Nissan Patrol 2007 News

New Honda Jazz sets new benchmark for rear view cameras: $14,990.

The safety recall is part of the global recall of 909,900 vehicles announced yesterday, for a defect that coulld cause them to stall while running.The fault is with defective accelerator sensors that may become unstable and stop responding to the driver's foot, slowing and even stopping even if the accelerator pedal is pushed to the floor.Nissan Australia says the recall is on 24,700 of Y61 Nissan Patrols with the ZD 3.0-litre turbodiesel four-cylinder engine built between June 2006 and July 2013. "However, there have not been any incidents reported in Australia," Nissan spokesman Peter Fadayev says.The fix will involve replacing the accelerator pedal and changing the engine control programming. "We estimate it will be less than an hour's work," Fadayev says.In addition to the Nissan Patrol, the global recall affects the X-Trail and Infiniti M sedan in overseas markets but not in Australia.  

HALF a day of driving through sand dunes stands between Craig Lowndes and victory in his first off-road race.  The V8 Supercars driver extended his lead to about an hour in the penultimate leg of the Australasian Safari in Western Australia yesterday."We had a great day," he said.  "That is how I expected to the Safari to be; open and fast roads through forestry."Today, Lowndes and co-driver Kees Weel of the Gold Coast tackle two tough stages in the coastal sand dunes near Esperance with their Holden Colorado.  "There's only one more day to go, but apart from the first bit which is rocky, it's all sand," Lowndes said."There are three small stints and we have to navigate right and keep our momentum.  The bikes set off first and will set a rough course and I think we will be the first car off, so navigation will be the ultimate component tomorrow."We've been lost and found our way back before. Kees is pretty experienced at this; it's his 13th Safari."  Lowndes said he wasn't thinking about how they would celebrate if they won tomorrow."We'll celebrate by getting back on the plane and thinking about Bathurst," he said.  Lowndes and Weel were followed by Victorians Darren Green and Wayne Smith in their Nissan Patrol and Bruce Garland and Harry Suzuki in their Isuzu D-Max, the first diesel-powered vehicle.The order changed in the bike section yesterday when third-placed rider Rod Faggotter of Longreach pulled out after the first leg suffering with a broken thumb from a fall the previous day.That leaves a trifecta of KTM riders at the front lead by Bathurst rider Ben Grabham heading for his third victory.  He is followed by Todd Smith of Condobolin, NSW, and Matthew Fish of Kyneton, Victoria.RESULTSPos Veh Crew Vehicle Cat/ SS15 SS16 SS17 SS18 Pen Total No Class1 100 LOWNDES - WEEL 2003 Holden Colorado A5.2 25:00 03:06 02:57 24:38 30:54:592 122 GREEN - SMITH 1999 nissan Patrol A2.2 30:12 03:31 03:18 27:47 32:11:383 102 GARLAND - SUZUKI 2010 Isuzu DMAX A5.4 23:36 02:55 02:58 23:33 32:42:424 105 TURLEY - TILLETT 1996 Nissan Patrol A5.3 25:16 04:48 02:58 25:46 33:41:135 101 FLOOD - VAN KANN 1992 Mitsubishi Pajero A5.1 27:07 05:35 03:53 30:24 34:35:466 177 DI LALLO - MASI 1999 Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution A1.1 30:11 03:43 03:18 31:48 38:18:387 106 MULDREW - EARLE 2004 Mitsubishi Pajero A1.2 31:47 03:40 03:32 36:31 39:02:378 112 MUIR - WALKER 1998 Mitsubishi Pajero EVO A1.1 39:44 03:42 03:17 31:26 41:52:179 110 KNOWLES - VILLANOVA 2008 Hummer H2 SUT A5.2 25:11 03:55 03:01 29:30 43:30:59 10 109 WALKDEN - LONG 1998 Mitsubishi Pajero EVO A2.1 28:13 03:18 03:17 27:21 43:35:3111 137 YUAN DE - TAIGUANG 2005 Quang Qi Chang Feng CFA2 T2.1 47:15 03:42 03:39 34:37 45:09:3912 103 TWADDLE - TWADDLE 2000 Mitsubishi Pajero A0.2 01:01:44 05:00 04:54 MCf 01:30:00 45:44:5113 115 OWEN - CAIRNS 2004 NISSAN GU PATROL A5.3 27:39 03:03 03:03 26:05 47:35:0214 127 YOUNG - MCBEAN 2002 Mitsubishi Pajero A1.5 52:14 03:48 03:31 32:41 47:41:3315 136 WEI YU - MIN 2005 Guang Qi Chang Feng CFA2 T1.2 44:46 03:25 03:19 25:54 47:59:11104 HARRINGTON - HARRINGTON 2007 Nissan Patrol A5.3 24:45 03:01 03:03 DNF DNF107 DENHAM - DENHAM 2003 Mitsubishi Triton A5.2 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF108 OLHOLM - DOBLE 2004 Mitsubishi NM Pajero A5.2 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF111 DUNN - DUNN 1998 Nissan GU A5.3 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF113 WATMAN - WATMAN 1998 Mitsubishi Pajero EVO A1.1 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF129 QUINN - FEAVER 1995 Mitsubishi Pajero A5.2 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF142 HOFFMANN, Glenn 2010 Dirt-Buggies Superlite A4.4 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF 150 PINSON - DENBRINKER 2002 Ford ba rtv A3.4 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF155 MONKHOUSE - MONKHOUSE 2006 suzuki vitara A5.1 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNFMCx2 - Missed Start and Finish Controls, MCf - Missed Finish Control, - Time recorded but Out of Late Time Date 9/25/2010 22:10:50.145 Form No:205 Page 1 

The heavyweight off-roader is already a sell-out in the Middle East, with an Infiniti luxury model also on the way, but right-hand drive production does not even have a start-up date.Nissan Australia is bringing a Patrol to Australia later this month for a number of events, including the Australian International Motor Show, but cannot confirm when it will be followed by production models."We don't know yet when it's coming. The Arabs are soaking up everything that is being built," says Nissan Australia spokesman, Jeff Fisher.  "It's going to be more than 12 months. It's still between 12 and 24 months.  It will get here. It's in the slot, but it's a matter of waiting."Fisher says the problem is the low demand for right-hand drive Patrols.  "South Africa has said no, England is not interested, so it's just Australia."  The demonstration Patrol is coming fully loaded for the show and a range of driving demonstrations including a press preview in Queensland. "It's packed with technology. It's got a type of active suspension with hydraulics, tyre pressure monitoring and a lot more. It's a big story," Fisher says.  "We're bringing it here to showcase the technology and get some feedback."The special Patrol is also being used to celebrate the 50 anniversary of the model in Australia.  "The Patrol is 50 years old in Australia. And this is the first all- new model since the GU in the 1990s, so there is a lot to talk about," Fisher says.

The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria has just completed its annual cost of ownership survey of a range of current models.The survey looks at total running cost and is based on vehicles travelling 15,000km a year, which is the Australian average.It factors in the cost of a typical car loan, depreciation, registration, club membership, comprehensive insurance plus servicing, fuel and tyre costs.Fuel costs were calculated on an unleaded petrol pump price of $1.26 a litre, $1.31 for diesel and 47c for LPG.Fuel prices have risen significantly since the survey was finished so true running costs will be even higher.The survey results show the cheapest car costs about $6000 a year to run, compared to $18,500 for the most expensive.The most affordable car was Hyundai's Getz at $116.54 a week, followed by Holden's Barina ($120.85) and the Toyota Yaris ($125.88).Go up a size and Toyota's Corolla was the winner at $154.49, followed by the Ford Focus ($156.49) and Holden Astra ($158.12).The medium class sector was won by Toyota's Camry at $193.05, followed by the Mazda6 at $197.85, and Honda Accord Euro ($218.07).Large cars are, as expected, more expensive to run but, surprisingly not that much more.The best was Mitsubishi's 380 at $200.44, so it is cheaper than the Honda Accord. Toyota's Aurion was next best ($217.60), followed by Ford's Falcon ($229.13).For large families, the Kia Carnival people mover at $216.68 beat the Honda Odyssey ($228) and Toyota Tarago ($267.61).Diesel and hybrid cars were cheaper to run but don't forget diesel cars initially cost more and replacement batteries for hybrids are hellishly expensive and have a short lifespan.The cheapest was the Honda Civic hybrid at $175.29, beating the Toyota Prius at $200.63. A VW Golf diesel was better than the Prius on the wallet at $187.93.A Ford Falcon running on LPG cost $211.43 a week, while the dual-fuel Commodore came in at $225.10.The popular compact SUV market was headed by Honda's CRV at $203.86, followed by Nissan's Xtrail ($207.36) and Subaru's Forester ($208.52).Medium SUVs had the Holden Captiva out in front at $225.16, followed by the Ford Territory ($234.47) and Toyota Prado ($286.16).At the expensive end of the running cost spreadsheet were the big four-wheel-drives.The cheapest was Nissan's Patrol at $269.53, while the Toyota LandCruiser cost $357.51 a week.

Tired of justifying your choice of car to every sniping sedan driver?Help is at hand. The Australian Four Wheel Drive Council has put out a list of facts about 4x4s which explodes some of the most common myths.Take the bloke in the pub who is always quoting accident statistics. Chances are he's quoting numbers from the US, where what they call SUVs are completely different and where only 11 states have enforceable seat-belt laws.In actual fact, the latest figures from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau tell us that, unlike the US, the accident rate for 4x4s and sedans is almost identical in Australia. And the most recent NSW RTA statistics tell us that in country driving, sedans are nearly twice as likely as four-wheel drivers are to be involved in single vehicle accidents.Then there are the people who tell you that 4x4s are more likely to roll than other cars because their center of gravity is too high. While the center of gravity is a little higher in a 4x4 than in a sedan, it is only the difference made by the larger tyres.Any engineer will tell you why: it's to do with how drive trains and how universal joints have to work (this does not take into account highly lifted competition vehicles).In order of rollover ease (highest to lowest) you could classify vehicles: B-Double, Semi Trailer, Heavy Truck, Bus, Light Truck/Delivery Van, Heavy 4WD, People Mover, Light 4WD, Sedan, Sports Car, Go Kart.You often hear people moaning that 4x4s take up too much parking space. In fact, if you compare a Nissan Patrol, for example, with-say-a Chrysler Voyager, which is often touted as a replacement model for the 4x4, the Chrysler is longer, wider and higher than the Patrol. And as for the people who tell you it is impossible to see out of the back of a 4x4, they obviously haven't read the report of the survey conducted by IAG and the NRMA, which found that “no car type is inherently better than any other. There are good 4WDs and bad sedans; in fact, the lowest rated car was a sedan, not a 4WD”.Traffic studies also show that 4x4s are under represented in accidents, relative to the number on the road. Clearly a heavier car is more likely to hurt somebody more than, say, a motorcycle, but even so, sedans were involved in 66 per cent of pedestrian fatalities compared with 15 per cent for utilities, trucks and 4x4s.As for the gas guzzling theory, studies have shown that, around the city, where average speeds are less than 30kmh and air resistance is negligible, a large 4WD will use exactly the same amount as fuel as any other vehicle of the same weigh: it's just a matter of physics.So, if someone calls your pride and joy a Toorak Tractor, you'll be able drive straight through their arguments!

A NEW four-wheel drive is putting Australia on the map with Nissan in Japan.The giant Armada, the name it carries in the US, is also doing development work for another future 4WD being built for the Japanese brand.The offroader was shipped to Australia primarily to gather information for a new Nissan proving ground and was caught near Melbourne by a keen reader with a digital camera.Pictures of the left-hand drive Armada test machine show how it dwarfs a Patrol used as an escort vehicle for the left-hand-drive machine and the new style direction, reflected in its smoother shape and a unique tail end.“It is here for a couple of weeks,” Nissan Australia spokesman Karl Gehling says.He says fans of the new look and size of the Armada should not expect to see one in showrooms here.“There is no plan to sell it here. It's America-only at the moment,” he says.The Armada is, like many other big 4WDs, designed and built for the needs of Americans, who demand vehicles at least a full size bigger than anything sold in Australia.It is larger than the Patrol, which is at the top of the Nissan Australia line-up, and has a V8.“It's completely separate from the Patrol,” Gehling says. “It shares its mechanicals with the Titan, which is a full-sized pickup sold in the US.”The calibration work being done by the Armada will be used to ensure Australian conditions are included in a new “extreme off-road test track” that Nissan has just built in Japan.Nissan built the track at its Motegi facility to give it extra development capacity and to ensure the toughest possible conditions for 4WD testing.The track, including desert road, rocky slopes and a 30-degree incline, is on a 2.3ha site and is claimed to be one of the biggest in Japan.Apart from Tochigi, Nissan says it does its test work at two other Japanese operations and a proving ground in Arizona in the US.