Nissan's most popular car gets new look

The 2016 Altima SR takes aim at the fast-growing sport variants of midsize sedans made by competitors. COURTESY OF NISSAN

Nissan unveiled its redesigned 2016 Altima earlier this week, with the car set to go on sale in November for a suggested retail price starting at $22,500. The exterior of the new Altima will follow the Nissan “Engergetic Flow” design that debuted with the 2015 Murano and 2016 Maxima. That includes a lowered, muscular front, V-motion grille and a new hood and fenders. For 2016, the Altima line will include a new SR model featuring 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, smoked headlights, paddle shifters, a rear spoiler, unique suspension tuning and sport interior accents. “The new Altima SR is a real sporting vehicle, not just a marketing package,” José Muñoz, Nissan’s executive vice president and North America chairman, said in a statement.

Self-parking technology works but drivers resistant, study finds: Even as automakers take advantage of self-parking technology, most drivers would rather continue to do the parking themselves, based on a new survey from the Auto Club. According to the study, just 25 percent of American drivers would trust the car to park itself. That said, AAA tested the technology on five 2015 vehicles – the Lincoln MKC, Mercedes-Benz ML400 4Matic, Cadillac CTS-V Sport, BMW i3 and Jeep Cherokee Limited – and found that in four areas the cars performed better by themselves than with the drivers helping out: Self-parking systems had 81 percent fewer curb strikes; used 47 percent fewer maneuvers to parallel park; parked 10 percent faster; and parked 37 percent closer to the curb.

Screen and TV cars on the auction block: A ’49 Triumph TR5 motorcycle ridden by The Fonz on the TV sitcom “Happy Days” will be among the Hollywood vehicles up for bid during the Profiles in History auction Tuesday-Thursday at the auction house’s Calabasas office. Estimated price for the Triumph? $100,000 to $150,000. Among other rides to be auctioned are a ’58 Chevrolet Impala driven by Ron Howard in the film “American Graffiti” ($800,000 to $1 million) and the Black Beauty car from the movie “The Green Hornet” ($200,000 to $300,000). To find out more, visit profilesinhistory.com.

Mazda contributes to O.C.’s hungry: The Mazda Foundation has announced a $500,000 grant to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. The grant, to be spread out over three years, will allow for 500,000 meals to be distributed annually to the county’s hungry population. Second Harvest provides food to more than 200,000 people monthly, through agencies in 440 locations around the county. The Mazda Foundation is the fund-raising arm of Irvine-based Mazda North American Operations.

Contact the writer: leosmith@ocregister.com; On Twitter: @LeoSmithOC

Nissan"s most popular car gets new look