New Nissan Sunny Sedan Unveiled at China Auto Show. Is this the New 2012 Versa?

Taking center stage and making its world debut at the 8th China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition, is Nissan's all-new global small sedan, which will be locally marketed as the Sunny. According to the Japanese automaker, the new small sedan will go on sale first in China in January 2011 and then progressively across 170 countries worldwide under different vehicle brand names.

Even though Nissan's Spartan press release did not mention the Versa, there are one too many styling similarities between the new Sunny and the 2012 Versa sedan teased in an official sketch released by the automaker in October 2010. However, we have to stress the fact that Nissan has not made a connection between the two cars.

The Sunny, or as Nissan likes to call it, the firm's new global sedan, is believed to be based on the underpinnings of the Micra supermini, something that could explain the striking resemblance of the dashboard design.

Among the few details released about the car is that in China, it will be offered with Nissan's 1.5-liter HR15DE four-cylinder engine linked to Xtronic CVT, and that engineers have fitted the Sunny with MacPherson struts up front and a torsion beam for the rear suspension.

For the China market, the new Sunny will be produced in Dongfeng Nissan’s Huadu Plant in Guangzhou and will be priced from RMB 82.8K to 112.8K (US$12,450-16,830 / €9,400 -12,700 / Yen 1.04 million - 1.41million).

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New Nissan Sunny Sedan Unveiled at China Auto Show. Is this the New 2012 Versa?

Taking center stage and making its world debut at the 8th China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition, is Nissan's all-new global small sedan, which will be locally marketed as the Sunny. According to the Japanese automaker, the new small sedan will go on sale first in China in January 2011 and then progressively across 170 countries worldwide under different vehicle brand names.

Even though Nissan's Spartan press release did not mention the Versa, there are one too many styling similarities between the new Sunny and the 2012 Versa sedan teased in an official sketch released by the automaker in October 2010. However, we have to stress the fact that Nissan has not made a connection between the two cars.

The Sunny, or as Nissan likes to call it, the firm's new global sedan, is believed to be based on the underpinnings of the Micra supermini, something that could explain the striking resemblance of the dashboard design.

Among the few details released about the car is that in China, it will be offered with Nissan's 1.5-liter HR15DE four-cylinder engine linked to Xtronic CVT, and that engineers have fitted the Sunny with MacPherson struts up front and a torsion beam for the rear suspension.

For the China market, the new Sunny will be produced in Dongfeng Nissan’s Huadu Plant in Guangzhou and will be priced from RMB 82.8K to 112.8K (US$12,450-16,830 / €9,400 -12,700 / Yen 1.04 million - 1.41million).

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Nissan Teases Next-Generation Versa Sedan with Sketch

A sketchy teaser shot with a footnote that says "Nissan announced today that the next-generation Nissan Versa will be sold in the Americas" is about all we get from the Japanese automaker regarding its all-new subcompact sedan. There's a good chance we may see the 2012 Versa saloon getting its world premiere alongside the Murano CrossConvertible at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show in November, though nothing has been confirmed yet. We'll keep you up to date with any new information we receive, but for the time being, hit the break for a larger version of the teaser shot.

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Fire Hazard from Garmin Nuvi Prompts Recalls from Suzuki and Nissan

After Garmin announced a voluntary recall of 1.25 million units of its popular Nuvi GPS system at the end of August amidst concerns that the batteries could overheat and catch fire, Suzuki and Nissan followed with a recall on several vehicles equipped with the affected Garmin Nuvi navigation systems including the 750, 760, or 765 models for the same reason.

The recalled Garmin units can be found on certain Suzuki vehicles including the 2008-2010MY SX4 crossovers, 2010MY Grand Vitara SUVs, and 2009-2010MY Equator vehicles, and the 2008-2010MY Nissan Altima, Frontier, Pahtfinder, Rogue, Sentra, Versa and Xterra vehicles.

In both cases, the automakers will notify owners of the affected models, and the repairs will be performed by Garmin technicians who will replace the battery and insert a spacer on top of the battery free of charge.

2011 Nissan Versa Sedan and Hatchback Models get Price Hikes

Nissan has announced U.S. pricing for its 2011 model year Versa sedan and hatchback models. While the MSRP (not including tax, title and license fees) for the entry-level Versa 1.6 sedan remains unchanged at $9,990, prices for the other models of the range have increased.

For example, the 2011 Versa 1.8S 6MT hatchback gets a $370 price increase and will start at $13,520, while the 1.6 4AT sedan receives a $250 price hike and will now start from $12,240.

The only changes for the 2011 concern the addition of an in-dash 6-disc CD player for the Sedan 1.8 S, and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) for the Versa Sedan 1.6 (except 1.6 Base).

In addition, Nissan said that effective immediately, destination and handling (D&H) charges will increase $10 to $750 USD on select models, including the Versa, Sentra, Altima, Maxima, 370Z and Cube. D&H remains at $800 USD for Frontier, Murano, Pathfinder, Quest, Rogue and Xterra and $950 USD for Armada and Titan. D&H for the Nissan GT-R continues at $1,000 USD.