Nissan Resonance Concept is a Futuristic Design Proposal Hinting at the Next Murano

Created by Nissan Design America in San Diego, California under the direction of chief designer Shiro Nakamura, the Resonance concept that was unveiled today at the Detroit Motor Show hints at the design philosophy that will be adopted by the Japanese automaker in its future crossovers and especially the Murano.

The concept features a “floating” roof and what its designers call a “V-Motion”, which starts from the grille, moves through the bonnet and “resonates” with the boomerang-shaped headlights that extend almost to the base of the steeply-raked A-pillars.

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Nissan Confirms Production of Next Murano at its Mississippi Plant

There was a rumor going around last year that Nissan may shift production of the Murano crossover from Japan to its Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant in Missisipi to better compete in the North American market due to the rising cost of the yen, which eats into its profits.

On Thursday, Nissan made it official announcing that the next-generation Murano crossover will be built in the States at the Canton facility.

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Nissan's New Detroit Auto Show Resonance Concept May Hint at Next Murano SUV

Nissan has just confirmed the world premiere of a new concept crossover named the Resonance for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 15.

Along with a single, darkened rendering, Nissan issued the following statement about the Resonance study:

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2013 Nissan Murano Gains New Value Package, Extra Features and Colors, but Nothing More

It's that time of year that many automakers release their new model years cars and trucks. Following the all-new 2013 Sentra and Pathfinder crossover, and more recently, the 2013MY Titan pickup truck, Nissan has now released the 2013 model year version of its Murano crossover.

On sale now, the Murano's prices, excluding an $825 delivery fee, start at $29,960 for the base "S" grade with FWD, and rise to $40,750 for the "LE" with AWD.

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Soaring Yen May Bring Nissan Murano Crossover Production to U.S. Plant in Tennessee

With the yen rising to new heights, Japanese car manufacturers are, naturally, willing to move production of some of their models to their plants in other countries in order to make them more cost-effective.

According to a report from Japan’s Nikkan Kogyo daily newspaper, Nissan is currently considering shifting production of its Murano mid-size crossover to its Smyrna, Tennesee US plant which currently assembles the Altima and Maxima sedans.

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First Drive of Nissan’s 2011 Murano CrossCabriolet

Having been invited out to the seaside town of Del Mar in California for the presentation of the new Murano CrossCabriolet, we were intrigued at the chance to take Nissan's polarizing convertible out for a spin. That's right, the Murano convertible. How did things play out in California? Interesting, to say the least.

With the Murano CC, Nissan has gone outside the box to create its own niche. Looks aside, the Murano CC has done what it set out to do: garner interest, spur conversation, expand the model range, and change (not necessarily raise) the bar for mid-size crossovers. For all the ups and downs, read on.

It's a crossover...convertible

Nissan's Murano CC is a two-door convertible crossover that sits at the top of the Murano heap, creating a unique halo vehicle for the brand's crossover segment. While the CC's design is a love-it or hate-it affair, there's no doubt that we can all agree on one aspect: it doesn't come off nearly as badly as those photoshops which alluded to an aftermarket convertible conversion.

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Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet: Live Photos from LA Show Plus Video

We're not sure if you've had enough of the new Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet yet, but either way, if you follow the break, you'll find live photos of the Japanese firm's two-door / SUV / convertible mishmash from the Los Angeles motor show floor, along with the first official video of the model with some B-roll footage. If this strange combo has hit a cord with you, click here to read our detailed analysis of the new Murano which is scheduled to reach U.S. dealership early next year.

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LA Show 2010: Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet Tries to Start a New Crossover Niche

In an attempt to one-up Mercedes' 4-door coupe segment, Nissan has created the mass-market 2-door convertible crossover segment. Unwrapped at the LA Show today, the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet, which should appear on lots in early 2011, is a study in being everything to just about everyone.

Nissan says the Murano CossCab resolves the issues surrounding the convertible condition, meaning "everyone loves the convertible experience, no one loves the convertible reality – compromised trunk space, a cramped back seat or none at all, and a lack of flexibility for everyday life."

We shall see, but overall the concept it just about as neat as neat can be: 2 doors (thankfully), a convertible top, AWD, and funkadelic love-me/hate-me styling. It even blends into the Nissan family lineup nicely.

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New Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet: First Official Photo

This just in; We have the first official photograph of Nissan's all-new Murano CrossCabriolet, which has not only lost the standard model's top, but also the rear doors. The four-seater model will have its world premiere at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show later this week and go on sale in the U.S. early next year. For the time being, we don't have much in the way of information on technical specs or prices, but we'll definitely keep you updated if anything new pops up. Follow the jump for a higher resolution picture and the official statement from Nissan.

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Nissan Releases Pricing on Refreshed 2011 Murano

We already took an in-depth look at the mildly facelifted 2011 Murano back in August, but now Nissan has released U.S. pricing for the crossover model which went on sale today nationwide. The manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRP) for the 2011 Murano start at $28,500 for the entry-level front-wheel drive model and top out at $39,140 for a fully equipped all-wheel drive version. All prices don't include destination and other fees

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Official: Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet and Ellure Concept Sedan heading to LA Auto Show

It's officially official; Nissan today confirmed it will be rolling out the long-rumored convertible version of the Murano crossover named CrossCabriolet at the Los Angeles Auto Show in late November. And that's not the only news coming from Nissan's LA motorshow front as the Japanese automaker added it will also lift the covers off a new concept sedan model called the Ellure as well as the production version of the all-new 2011 Quest minivan, pictures of which have already been released.

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2011MY Nissan Murano Crossover gets Modest Facelift

In our previous post, we told you about the dealer presentation of the forthcoming two-door convertible version of the Murano. But that's not the only news we have about Nissan's crossover model as the Japanese carmaker just released details and photos of the refreshed 2011MY Murano for the North American markets.

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Report: Nissan Shows Murano Convertible to Dealers in Las Vegas

The latest news from the unending Murano Convertible saga is that Nissan reportedly showed the car to dealers at a meeting in Las Vegas this month with the company's officials confirming that the oddball crossover will be offered as a two-door model with a retractable soft top.

According to Autonews, an unnamed Nissan retailer that attended the event commented that the vehicle's design is "kind of unusual" and that "it actually looks better with the top down than up."

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Nissan Murano Convertible to Drop in at the LA Auto Show?

For the past couple of years, the folks over at Edmunds' InsideLine have been raving about a convertible version of the Nissan Murano. In August 2008, they reported that a four-door version of the crossover with a soft top would go on sale in the Spring of 2010. In May 2009, the story changed to a two-door convertible version that would arrive at dealers before the summer of 2010.

In the third act, the two-door storyline holds, with the site reporting that the canvas-top Murano will have its world premiere at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show in November and go on sale next Spring.

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2011 Nissan Murano gets Revised Front Styling Due to New Diesel Engine, European Sales Start in September

Back in March, Nissan announced plans to introduce a diesel engine option for the very first time on its European market Murano crossover in September. The need for additional cooling airflow to the diesel engine and radiators meant that the Nissan had to redesign the front end of the Murano which enters the 2011 model year with a reworked fascia sporting a new grille and a reshaped bumper with larger air intakes and different fog lamps.

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Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing Crashes with Lada in Russia [with Videos]

In what could very well be the first documented crash of Mercedes-Benz's $200,000 Gullwing supercar, an SLS AMG had an unfortunate close encounter of the wrong kind with a humble yet destructive, Lada 112 'fastback', somewhere in Moscow.

From the videos of the incident we found on the net, it is revealed that a black Nissan Murano crossover was also somehow involved in the crash.

Interestingly, the license plate number of the car tells us that the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing was a press / demo car used in many photo shoots and videos in Russia (see the last clip after the jump).

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Nissan Murano gets New Diesel Engine with 190HP in Europe

The Nissan Murano crossover's appeal to European buyers will be hugely enhanced in September with the addition of a diesel engine to the line-up. The introduction of the diesel version comes just as Nissan's luxury arm Infiniti, announced the European launch of a new V6 turbo diesel co-developed with Renault for the M sedan and FX / EX SUVs.

Oddly enough though, Nissan opted for an enhanced version of its 2.5-liter dCi four-cylinder diesel for the Murano instead of the group's new 3.0-liter V6 that made its way under the hood of the facelifted 2010 Pathfinder and Navara.

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Nissan to Build Murano SUV in Russia from 2011

Nissan has announced plans to build the Murano SUV at its St Petersburg factory in Russia. The start of production is planned for the beginning of 2011 and these models are for the Russian market only and not for export. Since the start of sales in Russia in November 2005, about 9,000 Muranos have been sold in the country.

The Japanese automaker also said that due to the slight recovery of the automotive market and growth in customer demand, it will increase the St Petersburg plant's staff from 850 to 1,450 employees adding a second shift this June

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Nissan Preparing Convertible Version of Murano SUV?

If we are to believe a report from Edmunds Insideline, Nissan is preparing to enhance its Murano crossover line-up with a niche convertible version. Inside sources that are involved with the project -and of course remain anonymous- told Edmunds that the four-door convertible crossover won’t be equipped with a retractable hardtop as the designers preferred to use a more traditional canvas top in order to keep weight down.

The Murano Convertible, which will apparently be equipped with the same 265 HP 3.5-liter V6 engine as the conventional version, is said to arrive in the market during the first quarter of 2010. Assuming Edmund’s sources are accurate, we can expect to see a concept version sometime in 2009.

Photo Illustration: CarScoop , Source: Edmunds

Nissan Murano EA2 “Drive-By-Wire” Concept

Nissan has unveiled a new concept car based on the first-generation Murano crossover called EA2 that is equipped with a new drive-by-wire technology. The Japanese carmaker actually calls it “X-by-Wire” and what this means is that mechanical linkages for the control of major systems such as steering, braking and transmission have been replaced with wires and electrical impulses.

While this technology still has its disadvantages in terms of driver satisfaction –it’s like controlling a video game, drive-by-wire is more compact than the traditional mechanical systems thus freeing up space while it also helps reduce vehicle weight, resulting in gains in performance, economy and emissions.

For example, on the Murano EA2 Concept, by replacing conventional mechanical linkages with by-wire technology, steering and braking systems can be re-packaged to create more internal space without changing the vehicle’s overall length. In particular, this resulted in an interior length of 2,600mm - 110mm more than the conventional Murano, making it possible to add a third row of seating and capacity for seven passengers. -Continued

Additionally, the shift-by-wire system allowed for the installation of a movable center console, making it easier to move between the driver and front passenger seats.