company name	Nissan Motor Company Ltd''Nissan Jidosha Kabushiki-gaisha''日産自動車株式会社
company logo
company type	Public company (; )
country	Japan
slogan	''"SHIFT_the way you move"''
foundation	December 26, 1933
founder
location	Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan (Officially registered in Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa)
Area served	Worldwide
key people
industry
products
production	4,080,588 (''2010'')
Divisions	*Infiniti NISMO Infiniti Performance Line
subsid
market cap	US$40,8 billion (2010)
net income	US$ 453,6 million (2010)
revenue	US$ 80,4 billion (2010)
num employees	175,766
homepage	nissan-global.com }}

(), usually shortened to Nissan ( or ; Japanese: ), is a multinational automaker headquartered in Japan. It was formerly a core member of the Nissan Group, but has become more independent after its restructuring under Carlos Ghosn (CEO).

It formerly marketed vehicles under the "Datsun" brand name and is one of the largest car manufacturers in the world. As of 2011, the company's global headquarters is located in Nishi-ku, Yokohama. In 1999, Nissan entered a two way alliance with Renault S.A. of France, which owns 43.4% of Nissan while Nissan holds 15% of Renault shares, as of 2008. The current market share of Nissan, along with Honda and Toyota, in American auto sales represent the largest of the automotive firms based in Asia that have been increasingly encroaching on the historically dominant US-based "Big Three" consisting of GM, Ford and Chrysler. In its home market, Nissan became the second largest car manufacturer in 2011, surpassing Honda with Toyota still very much the dominant first. Along with its normal range of models, Nissan also produces a range of luxury models branded as Infiniti.

The Nissan VQ engines, of V6 configuration, have been featured among Ward's 10 Best Engines for 14 straight years.

History

Beginnings of Datsun name from 1914

The new car's name was an acronym of the company's partners' family names: .

It was renamed to Kwaishinsha Motorcar Co. in 1918, and again to DAT Motorcar Co. in 1925. DAT Motors built trucks in addition to the DAT and Datsun passenger cars. The vast majority of its output were trucks, due to an almost non-existent consumer market for passenger cars at the time. Beginning in 1918, the first DAT trucks were produced for the military market. It was the low demand of the military market in the 1920s that forced DAT to merge in 1926 with Japan's 2nd most successful truck maker, Jitsuyo Motors.

In 1926 the Tokyo-based DAT Motors merged with the Osaka-based a.k.a. Jitsuyo Motors (established 1919, as a Kubota subsidiary) to become in Osaka until 1932. (Jitsuyo Jidosha began producing a three-wheeled vehicle with an enclosed cab called the Gorham in 1920, and the following year produced a four-wheeled version. From 1923 to 1925, the company produced light cars and trucks under the name of Lila.)

In 1931, DAT came out with a new smaller car, the first "Datson", meaning "Son of DAT". Later in 1933 after Nissan took control of DAT Motors, the last syllable of Datson was changed to "sun", because "son" also means "loss" (損) in Japanese, hence the name .

In 1933, the company name was Nipponized to and was moved to Yokohama.

Nissan name first used in 1930s

In 1928, Yoshisuke Aikawa founded the holding company ''Nippon Sangyo'' (Japan Industries or Nippon Industries). "The name 'Nissan' originated during the 1930s as an abbreviation" used on the Tokyo stock market for Nippon Sangyo. This company was the famous Nissan "Zaibatsu" (combine) which included Tobata Casting and Hitachi. At this time Nissan controlled foundries and auto parts businesses, but Aikawa did not enter automobile manufacturing until 1933.

Nissan would eventually grow to include 74 firms, and to be the fourth-largest combine in Japan during World War II.

In 1930, Aikawa purchased controlling(?) shares in DAT Motors, and then in 1933 it merged Tobata Casting's automobile parts department with DAT Motors. As Tobata Casting was a Nissan company, this was the beginning of Nissan's automobile manufacturing.

Nissan Motors founded in 1934

In 1934, Aikawa "separated the expanded automobile parts division of Tobata Casting and incorporated it as a new subsidiary, which he named Nissan Motor (Nissan)". . The shareholders of the new company however were not enthusiastic about the prospects of the automobile in Japan, so Aikawa bought out all the Tobata Casting shareholders (using capital from Nippon Industries) in June, 1934. At this time Nissan Motors effectively became owned by Nippon Sangyo and Hitachi.

Nissan built trucks, airplanes, and engines for the Japanese military. The company's main plant was moved to China after land there was captured by Japan. The plant made machinery for the Japanese war effort until it was captured by American and Russian forces. From 1947 to 1948 the company was called Nissan Heavy Industries Corp.

Nissan's early American connection

DAT had inherited Kubota's chief designer, American William R. Gorham. This, along with Aikawa's inspiring 1908 visit to Detroit, was to greatly affect Nissan's future.

Although it had always been Aikawa's intention to use cutting-edge auto making technology from America, it was Gorham that carried out the plan. All the machinery, vehicle designs and engine designs originally came out of the United States. Much of the tooling came from the Graham factory and Nissan had a Graham license under which trucks were made. The machinery was imported into Japan by Mitsubishi on behalf of Nissan, which went into the first Yokohama factory to produce cars.

Relationship with Ford Motor Company

From 1993 to 2002, Nissan partnered with Ford to market the Mercury Villager and the Nissan Quest. The two minivans were manufactured with all the same parts and were virtually identical aside from several cosmetic differences. In 2002, Ford discontinued the Villager to make room for its Freestar and Monterey. Nissan brought out a new version of the Quest in 2004, which was designed in-house and no longer bore any relation to Ford's models.

In 1992, Nissan relaunched its Terrano four-wheel drive, which was cosmetically and mechanically identical to the Ford Maverick. Both cars were built in Spain. Although the Maverick was discontinued in 1998 due to disappointing sales, the Nissan Terrano was a strong seller and remained in production until 2005, when it was replaced by the Nissan Pathfinder.

Austin Motor Company

In early 1950s, Nissan partnered with an established European company to gain access to up-to-date automobile and engine designs. Nissan chose Austin of the United Kingdom, which later became the British Motor Corporation by its merger with Morris et al. Nissan began building Austin 7s in 1930, though the legitimacy of their license at that time is debated. After the success of Nissan, Hino and Isuzu followed to partner with Renault and Hillman respectively.

In 1952 Nissan Motor Company of Japan entered into a legal agreement with Austin , for Nissan to assemble 2,000 Austins from imported partially assembled sets and sell them in Japan under the Austin trademark. The agreement called for Nissan to make all Austin parts locally within three years, a goal Nissan met. Nissan produced and marketed Austins for seven years. The agreement also gave Nissan rights to use Austin patents, which Nissan used in developing its own engines for its Datsun line of cars. In 1953 British-built Austins were assembled and sold, but by 1955, the Austin A50 – completely built by Nissan and featuring a slightly larger body with new 1489 cc engine—was on the market in Japan. Nissan produced 20,855 Austins from 1953–1959.

Nissan leveraged the Austin patents to further develop their own modern engine designs past what the Austin's A- and B-family designs offered. The apex of the Austin-derived engines was the new design A series engine in 1967. Also in 1967 Nissan introduced its new highly advanced four cylinder overhead cam (OHC) Nissan L engine, which while similar to Mercedes-Benz OHC designs was a totally new engine designed by Nissan. This engine powered the new Datsun 510, which gained Nissan respect in the worldwide sedan market. Then, in 1969 Nissan introduced the Datsun 240Z sports car which used a six-cylinder variation of the L series engine. The 240Z was an immediate sensation and lifted Nissan to world class status in the automobile market.

Merger with Prince Motor Company

In 1966, Nissan merged with the Prince Motor Company, bringing more upmarket cars, including the Skyline and Gloria, into its selection. The Prince name was eventually abandoned, and successive Skylines and Glorias bore the Nissan name. "Prince," however, is still used in the names of certain Japanese Nissan dealerships. Nissan introduced a new luxury brand for the US market in 1989 called Infiniti.

Foreign expansion

In the 1950s, Nissan decided to expand into worldwide markets. Nissan management realized their Datsun small car line would fill an unmet need in markets such as Australia and the world's largest car market, the United States. They first showed cars at the 1959 Los Angeles Auto Show and sold a few that year in the United States. The company formed a U.S. subsidiary, Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A., in 1959, headed by Yutaka Katayama. Nissan continued to improve their sedans with the latest technological advancements and chic Italianate styling in sporty cars such as the Datsun Fairlady roadsters, the race-winning 411 series, the Datsun 510 and the world-class Datsun 240Z, and by 1970, they had become one of the world's largest exporters of automobiles. In the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, consumers worldwide (especially in the lucrative U.S. market) began turning in rapidly increasing numbers to high-quality small economy cars. To meet the growing demand, the company built new factories in Mexico, Australia, Taiwan and South Africa.

The "Chicken Tax" of 1964 placed a 25% tax on imported commercial vans. In response, Nissan, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. began building plants in the U.S. in the early 80s.

Nissan's initial assembly plant, in Smyrna, Tennessee, at first built only trucks such as the 720 and Hardbody, but has since expanded to produce several car and SUV lines, including the Altima, Maxima, Xterra and Pathfinder. An engine plant in Decherd, Tennessee followed, and most recently a second assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi.

In 1998 Nissan announced that it was selling one of its headquarter buildings to the Mori Group for $107.8 million.

In order to overcome export tariffs and delivery costs to its European customers, Nissan contemplated establishing a plant in Europe. After an extensive review, Sunderland in the north east of the United Kingdom was chosen for the local availability of a highly skilled workforce and its position near major ports. The plant was completed in 1986 as the subsidiary Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd. By 2007, it was producing 400,000 vehicles per year, landing it the highly coveted title of the most productive plant in Europe.

Financial difficulties (approaching billions) in Australia in the late 1980s caused Nissan to cease production there. Due to the "Button Plan" the Australian operation was unique as the Nissan products were also rebranded both by General Motors Holden: Pulsar as the Holden Astra), and Ford: Bluebird as the Ford Corsair).

In 2001 stablished a manufacturing plant in Brazil, in 2005, Nissan setup operations in India, through its subsidiary Nissan Motors India Pvt. Ltd. With its global alliance partner, Renault, Nissan is investing $920 million to set up a manufacturing facility in Chennai to cater to the Indian market as well as a base for exports of small cars to Europe.

Nissan sold nearly 520,000 new vehicles in China in 2009 in joint venture with Dongfeng Motor, and aims for 1 million in 3 or 4 years. To meet that target, Dongfeng-Nissan is expanding its production base in Guangzhou, which would become Nissan's largest factory around the globe in terms of production capacity upon completion.

Trucks

The Nissan Titan was introduced in 2004, as a full-size pickup truck produced for the North American market, the truck shares the stretched Nissan F-Alpha platform with the Nissan Armada and Infiniti QX56 SUVs.

The Titan features a 32 valve 5.6 L ''VK56DE'' V8 engine which generates 317 hp, and is capable of towing approximately 9500 pounds. The Nissan Titan comes in four basic trim levels: ''XE'', ''SE'', ''Pro-4X'', and ''LE''; that for the 2011 it will be ''S, SV, PRO-4X'' and ''SL''.The trim levels are combinations of the features offered on the truck. It was listed by Edmunds.com as the best full-size truck. The Titan was nominated for the ''North American Truck of the Year'' award for 2004.

Alliance with Renault

In 1999, with Nissan facing severe financial difficulties, Nissan entered an alliance with Renault S.A. of France.

Signed on March 27, 1999, the ''Renault-Nissan Alliance'' is the first of its kind involving a Japanese and French car manufacturer, each with its own distinct corporate culture and brand identity. The same year, Renault appointed its own Chief Operating Officer, Carlos Ghosn, as Chief Operating Officer of Nissan and took a 22.5% stake in Nissan Diesel. Later that year, Nissan fired its top Japanese executives.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has evolved over years to Renault holding 44.3% of Nissan shares, while Nissan holds 15% of Renault shares which does not give Nissan a voting or board representation due to legal restriction in France.

Under CEO Ghosn's "Nissan Revival Plan" (NRP), the company has rebounded in what many leading economists consider to be one of the most spectacular corporate turnarounds in history, catapulting Nissan to record profits and a dramatic revitalization of both its Nissan and Infiniti model line-ups. In 2001, the company initiated Nissan 180, capitalizing on the success of the NRP. The targets set with 180 were an additional sale of 1 million cars, achieving operating margins of 8%, and to have zero automotive debts. Ghosn has been recognized in Japan for the company's turnaround in the midst of an ailing Japanese economy. Ghosn and the Nissan turnaround were featured in Japanese manga and popular culture. His achievements in revitalizing Nissan were noted by Japanese Government, which awarded him the Japan Medal with Blue Ribbon in 2004.

Expansion of alliance to include both Daimler and Renault

On April 7, 2010, Daimler AG exchanged a 3.9% share of its holdings for 3.9% from both Nissan and Renault. This triple alliance allows for the increased sharing of technology and development costs, encouraging global cooperation and mutual development. The alliance with Daimler is believed to have a focus on battery/electric technologies.

Nissan Motor Co v. Nissan Computer Corporation

In December 1999, legal action was instituted by Nissan Motors seeking $10,000,000 in damages from Uzi Nissan, president of Nissan Computer. In December 2002, Uzi Nissan was handed an injunction restricting his use of the Nissan name and the domains Nissan.com and Nissan.net which he owns.

In 2004, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, allowed Nissan Computer to appeal the case, which resulted in reversal of some findings previously in favor of Nissan Motors.

On February 5, 2008, Final Judgement was entered for the case, with Nissan Computer being awarded costs and neither party prevailing. Immediately following the ruling, Nissan Motors filed a trademark application for Computer Equipment in March 2008, viewed by some as an attempt to acquire the domain through UDRP, an arbitration panel proceeding which often finds in favor of trademark holders.

Recent news

In 2010, Nissan announced that its hybrid technology is no longer based on Toyota's.

On April 7, 2010, Daimler AG exchanged a 3.9% share of its holdings for 3.9% from both Nissan and Renault. This triple alliance allows for the increased sharing of technology and development costs, encouraging global cooperation and mutual development.

The Nissan Note and Qashqai in the UK are both produced at their UK factory in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear. On January 9, 2009, it was announced that 1,200 jobs were to be cut at the Sunderland plant. The decision was blamed on economic reasons, including a downturn in the car selling market. Nissan's senior vice-president for manufacturing in Europe, Trevor Mann, said the company was "right-sizing our operations to the market demand."

Nissan also produces cars at its factory at Roslyn, near Pretoria, South Africa.

Nissan North America relocated its headquarters from Gardena, California to the Nashville, Tennessee area in July 2006. A new headquarters, Nissan Americas, was dedicated on July 22, 2008, in Cool Springs (Nashville, Tennessee). Approximately 1500 employees work in the facility.

On June 30, 2006, General Motors convened an emergency board meeting to discuss a proposal by shareholder Kirk Kerkorian to form an alliance between GM and Renault-Nissan. On October 4, 2006, however, GM and Nissan terminated talks because of the chasm between the two companies related to compensation to GM from Nissan.

On May 17, 2006 Nissan released the Atlas 20 hybrid truck in Japan. It released a Cabstar hybrid truck at the 2006 Hannover Fair.

The company's head office moved from Tokyo back to Yokohama in August 2009.

On February 23, 2008 The Tamil Nadu state government (India) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with auto manufacturing consortium, Mahindra-Renault- Nissan to set up a production unit at Oragadam in suburban Madras.

The consortium comprising Indian auto major Mahindra and Mahindra, Renault (France) and Nissan (Japan) will begin with an initial investment of Rs4000 crore to manufacture nearly 50,000 tractors every year other than cars, utility vehicles and spare parts. The project is expected to increase Tamil Nadu’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Rs18,000 crore annually while providing 41,000 jobs.

Nissan began development of fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) in 1996 and launched limited lease sales of the X-Trail FCV in Japan in fiscal year 2003.

In 2002, Toyota and Nissan agree to tie-up on hybrid technologies, and in 2004, Nissan unveiled the Altima hybrid prototype.

Vehicle recalls

On March 2, 2010 Nissan announced the recall of 540,000 vehicles to fix brake pedals and gas gauges. The brake pedal recall affects 179,000 vehicles in the US and about 26,000 in the Middle East, Canada, Russia and several other countries.

Certain 2008 to 2010 Nissan Titan pickups, Infiniti QX56 and Nissan Armada Sports Utility Vehicles, and some 2008 and 2009 Nissan Quest minivans are being recalled.

Nissan also announced the recall of several models of trucks and SUVs, including 2004–2006 Armadas and Titans, 2005–2006 Infiniti QX56s, and Frontiers, Pathfinders and Xterras made in August 2003 and June 2006. The recall was made in response to a risk that the electrical relays in the engine control modules for those vehicles may fail, possibly rendering the engine inoperable. The recall affects about 2,200,000 cars worldwide.

In May 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation of the 2007 and 2008 Altimas over leakage issues, which could lead to recalls.

Environmental record

Prior to announcements about the Nissan Leaf, Nissan Motors has had no special environmental record, at least as perceived relative to its competition. This may change in the future owing to a new emphasis on the development, production and marketing of electric automobiles. Nissan is planning to sell electric cars in the US coastal markets by December 2010, and within the US interior by June 2011. The company claims its EV model, the Nissan Leaf, has a maximum speed of and can go 100 miles per charge. It is projected to take eight hours to charge the car fully. Nissan's car uses a lithium ion battery. The vehicle is intended for short distances, and is not meant for replacing traditional cars for long trips. As with other electric cars these products from Nissan won't emit pollutants from their exhaust. Any pollution involved in their operation would come from the production of the electricity needed to charge the car, depending on the type of power generation facility. Nissan has chosen to develop 100 percent electric cars rather than biofuel or ethanol running cars based upon cost analysis. On May 12, 2009, Nissan announced the company will produce EVs at its Oppama plant from fall 2010 with capacity of 50,000 units a year. Batteries for EVs will be supplied by Automotive Energy Supply Corporation, a joint-venture between Nissan (51%), NEC Corporation (42%) and NEC TOKIN Corporation (7%). In July 2011, the solar charging port of Nissan – construction on a 30-car solar charging station outside of the future Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant in Tennessee – is expected to be completed. And it will use renewable energy to charge the Nissan Leafs that will be produced there in 2012.

Leadership

Presidents and Chief Executive Officers of Nissan:

1933–1939 Yoshisuke Aikawa

1939–1942 Masasuke Murakami

1942–1944 Genshichi Asahara

1944–1945 Haruto Kudo

1945 Takeshi Murayama

1945–1947 Souji Yamamoto

1947–1951 Taichi Minoura

1951–1957 Genshichi Asahara

1957–1973 Katsuji Kawamata

1973–1977 Tadahiro Iwakoshi

1977–1985 Takashi Ishihara

1985–1992 Yutaka Kume

1992–1996 Yoshifume Tsuji

1996–2000 Yoshikazu Hanawa

2000–present Carlos Ghosn

Products

Automotive products

:''Main articles: List of Nissan vehicles and List of Nissan engines.'' Nissan has produced an extensive range of mainstream cars and trucks, initially for domestic consumption but exported around the world since the 1950s. There was a major strike in 1953.

It also produced several memorable sports cars, including the Datsun Fairlady 1500, 1600 and 2000 Roadsters, the Z-car, an affordable sports car originally introduced in 1969; and the GT-R, a powerful all-wheel-drive sports coupe.

In 1985, Nissan created a tuning division, ''NISMO'', for competition and performance development of such cars. One of Nismo's latest models is the 370Z NISMO.

Until 1982, Nissan automobiles in most export markets were sold under the Datsun brand. Since 1989, Nissan has sold its luxury models in North America under the Infiniti brand.

Nissan also sells a small range of kei cars, mainly as a joint venture with other Japanese manufacturers like Suzuki or Mitsubishi. Nissan does not develop these cars. Nissan also has shared model development of Japanese domestic cars with other manufacturers, particularly Mazda, Subaru, Suzuki and Isuzu.

In China, Nissan produces cars in association with the Dongfeng Motor Group including the 2006 Nissan Livina Geniss. This is the first in the range of a new worldwide family of medium sized cars and is to make its world debut at the Guangzhou International Motor Show.

Nissan launches Qashqai SUV in South Africa, along with their new motorsport Qashqai Car Games.

In 2010, Nissan created another tuning division,''IPL'', this time for their premium/luxury brand Infiniti.

Electric vehicles

Nissan will launch electric cars in Europe in 2010 with different business models in different countries.

Nissan Motor Co. has nearly completed development of a lithium-ion battery using a lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide cathode (NMC). The new system, which will reportedly offer almost double the capacity of Nissan/AESC’s current manganese spinel cell.

The new Nissan Leaf is expected to be marketed in North America, Europe, and Japan, beginning in late 2010. Nissan has announced it will manufacture the new Leaf compact electric car at its Sunderland plant in the UK. The annual production capacity will be 50,000 vehicles at Sunderland.

Non-automotive products

Nissan has also had a number of ventures outside the automotive industry, most notably the Tu-Ka mobile phone service (est. 1994), which was sold to DDI and Japan Telecom (both now merged into KDDI Corporation) in 1999. Nissan also owns Nissan Marine, a joint venture with Tohatsu Corp that produces motors for boats and other maritime equipment.

Global sales figures

! Calendar Year	! Global Sales
1998	2,555,962
1999	2,629,044
2000	2,632,876
2001	2,580,757
2002	2,735,932
2003	2,968,357
2004	3,295,830
2005	3,597,851
2006	3,477,837
2007	3,675,574
2008	3,708,074
2009	3,358,413
2010	4,080,588

Manufacturing locations

Data extracted from Nissan's international corporate website.

Japan

*Oppama, Yokosuka, Kanagawa (Oppama Plant & Research Center)

*Kaminokawa, Tochigi (Tochigi Plant)

Kanda, Fukuoka (Kyushu Plant & Nissan Shatai Kyushu Plant)

*Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa (Yokohama Plant)

*Iwaki, Fukushima (Iwaki Plant)

*Hiratsuka, Kanagawa (Nissan Shatai Shonan Plant)

*Nagoya, Aichi (Aichi Machine Industry Atsuta & Eitoku Plants)

*Matsusaka, Mie (Aichi Machine Industry Matsusaka Plant)

*Tsu, Mie (Aichi Machine Industry Tsu Plant)

*Uji, Kyoto (Auto Works Kyoto)

*Ageo, Saitama (Nissan Diesel Motor, currently owned by the Volvo Group)

Samukawa, Kanagawa (Nissan Kohki)

*Zama, Kanagawa (Zama Plant closed in 1995, currently Global Production Engineering Center and storage unit for its historic models)

India

*Oragadam, Chennai

Brazil

*São José dos Pinhais, Paraná

Indonesia

*Cikampek, West Java

Iran

*Karaj, Tehran

Malaysia

*Segambut, Kuala Lumpur

*Serendah, Selangor

Mexico

*Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes

*Cuernavaca, Morelos

Morocco

*Tangier, Tangier Med port (Under construction, Renault-Nissan plant)

Egypt

*6th of October City, October 6 Governorate

Pakistan

*Karachi, Sindh

Philippines

*Santa Rosa City, Laguna

South Africa

*Rosslyn, Pretoria, Gauteng.

Spain

*Barcelona

*Ávila

*Cantabria

*Montcada i Reixac

Thailand

*Bangna, Samutprakarn

Republic of China

*Taipei, Taiwan

United Kingdom

*Sunderland, County Durham, North East England

United States

*Smyrna, Tennessee

*Canton, Mississippi

*Decherd, Tennessee

Russia

*St. Petersburg, Russia (Completion 2010)

See also

Autech

Ashok Leyland Nissan Vehicles

Calsonic

Nissan Diesel

Nissan Group

Datsun

Renault

Infiniti

Impul

Jatco

Dongfeng Motor Company

Dongfeng Nissan-Diesel Company

List of Nissan vehicles

List of Nissan engines

Nissan Proving Grounds

Laurence Hartnett

Project Better Place

NEC

Nissan Engine Museum

Yokohama F. Marinos

Carlos Ghosn

Yutaka Katayama

Nissan Stadium

Nismo

Yulon

Notes and references

External links

Nissan Global website

Nissan India website

Nissan USA website

Nissan Australia website

Nissan Commercial Vehicles – North America

Nissan All-Electric Car – Nissan Leaf

Nissan/Infiniti News Room – Includes Detailed Model, Recall, and Bulletin Information

Nissan Company Profile

Category:Battery electric vehicle manufacturers Category:Conglomerate companies Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers of Japan Category:Companies based in Yokohama Category:Companies based in Nashville, Tennessee Category:Truck manufacturers Category:Automotive companies of Japan Category:Car manufacturers of Japan Category:Companies established in 1933 Category:Electric vehicle manufacturers Category:1933 establishments in Japan

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{{infobox f1 driver| name	Tiff Needell | image TiffNeedell.jpg|thumb|250px| nationality British | birth_date October 29, 1951 | Years 1980 | Team(s) Ensign| Races 2 (1 start) | Championships 0| Wins 0 | Podiums 0 | Points 0 | Poles 0 | Fastest laps 0 | First race 1980 Belgian Grand Prix | Last race 1980 Monaco Grand Prix | BF1 Years 1979
bf1 races	8
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Timothy "Tiff" Needell (born 29 October 1951 in Havant, Hampshire) is a British racing driver and television presenter. He is best known as a former co-presenter of ''Top Gear'' and current co-presenter of ''Fifth Gear''.

Biography

Needell attended Ottershaw School followed by City University, London where he achieved an Honours Degree in Civil Engineering. Hired by George Wimpey & Co, his day job was as a Structural Design Engineer.

Racing career

Needell first raced at a driving school at Brands Hatch in 1970. He progressed to Formula Ford, his progress assisted by the use of a Lotus 69 FF he won in an ''Autosport'' magazine competition. He later sold his Lotus and used the money to buy and race an Elden Mk10. Needell's Formula Ford period culminated in his acquiring a Crossle 25F with which he won the Kent Messenger FF Championship after competing for only half of the remaining season. This success landed him a partly paid drive in the Formula Ford 2000 Championship in a Hawke chassis provided by McKinstry Racing. Needell was completely dominant in that car and series which provided him with the springboard into Formula 3. The remainder of the 1970s saw Needell as a front runner in the British Formula 3 series and then in the Aurora British Formula One championship. In 1979 he was unable to graduate to the F1 World Championship due to the lack of the correct licence, but he was back in , driving two Grands Prix for Ensign, qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. However, he had an engine problem and did not finish the race. He subsequently failed to qualify for the Monaco Grand Prix.

In 1988 and 1989 he competed in the British Rallycross Grand Prix in a Metro 6R4 prepared by Will Gollop's motorsport team. He achieved a good result in 1988 finishing 4th in the B-Final in what was his first rallycross event, however, the 1989 event was cancelled due to heavy fog after the practice sessions.

Needell made his first appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1981 driving a Ibec-Hesketh 308LM alongside Tony Trimmer. They failed to finish and again in 1982 this time paired with Bob Evans and Geoff Lees in an Aston Martin Nimrod NRA/C2. However the following year Needell finished 17th driving a Porsche 956. In 1985 Needell briefly led the 24 hours driving the Aston Martin EMKA C84/1 and would eventually finish 11th. His best result at Le Mans was 3rd in . He then had a couple of years in the British Touring Car Championship with Nissan, before returning to sports cars in 1995, driving a Porsche at Daytona and a Jaguar XJ220 at Le Mans. He then drove the Lister Storm for 3 years, reaching 3rd overall at Daytona in 1997 before gearbox problems dropped them to 19th. In 1998 he finished 2nd in the GT1 championship and won the Silverstone Golden Jubilee Trophy race.

Since then, Needell's racing career has mainly consisted of racing tin-tops (hard-topped cars), with varying levels of success in sports cars, historic racing and touring cars. He achieved particular notoriety after an accident with Nigel Mansell at the 1993 TOCA shoot out race at Donington Park.

Television career

Needell is best known in the United Kingdom as a television presenter and motoring journalist, in particular in association with the BBC TV series ''Top Gear'' which he started co-hosting in 1987. In 2001, when the BBC cancelled Top Gear (the show was brought back in 2002), Needell and the whole cast defected and signed with Five to produce and host a new motoring show named ''Fifth Gear''. He does however, still contribute to Top Gear magazine. Needell has also co-presented 'MPH' at Earls Court in 2003, 2004, 2005 with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond and in 2006 with Jeremy Clarkson and James May (because Richard Hammond was recovering from his accident). He also appeared very briefly in the 2005 Top Gear Comic Relief special, Stars in Fast Cars. In 2009 he appeared on ''James May's Toy Stories'' featuring the building of a Scalextric around Brooklands. In 2011, he appeared on Top Gear, driving the Ariel Atom V8 in a race against a BMW S1000RR around the Top Gear Test Track. The segment was done in humour, with James May supposedly driving the Atom V8, only for it to actually be Tiff.

Needell says his highlight to date is "accidentally, ahem, ignoring the strict instructions Ferrari issued about not touching the traction control on their half million pound Enzo..." He has also done this on ''Fifth Gear'' while reviewing the Bugatti Veyron as well as the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, joking that his finger slipped after showing viewers the letter from Mercedes-Benz requesting he leave the traction control on.

He was one of several people suspected of portraying the elusive masked racing driver The Stig on the current format of Top Gear. The true identity of The Stig was eventually revealed as being Ben Collins but in late 2010 Needell returned to Top Gear after a nine-year absence to train Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle. In the same episode Jeremy Clarkson referred to Needell as the "Emergency Stig"

Other work

He has an occasional column in the car magazine ''Auto Express''.

Needell has lent his voice to the first and second games in the 'TOCA Touring Car series' for British video game developer Codemasters. His voice is also featured in the 'Ferrari Challenge' and 'Le Mans 24 Hours' video game for racing game developer Eutechnyx. He also features in the video game Race Pro racing an Aston Martin DBR9. Additionally, he is the voice of the ''Road Angel'' road safety device and GPS speed camera alert system, as well as the face on their advertising campaigns. He was the launching announcer for the high speed Rita roller coaster at Alton Towers, as well as narrating several Discovery Channel documentaries.

Thruxton Circuit has an exclusive deal which enables customers to pay £145 for three laps of fast-paced driving and drifting with Needell. The laps are filmed from within the car and feature his commentary and conversation with the passenger.

Personal life

He lives in Wiltshire with his wife Patsy and his three sons, Jack, Harry and George.

His younger brother Chris is a team manager for Barwell Motorsports team racing Aston Martin DBRS9.

In November 2006, Needell was cleared of 'failing to supply details in relation to a speeding ticket', and the accompanying speeding offence by Pontypridd magistrates. He was defended by Nick Freeman, otherwise known as Mr. Loophole, who also defended former colleague Jeremy Clarkson on a similar case.

He is a football fan and supports Southampton. He is also an active user of Twitter.

He also works as an after dinner speaker.

Complete Formula One results

(key)

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! Entrant

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! Engine

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Unipart Ensign (racing team)>Racing Team

! Ensign (racing team)

V8 engine>V8

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! NC

! 0

References

External links

''Fifth Gear'' website

interview on Mitzi TV, "Baby You Can Drive My Car"

Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:Top Gear Category:English racecar drivers Category:English Formula One drivers Category:British Touring Car Championship drivers Category:Drifting drivers Category:D1 Grand Prix drivers Category:British Formula Three Championship drivers Category:Alumni of City University London Category:People from Havant Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers

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