Versa offers versatility at bottom dollar

I just thought I'd post a recent story of mine from the Tennessee Journalist.

photo by Rob Baldus

These days, everyone is looking to stretch every cent they have - especially college students. With the economy in shambles and the potential job market bleak, what’s a college student to do about transportation?

Nissan has a solution. The 2009 Nissan Versa combines value with reliability and safety, all wrapped in a somewhat stylish exterior.

Available in four-door sedan or five-door hatchback, the Versa is a handy little car. The short test drive we had reviled an adequate amount of power coming from its 107 horsepower, 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. A quick downshift of its five-speed manual transmission, launching the tachometer close to the 6,500-rpm redline, made us quickly forget we were in an “econo-box.”

Fuel economy is an amazing 26 city, 34 highway with the 1.6-liter. And with a 13.2-gallon fuel tank, the Versa has an estimated highway range of 400 miles.

Nissan has really done their homework in the reliability department. They claim that the Versa doesn’t need a tune-up for 105,000 miles, and every new Nissan is covered by a three-year, 36,000-mile warranty.

Pricing for the Versa is the best part of this sweet package. The 1.6-liter “base” Versa starts at a meager $9,990. However, those wanting amenities like a radio and air conditioning will have to spend more. Air conditioning is a $1,000 option and a radio isn’t even an option on 1.6-liter - although Nissan was kind enough to pre-wire the car and include four speakers.

Upgrading to the 1.8-liter four-cylinder would get you a radio and air conditioning, not to mention a more powerful engine that makes 122 horsepower. The 1.8-liter is offered in both the sedan and hatchback versions. However, the 1.6-liter is only offered in the sedan flavor.

Our overall impression of the Nissan was good. We enjoyed the spacious interior, although the lack of a radio and A/C would hinder the car’s livability on long trips. Fit and finish were very good for such an inexpensive car.

Visit Nissan online and build your own Versa or take a look at their other products.

A quick update...

Just thought I'd give a quick update about what's going on.

First, I got my camera back! I called Canon last Monday asking about the status and what was going on. At that time, they hadn't even started looking at it.

On Friday of that same week, I came home (Lenoir City) to find the camera in the mail. Included was a repair statement detailing the work done. Apparently, a internal part shorted out causing the error message. The problem was fixed under warranty. So happy...

So on Saturday, armed with my camera one again, I decided to get the jump on my photojournalism project. I went down to Wilburn's barbershop in downtown Lenoir City to capture the happenings of "hair" as my project required. I got off some awesome shots!

The barbershop is so authentic in its own antiquated way. I'll post my final project when finished. It will consist of a slide show, ambient noise and an interview with Wilburn himself. Should be really cool.

I'm also thinking about submitting the project to the local paper. Considering the size of the paper, it should get printed. (knock on wood)

Otherwise, school is going well. I'm getting ready to submit my application for a summer practicum at the Knoxville News Sentinel. It would give me some really great experience and something journalistic to do over the summer...for 40 hours a week.

In other news, I participated in my first radio show tonight. Five guys from the Tennessee Journalist crammed ourselves into the TNJN office for an hour of automotive discussion. "Car Nuts On Campus" got off to a slow start with some dead air time and awkward pauses but finished with some great conversation and enthusiasm. We even had two callers asking for advice on car trouble. Now that we sort of know what we're doing, next week should run fairly smoothly.

I would post a link to the podcast of our internet radio show however, due to inexperience with the entire radio process, our show was not saved. Our technical support left half way through the show and didn't return until we had already shut down the computers. Oh well. there's always next week's show...

So this has turned out to be more than a quick update but a needed update regardless.

Please - even if you don't know me - comment below! Give me your thoughts/feedback!

I just thought I would give a quick update to remind myself of this "responsibility" and to let anyone reading that I haven't forgotten you.

The past few weeks have seen a multitude of things happen. Most notably, my camera, a Canon Rebel XTi, decided to go on the fritz. During a very important/informal photo shoot - with a very willing subject who has allowed me to photograph him and his artwork - my camera started giving Error 99 messages on the view screen. I tried everything to revive my poor camera but to no avail.

After calling Canon, they determined the problem was in the camera body and the whole thing needed to be sent in for repair. Well that wouldn't normally be a big deal but I'm up to my neck in photojournalism 490 projects. AHHH!!!

In other news, I have submitted a new article to my editor at tnjn.com. However, he has decided that making spoof movies is a better use of time. (sorry Rob) Anyway, I hope the article will be posted shortly. No worries though as the story is fairly evergreen.

That's it for this edition of The Vol Bogger.