As the global community become increasingly aware of the global warming threat, the auto industry is hard at work to develop new technologies to be used on automobiles to make them more environments friendly. Nissan, the third largest Japanese car manufacturer, has already taken steps to help protect the environment. The company has released its Green Program which covers the steps they will take until the end of this decade. While the said program was announced last year, this year saw the company taking the necessary steps to achieve their goal.

One of the developments being pursued by Nissan is the production of a three-liter vehicle. The number means not the displacement of the car’s internal combustion engine but the amount of fuel it will consume for every 100 kilometers. If Nissan can succeed to produce a car with fuel efficiency as that, they would pull in front of both Honda and Toyota in terms of fuel efficiency.

Converted to gas mileage, the proposed car will have a rating of a little more than 94 mpg. This may be an ambitious plan but Nissan has proven that they have what it takes to develop advanced technologies for their vehicles. While there is not a word yet from Nissan as to how the development of the three-liter car is going, the auto industry is waiting eagerly for the result.

With gas mileage such as that, even the fuel miser hybrid vehicles will be left far behind. The class leading Toyota Prius has a gas mileage rating of 51 mpg for city driving and 60 mpg for highway driving according to the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA. Even if that rating is true in real-world driving, it still falls short of the 94 mpg that the three-liter car will have. Aside from the three-liter vehicle, Nissan is also planning to add more flex-fuel vehicles to their current lineup. These vehicles will be able to run not only on gasoline but also on E85 - a combination of gasoline and bio-ethanol. Currently, most of Nissan’s flex-fuel vehicles are designed to run on E10, a fuel composed of ten percent bio-ethanol and 90 percent gasoline.

One Nissan vehicle already being sold in the United States auto market capable of running on 85 percent bio-ethanol is the Nissan Armada. In Brazil where bio-ethanol is abundant, Nissan will be marketing a vehicle which will be able to run on 100 percent bio-ethanol, eliminating its dependence on fossil fuels. In the United States, it would take a longer time for a Nissan vehicle capable of running on 100 percent bio-ethanol to be marketed. The reason for this is the scarcity of refilling station in the United States which offers bio-ethanol. In fact, this lack of refilling station is seen as a big problem for flex-fuel vehicles in the U.S. In fact, a recent study shows that 99 percent of flex-fuel vehicles on America’s road run on gasoline which beats the purpose of the vehicle.

Nissan is also committed to the development of technologies which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions. One of the technologies being used by Nissan to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by their vehicles is the continuously variable transmission (CVT). This gearbox provides an almost infinite number of gear ratios between two preset gear ratios. This means that less power is wasted which translates to better fuel economy. Reduced amount of fuel being burned means lower greenhouse gas produced. The company also uses different exhaust gas filter s which treats the emission to make it safe for the environment in its route from the combustion chamber to the Nissan exhaust pipes.

Another technology being considered by the Japanese car manufacturer is the gas electric hybrid technology. While Nissan Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn has expressed that hybrids are still impractical to both consumers and manufacturers, the company has already released a hybrid version of the Nissan Altima in the United States auto market. The powertrain used by the Altima hybrid is sourced from an independent supplier. Nissan is already developing a hybrid powertrain of their own and has announced that they will make it available in the market by the year 2010.

Further proof of Nissan’s commitment to the production of green cars is the opening of their new technology center in Japan. The said facility located in Atsugi at the Kanagawa Prefecture is where Nissan is developing advanced lithium-ion battery packs. The said battery technology will be use on their future hybrid vehicles. The said battery packs are lighter and more powerful than the current nickel-metal hydride battery packs that are used by hybrid vehicles. The former can also be used on fuel-cell vehicles although Nissan has not yet expressed their intention to build one. Ghosn said that diesel and flex-fuel vehicles are the most practical alternative fuel technology today.



By: RyanThomas

About the Author:

As the global community become increasingly aware of the global warming threat, the auto industry is hard at work to develop new technologies to be used on automobiles to make them more environments friendly. Nissan, the third largest Japanese car manufacturer, has already taken steps to help protect the environment. The company has released its Green Program which covers the steps they will take until the end of this decade. While the said program was announced last year, this year saw the company taking the necessary steps to achieve their goal.

One of the developments being pursued by Nissan is the production of a three-liter vehicle. The number means not the displacement of the car’s internal combustion engine but the amount of fuel it will consume for every 100 kilometers. If Nissan can succeed to produce a car with fuel efficiency as that, they would pull in front of both Honda and Toyota in terms of fuel efficiency.

Converted to gas mileage, the proposed car will have a rating of a little more than 94 mpg. This may be an ambitious plan but Nissan has proven that they have what it takes to develop advanced technologies for their vehicles. While there is not a word yet from Nissan as to how the development of the three-liter car is going, the auto industry is waiting eagerly for the result.

With gas mileage such as that, even the fuel miser hybrid vehicles will be left far behind. The class leading Toyota Prius has a gas mileage rating of 51 mpg for city driving and 60 mpg for highway driving according to the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA. Even if that rating is true in real-world driving, it still falls short of the 94 mpg that the three-liter car will have. Aside from the three-liter vehicle, Nissan is also planning to add more flex-fuel vehicles to their current lineup. These vehicles will be able to run not only on gasoline but also on E85 - a combination of gasoline and bio-ethanol. Currently, most of Nissan’s flex-fuel vehicles are designed to run on E10, a fuel composed of ten percent bio-ethanol and 90 percent gasoline.

One Nissan vehicle already being sold in the United States auto market capable of running on 85 percent bio-ethanol is the Nissan Armada. In Brazil where bio-ethanol is abundant, Nissan will be marketing a vehicle which will be able to run on 100 percent bio-ethanol, eliminating its dependence on fossil fuels. In the United States, it would take a longer time for a Nissan vehicle capable of running on 100 percent bio-ethanol to be marketed. The reason for this is the scarcity of refilling station in the United States which offers bio-ethanol. In fact, this lack of refilling station is seen as a big problem for flex-fuel vehicles in the U.S. In fact, a recent study shows that 99 percent of flex-fuel vehicles on America’s road run on gasoline which beats the purpose of the vehicle.

Nissan is also committed to the development of technologies which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions. One of the technologies being used by Nissan to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by their vehicles is the continuously variable transmission (CVT). This gearbox provides an almost infinite number of gear ratios between two preset gear ratios. This means that less power is wasted which translates to better fuel economy. Reduced amount of fuel being burned means lower greenhouse gas produced. The company also uses different exhaust gas filter s which treats the emission to make it safe for the environment in its route from the combustion chamber to the Nissan exhaust pipes.

Another technology being considered by the Japanese car manufacturer is the gas electric hybrid technology. While Nissan Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn has expressed that hybrids are still impractical to both consumers and manufacturers, the company has already released a hybrid version of the Nissan Altima in the United States auto market. The powertrain used by the Altima hybrid is sourced from an independent supplier. Nissan is already developing a hybrid powertrain of their own and has announced that they will make it available in the market by the year 2010.

Further proof of Nissan’s commitment to the production of green cars is the opening of their new technology center in Japan. The said facility located in Atsugi at the Kanagawa Prefecture is where Nissan is developing advanced lithium-ion battery packs. The said battery technology will be use on their future hybrid vehicles. The said battery packs are lighter and more powerful than the current nickel-metal hydride battery packs that are used by hybrid vehicles. The former can also be used on fuel-cell vehicles although Nissan has not yet expressed their intention to build one. Ghosn said that diesel and flex-fuel vehicles are the most practical alternative fuel technology today.



By: RyanThomas

About the Author:

It is widely known that Nissan is in the auto industry a long time and through the years, Nissan has introduced some of the most memorable auto models. These vehicles are now being showcased at the company’s auto museum in Tokyo.

The Ginza Gallery as it is called is located right in the middle of Tokyo’s shopping and business district. It combines the heritage of Nissan and the new auto models in its showroom. Unlike many auto museums, the Ginza Gallery is open to the public and is conveniently located in front of Nissan’s headquarters in the said city.

One of the vehicles on the gallery is the Nissan X-Trail - the compact crossover SUV that Nissan sells in the United States auto market. Its presence at the museum is proof that the gallery not only displays classic cars but also the new vehicles that Nissan produces. The X-Trail’s direct competitors are the Toyota RAV4 and the Honda CR-V. The X-Trail is assembled at Nissan’s facility in the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

A classic Nissan car displayed at the museum is the Fairlady. The roadster is considered as one of the best looking convertibles of its time. The Fairlady is the direct ancestor of the Z car which Nissan is known for. It was first produced by the car manufacturer in 1959 and was discontinued in 1970. Throughout its stint in the market, Nissan produced 40,000 units of the roadster. The Fairlady badge though is not used in other markets. Instead, it was marketed under the Datsun Sports name. The popularity of the Fairlady is due to the fact that they are a cheaper alternative to European sports cars.

Another classic Nissan car at the Ginza gallery is the 2000 GTX. The Skyline 2000 GTX benefited from the success of the Fairlady in the sense that the capability of the company to produce high performance vehicles is already made known to the car buying public. The 2000 GTX is rated to have a top speed of 120 miles per hour. The reputation and the power of the 2000 GTX made it a big success since like the Fairlady, it is competitively priced. In fact, the 2000 GTX is used by celebrity racing enthusiasts.

Another classic model showcased at Nissan’s auto museum is the Nissan Silvia introduced in 1964. The sport coupe debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show that year and is known to be hand-built and based on the Fairlady. The fact that every Nissan Silvia was hand-built made the coupe an expensive one. From 1964 to 1968 when production was discontinued, there were 554 units of this car that was produced. Most of these cars were sold in Japan while 49 units where exported to Australia and ten more were sent to other parts of the world.

While production for the vehicle was discontinued in 1968, the Silvia will return once again to Nissan’s lineup in 1974 and was once again discontinued in 2002. In its first stint in the market, the Silvia did not attract much attention from car buyers, but in its revival in the 1970s, its popularity took off giving Nissan’s S chassis its place in the annals of the auto industry.

Another classic car displayed at the museum is the Datsun Cherry. The car family is the first Nissan vehicle to use a front-wheel drive configuration. The subcompact car is later named as the Nissan Pulsar although in some markets, it is still called the Cherry. Like its contemporaries in Datsun’s lineup, it is also engineered to be a fast car. In fact, a coupe version of the Cherry made appearances in the Japanese race circuit in the early 1970s.

Another classic model in display at the museum is the Nissan Laurel which was introduced by the company in 1968. It was intended to fill the gap between the Bluebird and the Nissan Cedric during that time. The Laurel is only marketed in select Asian and European car markets. Through its stint in Nissan’s lineup, the Laurel underwent ten generation of redesigns. Unlike the Cherry, the Laurel used the rear-wheel drive configuration.

The last vehicle on display at the museum is the Nissan Cedric. The Cedric was first introduced in 1960 and remains in Nissan’s lineup to this day making it one of Nissan’s longest running models. The Cedric is a large luxury car and is easily recognizable as a Nissan car. Its present model uses the same design concepts used by other Nissan cars from the nose, fender, Nissan door handles, and rear bumper.



By: RyanThomas

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