Auto News 5

The first rule in selling hybrids is to engineer them to achieve outrageous fuel economy. Look at the EPA-champ Toyota Prius, now clogging passing lanes all over America. In contrast, look at the entire crop of performance-oriented hybrids like the Honda Accord Hybrid, the Lexus LS600hL and GS450h, and most recently, the Infiniti M35h. All of those cars promised increased levels performance without the fuel economy hit. What they actually delivered was increased sticker prices and decreased sales.

DeltaWing designer Ben Bowlby's yearlong odyssey to convince the automotive world of the merits of his highly advanced road racer ended sadly and abruptly against an unforgiving wall in France.

In 2014, Nissan will revive its famous Datsun brand -- starting with India, Indonesia, and Russia, where Datsun will be an inexpensive, no-frills entree to four-wheeled transportation. Given Datsun's name recognition in the United States, where we fondly remember machines like the Z-Car, the 510, and the overachieving little pickups, it's not inconceivable that a reborn Datsun might someday return to these shores. So we headed to Nissan headquarters near Nashville to raid the Nissan Heritage Collection and revisit the cars that made the Son of DAT a household name.