Nissan

Not to be outdone by Toyota and GM, Nissan is recalling 540,000 vehicles worldwide to fix faulty brake pedal pins and inaccurate fuel gauges.

The Japanese automaker's North American division said no accidents or injuries have been reported, but the company is initiating the recalls based on three reports of brake pedal pins partially disengaging, hindering braking ability.

A separate, unrelated fuel-gauge issue can lead to inaccurate fuel readings in certain trucks and minivans. The gauge may show gas left when the tank is actually empty.

Note: Nissan Canada’s “voluntary service campaign” to inspect for possible cracks in the front propeller shafts of about 650 four-wheel-drive vehicles begins March 1, 2010. The information here from a Ford product specialist that the front propeller shaft provides torque to the rear wheels of the Nissan products is incorrect. In fact, Nissan says the component provides torque only to the front wheels.

Nissan North America announced that its January sales were up 16.1 percent compared to a year ago.

The company noted the increase occurred despite there being two fewer selling days this year compared to January 2009.

Vehicles showing significant sales increases included the Maxima (up 51.8 percent), Altima (up 31.8 percent) and Frontier (up 22 percent). Two SUVs didn’t fare as well. Pathfinder sales were up 1.9 percent, and Xterra sales fell 5.4 percent.

Nissan and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe ( SCEE ) have joined forces again to bring gaming and motor sport fans the ultimate racing competition. GT Academy 2010 will go live on 17 December, 2009 and will use the virtual world of the new PlayStation® Gran Turismo®5 game to find a real-world racing driver. The stakes are high, with an intensive race training programme and a season-long drive in a full race-spec Nissan 370Z in the European GT4 Cup as the ultimate prize.

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Nissan North America Inc. said Tuesday its sales rose 20.8 percent as lower sales of Infiniti models were offset by a jump in the Nissan brand.

BY THE NUMBERS: Total sales in November were 56,288 vehicles, compared with 46,605 in the same month a year before. Nissan Division sales rose 29.9 percent for the month, while sales of Infiniti vehicles were 26 percent lower than a year ago.

TOP SELLER: Sales of the Maxima jumped 83.8 percent, while Frontier sales rose 71.4 percent. Sales of the Altima and Xterra were up significantly as well.

Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today announced pricing for the new 2010 Nissan Frontier mid-size pickup and Pathfinder and Xterra SUVs, which are on sale now at Nissan retailers nationwide. Each vehicle offers a number of significant enhancements for the new model year.