

The Micra isn't dull. And because the Micra's ride quality is so surprisingly excellent, shrugging off potholes and bumps like an Altima, there's nothing punishing about the car's overall on-road behaviour.

INSIDE
Focussed on the inside, there are obviously going to be letdowns in a car with an advertised price below $10K. Align your expectations and perhaps, possibly, maybe you won't be disappointed by seat foam that's not of sufficient quality to form the foundation for my dog's bed. (Meanwhile, the seat fabric attracts more lint and fuzzies than Swiffer Duster.) There's no armrest. Little time was spent reducing wind and tire noise. Missing along with those power features are increasingly needy elements like Bluetooth and a USB port. 

But the four-speaker stereo is decent, the door handles are chrome, the window crank won't break, and the overall cabin layout – not to mention the space for humans and their stuff – is straightforward, effective, and more than satisfactory.

RIVALS
Speaking of space, a key factor that may cause potential Micra buyers to move up a pay grade to Nissan's own Versa Note relates to the space behind the driver. Micra rear seat space is acceptable. Versa Note rear seat space is abundant. There's 30% more cargo capacity in the Versa Note with the seats up; 32% more with the seats folded. 

Versa Notes start at $15,865 (freight & pdi included) and come standard with air conditioning. Other potential diversions worth considering include the Hyundai Accent, which currently bases at $14,580 with fees, and remaining copies of the outgoing Mazda 2 which are routinely advertised with thousands of dollars in discounts.

SUCCESS?
The presence of rivals indirect and direct, including the disappointing Mitsubishi Mirage, haven't made the Micra anything less than very successful in Canada. Most recently, in April, the Micra was Canada's 18th-best-selling car, ahead of the Honda Fit and Kia Forte and the Nissan Versa. 11,505 Micras have been sold in Canada since the car arrived at the end of April 2014.

It's not hard to see why. Although the used car buyer with $10,000 to spend won't look at the Micra, the little Nissan isn't intended for the used car buyer with $10,000 to spend. A Micra buyer can't afford expensive repairs on an aging used car that a used car buyer with $10,000 to spend better be prepared to spend. The Micra buyer doesn't want the fuel bill of a bigger car – we averaged 5.9 L/100km in a week of mostly city driving, much better than even the Micra's official highway fuel consumption rating. A Micra buyer wants basic transportation. Fortunately, the Micra doesn't constantly make its owner aware of its four-digit price tag.