Cherish your 2009 Nissan GT-R: 2010 model won’t have launch control

Nissan GT-R forums are bursting with angry stories of owners using launch control, breaking their transaxle and getting their warranties voided. Some have even refused to take delivery of the GT-R after realizing they would end up incurring the cost of the damage if they decided to use the launch control system.

Rumors have recently been floating around the web that the 2010 Nissan GT-R won’t have the launch control feature. So is it true? InsideLine spoke to three Nissan employees at the 2008 LA Auto Show - the first two confirmed that the removal of launch control was being considered.

However, the third Nissan member, a high-ranking executive, confirmed this removal. “It’s gone,” he said “We just don’t want to deal with the warranty nightmare anymore. It’ll make the 2009 GT-R really special. It’ll be the only R35 with launch control.”

Source: InsideLine

Renault-Nissan announces Oregon to host EV pilot program

Nissan's electric vehicle (EV) involvement in Project Better Place programs in Denmark and Israel, plus test fleets in its home market of Japan will be joined by a new agreement with the state of Oregon and the Portland General Electric Utility according to an announcement made by Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault-Nissan. The new deal will have cars hitting the streets of Oregon in late 2010. In addition to the programs mentioned above, Renault-Nissan is also working with Tennessee, where the company's U.S.