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.

Nissan is planning to introduce the next-generation Rogue before the end of 2020, but the Brazilian government appears to have ruined its surprise. Patent images published online by the country's Ministry of Economy give us an excellent look at the company's next crossover several months before we're supposed to see it.

The images suggest stylists moved the Rogue -- which is known as the X-Trail in some global markets, including Brazil -- in a brawnier direction. Its front end looks taller and more upright, and it falls in line with Nissan's current design language by gaining thinner lights and thick u-shaped trim that underlines the grille. Out back, its hatch is more sculpted than the current model's and its lights are smaller. The basic proportions don't change. 

Say hello to the 2020 Nissan Navara N-Trek Warrior. It looks pretty serious, doesn’t it? That’s because it is.

Though trucks, crossovers and SUVs rule the earth, there are still a lot of good, honest sedans around. And many people actually like them. Though sales in the segment have slipped, automakers still moved more than 1.5 million sedans in the U.S. last year, and sales of the perennially third-place Nissan Altima remained stable at more than 209,000 cars, a bright spot in what has been an otherwise difficult period for Nissan following the Carlos Ghosn saga.

Keeping the fire stoked, so to speak, is the 2020 Nissan Altima, which returns with minimal updates after a complete redesign last year. This latest Altima has a sharp, sophisticated look, with a floating roof, a creased character line down its flanks, and the corporate V-Motion grille. Aside from being a vast improvement inside and out over the generation it replaced (not to mention being better to drive), the 2020 Nissan Altima also has the distinction of offering all-wheel drive, an option that might give it an edge on shoppers' pro/con lists. Only the Subaru Legacy and the recently introduced AWD version of the Toyota Camry offer this feature. Those would also be two of the Altima's top competitors, and in general, we think they are stronger than the Altima. So too are the well-rounded Honda Accord, sporty and luxurious Mazda6 and stylish, value-oriented Hyundai Sonata. With the midsize sedan pie shrinking, it takes a lot to get noticed, and although the Altima can certainly do that, its competitors do a better job of getting people to take them home.

Following the closure of car factories by Ford, GM, FCA and Honda, another group of automakers is shutting down plants in the face of the COVID-19 coronavirus threat. Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai have all announced they will be closing production facilities temporarily. The number of plants and the length of time closed varies significantly between companies, though.

Nissan, in a move similar to the American automakers, will shut down all U.S. factories starting Friday. The planned reopening of those plants is April 6. The company reports no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among its factory employees and that this is a precautionary measure.

TOKYO — Nissan is likely to pull out from a venture capital fund it runs with alliance partners Renault and Mitsubishi Motors, as part of the Japanese automaker's drive to cut costs and conserve cash, two sources said.

Nissan will formally take a decision on whether to leave the fund, Alliance Ventures, by the end of this month, the two Nissan insiders told Reuters, declining to be identified because the information has not been made public.

The Skyline moniker dates back to the 1950s, when Nissan launched the original Prince. A Japan-only affair, it was assembled in just under 34,000 units between 1957 and 1964, in four body styles, with front-engine and rear-wheel drive layout.

The first- and second-generation Nissan X-Trails were both boxy vehicles with opinion-splitting looks meshed together with impressive features and rugged versatility. In late 2013, the crossover, which is marketed as the Rogue in North America, was overhauled for its third-generation where it adopted a far more stylish and modern appearance.

God bless those silly promo/giveaway events they stage during breaks at sports events, amirite? Here's Exhibit A.

At an Ole Miss men's basketball game against their hated rival Alabama on Saturday, Mary Ann Wakefield was picked to participate in the "Putt For a Car" challenge, a promotional event for Mississippi dealerships Cannon Motors with a grand prize of a brand-new 2020 Nissan Altima. And so the 86-year-old Rebels fan, after being shown where the cup was located, walked up to a golf ball, positioned her putter, took a look at the cup, and, cool as a cucumber, proceeded to drain a hole in one down the full length of the hardwood court, 94 feet.

Nissan is going to try its hand in the car subscription game. Similar to other manufacturer's subscription efforts, Nissan's is also extremely limited in scope. If you live within 20 miles of the South Main neighborhood of Houston, this service is open for business, according to Nissan's press release. That covers a decent chunk of the greater Houston area, but certainly not all of it.

There are two tiers to choose from if you do want to subscribe to Nissans. The first tier costs $699/month, and allows access to the Altima, Rogue, Pathfinder and Frontier. Now, we know what you're thinking: $699/month for a Rogue? There's more to it. Nissan covers insurance, roadside assistance, regular maintenance, cleaning and delivery. The best part of the service is that Nissan allows for unlimited switching between vehicles, so you can swap every single day if you so desire. Still, it's not cheap, and all of those vehicles can be leased for much lower monthly rates — you're just on the hook for all the typical costs of ownership. We'll also note the $495 "membership activation" fee that you'll have to pay at the start, adding even more to the cost.

YOKOHAMA — Nissan's new chief executive said on Tuesday he would accept being fired if he fails to turn around Japan's second biggest automaker which is grappling with plunging sales in the aftermath of the scandal surrounding ex-chairman Carlos Ghosn.

Makoto Uchida, who took over the top job in December, put his job on the line at the automaker's shareholders' meeting, where he faced demands ranging from cutting executive pay to offering a bounty to bring Ghosn back to Japan after he fled to Lebanon.

The Nissan Navara is getting a refreshed N-Guard variant in Europe adding new premium features to the pickup truck's range-topping trim.

Nissan saw its market cap falling behind fellow Japanese car makers like Subaru after its shares fell by 9.6 percent to a new decade low.

In a time when Nissan has filed a civil suit against former chairman Carlos Ghosn, is suffering from a sales slump, and is losing millions of dollars, the company has dropped a surprise album. Unlike Elon Musk's song, which has EDM vibes, Nissan's aural soundtrack is of a more relaxed nature and is aimed at a much younger demographic. Nissan Leaf Dream Drive is a string of lullabies created with sounds from electric cars and internal combustion vehicles.

Parents know that a car ride is a great way to get kids to sleep. But that approach emits CO2, and therefore contributes to climate change. So, for parents who don't have a fully electric car like the Leaf, Nissan created an album that emulates the experience of riding in a car.