While the coronavirus has majorly disrupted practically every automaker and supplier in the world, some things are still going according to plan. During a roundtable discussion, Nissan representatives said that the 2020 Nissan Frontier with the new 3.8-liter engine is still on track to go on sale this spring. No adjustments have been made to the introduction of the next-generation 2021 Frontier either, which should be revealed by the end of the year. In fact, Nissan's representatives mentioned that next-generation Frontier prototypes are on their way to the U.S. for additional testing.

As has been mentioned previously, the big draw of the 2020 Nissan Frontier is that it gets the same 3.8-liter V6 and 9-speed automatic transmission as the redesigned 2021 truck. It's 93% different from the slightly larger displacement 4.0-liter engine of the old truck, and it's substantially more efficient and powerful. Despite the major changes, Nissan's powertrain expert who was leading the roundtable confirmed that it is still part of the VQ series of engines, which has been around since at least the Nissan 350Z, and a 3.7-liter version is used in the current 370Z. The powertrain expert also explained that the truck's increased efficiency is a result of multiple factors. In part, the engine is more efficient all around because of improved design, but it's also lighter than the old 4.0-liter engine.

Nissan is laying off about 10,000 workers in the U.S. as its plants sit idle. These layoffs will largely affect folks who worked at plants in Tennessee and Mississippi, according to a report by Nikkei. 

As of now, Nissan has announced plant shutdowns lasting through late April. The report says Nissan plans to rehire the workers that are being laid off once work is possible again, but they won't be getting paid in the meantime. We've asked for comment from Nissan to learn if everybody will be brought back on, or if Nissan has other plans in mind for restarting its factories.

The 2020 Nissan Titan Pro-4X takes the newly refreshed Titan full-sized pickup, adds some kit to give it some off-road grit, as well as a cosmetic treatment to give it a sporty look inside and out. It's not for everybody. Sales lag far behind the Detroit manufacturers, to put it mildly, and even well behind the Toyota Tundra. It lacks the flash of chrome we see on a lot of pickups, and Nissan took an interesting tack with design cues that surely not everyone will love. Finally, there's only one powertrain option: a big, naturally aspirated V8. Its extra equipment is compelling, though; the Bilstein shocks, electronic locking rear differential, big General Grabber tires, skid plates and tow hooks mean you can easily picture yourself far off the beaten path with ease.

The Titan's 5.6-liter V8 provides 400 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque. That's more power than most other V8s in the class, short of GM's burly 6.2-liter EcoTec3. But, it's the Titan's only engine offering. Want something more economical like Ford's turbo V6 engines or Ram's mild hybrids? No dice. That said, it's a sweetheart of a V8, providing wheel-spinning torque at stoplights, continued pull at the end of highway on-ramps, and a breathy growl of a soundtrack that pairs well with the motive experience. Its nine-speed automatic gearbox is an exceptional match, optimizing gears for a feel of linearity across the board, feeling quicker than the seven-speed auto in the Nissan Armada, and hesitating and hunting less than the 10-speed boxes of the competition.

TOKYO — Honda on Tuesday said that it had furloughed workers at its U.S. plants, which will be closed until May 1 as demand for cars in the country has plummeted due to the spread of the coronavirus.

A spokesman for Honda, which employs about 18,400 workers at plants in Alabama, Indiana and Ohio, said the Japanese automaker would guarantee salaries through Sunday, having suspended operations on March 23. Operations at its Powersports plant in South Carolina, which makes all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), have been suspended since March 26.

Infiniti is slowly coming round to the modern age of infotainment systems this year, and our first taste of that is in the 2020 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400. This performance coupe has an updated system in it that, while it looks a whole lot like it did before, represents a step forward for Infiniti.

Most importantly, Infiniti has finally added Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality for 2020. Every new 2020 model year car should ship with the smartphone connection technology baked in, and Infiniti has finally gotten with the program this year on nearly all of its cars (QX60 is the holdout). The delay might have something to do with Nissan/Infiniti's reluctance to share customer data to Apple and Google, or perhaps Infiniti was waiting to roll out a broader interface update, but either way, the hardware they've applied it to would seem to be the same as before. 

Nissan is committed to introducing its replacement for the aging Rogue crossover in 2020 despite potential complications due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company confirmed early Monday. 

"At this time, our new model launch programs for the U.S. are on track. The all-new Nissan Rogue will be in U.S. showrooms this fall," Nissan said in a statement obtained by Automotive News. 

Even though these types of ads aren’t as aggressive as say, Chevy’s “Real People, Not Actors” spots, name-dropping your competition can make you look a bit “thirsty”, which is unbecoming of an already strong-selling nameplate like the Honda CR-V.

The introduction of the North American version of the third-generation Nissan Sunny couldn't have been timed better: just months after the global economic gut-punch of the 1973 Oil Crisis. This car, known as the Datsun B210 on these shores, was a flyweight rear-driver with endearing looks and excellent fuel economy, and it sold like mad during its 1974-1978 run. Rust killed most B210s quickly in the corrosion-prone regions of the continent, but this orange '78 lived in Arizona and managed to hang on until age 42.

While the coronavirus pathogen and the COVID-19 illness dominates the news, auto manufacturers are give people fun distractions (that also keep the companies in those people's minds) by offering positive car-related activities. Audi has offered Zoom video conferencing backgrounds, Porsche recently released a documentary, and Aston Martin released downloadable images for coloring. This week, Toyota contributed to quarantine play time with templates for foldable Toyota 86 coupe models with retro liveries.

In total, Toyota released templates for six different-looking 86 models, but they're technically not new. These were originally created for Toyota's 50th anniversary in the United Kingdom and dropped around the time of the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Each livery is a nod to an important vehicle from Toyota's past, and Toyota actually created real cars with the same looks using vinyl wraps. 

YouTuber and automotive photographer ‘effspot’ owns two of the loudest cars anywhere in Japan and no, they're not supercars. Instead, one is a Toyota Century and the other is a Mercedes-Benz S600, both of which feature insane aftermarket exhaust systems.

Remember the front-wheel-drive Dodge and Plymouth Colts (not to mention the Plymouth Champ and Eagle Summit) of the late 1970s through the middle 1990s? Those were Mitsubishi Mirages, and you could buy them here with Mitsubishi badging from 1985 through 2002. Then, for the 2014 model year, the Mirage returned to North America, as the cheapest new car you could buy here. Now, barely a half-decade later, I'm seeing significant quantities of these Mirages in the car graveyards I frequent. Here's a pretty clean '15 in a yard located within sight of Pikes Peak in Colorado.

It’s cars like this 2004 Acura NSX-T that present a serious dilemma. Do you buy one in order to drive it as it creators intended, or do you just store it as an appreciating asset? Why not a bit of both?

Former Autoblog editor-in-chief Mike Austin was kind enough to drop this little nugget onto Twitter yesterday: the history of Mitsubishi timeline on the company's press website. Basically, it's a virtual museum, spanning from the 1917 Mitsubishi Model A to the 2008 Galant Fortis Sportback. Frankly, it's not that surprising that they didn't go much further beyond that, but still, the timeline provides both a fun trip down memory lane and an introduction to fun and/or wacky JDM models we never got. 

Besides showing photos, there's actually a sizable amount of info for each, which has quite clearly and often delightfully been translated from Japanese.

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. They talk about cars they've driven recently, including the 2020 Nissan Titan Pro-4X, Hyundai Kona and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Then they talk news, starting with Volvo's new pick-up and drop-off service. Then they talk about Q1 U.S. sales figures. Lastly, they discuss the possibility of new styles of motorcycle from Harley-Davidson, including a flat-track bike and a cafe racer.