Next Nissan Sentra to look more like a baby Altima?

It’s not that the Nissan Sentra is a ‘bad car,’ so to speak, but it’s about as exciting to anyone with even a modicum of automotive enthusiasm as a haircut. Sadly, that milquetoast feeling even extends to the more powerful SE-R and 200-horsepower SE-R Spec V. Said another way, the current Sentra is a long time gone from the SR20DE-engined B13 Sentra SE-R of the early ’90s.

But there may be light at the end of the tunnel: Nissan knows that its current Sentra is too boring. Al Castignetti, Nissan Division Vice President of Sales recently admitted to AutoWeek that “We miss the heart of the market right now. A lot of people reject the Sentra because of its looks… it is not a natural progression to move down to it from the Altima.”

While you could certainly argue that the Sentra needs more than just a restyling – like, perhaps having more content and sporting potential to properly differentiate itself from the almost-as-large and significantly cheaperVersa – looking more like the handsome Altima sounds like a solid step in the right direction.

2011 Nissan Leaf assembly process detailed

Earlier this week, we rolled out a time-lapse video of the assembly of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. In that video,General Motors took us inside its Detroit-Hamtramck plant to watch its plug-in hybrid undergo a transformation from a bodyshell to a ready-to-roll vehicle. In the all-too-brief clip, GM attempted to capture the complex steps of assembling the Chevy Volt but, as many of our commenters pointed out, failed to provide a detailed look at the intricate technologies that differentiate the Volt from more conventional vehicles.

In an attempt to be as fair as possible, it’s only fitting that we also showcase the assembly of the 2011 Nissan Leaf. This video, shot inside Nissan’s plant in Oppama, Japan, captures the production of the Leaf in painstaking detail. Hit the jump to watch the Nissan Leaf as it comes together right before your eyes.

New Sport Nissan Juke 2011

I admit that this preparation of the German H & R will not go down in history for being flashy, but for being one of the first to be made on the mini-SUV Nissan’s compact. The preparations specialist has focused on a fairly discrete changes such as reducing the height of the vehicle (some are experts in spring) of 30 mm, thanks to this: a new set of springs that improves cornering and driving dynamics at high speeds.

They have also included some pins between the wheels (of TRAK, you can see on the image side quite well) that reduces the distance between the tire and the body (or, more precisely, between the tire and fender area), reducing turbulence in the area and improving the performance also when riding fast. Logically, the downside is that it also significantly reduces off-road capability of the Juke.

Nissan Juke 2011

Nissan Juke 2011

The Juke, as did his brother the Qashqai, is reaping many best sellers, despite his short life and nel market. Japan has been quantified in 20,000 requests, while in the U.S. since it went on sale (early month) already has 17,500 orders.

In Europe we find a range of engines of 190 hp with 240 Nm of torque, 1.6-liter gasoline and a model 117 hp with 157 Nm and the same cylinder, in diesel engine there is a 1.5 liter dCi with 110 hp and 240 Nm of torque. In the United States currently offer only the variant of 190 hp turbo gasoline.

Nissan Juke 2011

Nissan Juke 2011