In the race to produce green vehicles, Nissan is lagging behind its fellow Japanese firms Honda and Toyota. These two car companies are already enjoying success in the United States auto market in terms of the sale of their hybrid vehicles. The Toyota Prius is a strong seller as well as the Honda Civic Hybrid.

For Nissan though, they are concentrating on producing vehicles equipped with the CVT or the continuously variable transmission. The use of the said gear box reduces the amount of fuel consumed by vehicles equipped with it. This means that greenhouse gas is also reduced. While Nissan’s use of the CVT protects the environment in its own way, car buyers are looking at hybrid vehicles as the better choice.

In response to this, Nissan is set to enter the fray of car manufacturers producing hybrid cars. In order to develop a green car that can be serious competition for the Prius and the Civic hybrid, Nissan built a technology center where developments of hybrid technology will be carried out. The new facility recently opened is located in Atsugi - a city in the Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. At this facility, Nissan is developing lithium-ion batteries which will be used on the production of a hybrid vehicle.

Currently, hybrid vehicles uses nickel-metal hydride battery packs. The lithium-ion batteries being developed by Nissan for automotive application is considered a better choice since it weighs less and packs more power. Some of the tests being carried out by technicians at the said facility is rattling the batteries to simulate driving. They are also being tested under extreme temperature. This is to make sure that they will not malfunction during cold winter drives or will not explode when the vehicle gets too hot.

The development of the batteries is a step toward the mass production of Nissan green vehicles which is seen as a way to bring the company closer to Honda and Toyota in terms of sales.

Present at the opening of the technology center is Nissan Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn. “Whether products with technology that appeals to consumers can be offered in a timely manner will determine the winners and the losers,” Ghosn said during the opening ceremonies. While the company has the resources to invest in the tech center, they are still hampered by their near-collapse during the previous decade. The company’s current CEO is given much if not all of the credit for turning around the company to what it is now today. Last year though, the company suffered its first setback since Ghosn took the reins.

The year 2006 also saw Honda overtaking Nissan to become the second largest Japanese car manufacturer. The reason for Nissan’s poor year is the lack of auto models in their lineup. They have also been criticized for not producing hybrid cars. While the company is being wrongfully accused of that since their CVT reduces greenhouse gas emissions, they have remained resilient by setting a goal of selling a large number of Nissan vehicles equipped with CVT. Aside from the CVT, Nissan also uses Nissan EGR valves to reduce the amount of nitrogen dioxide emissions.

At the opening of the new facility, Ghosn reiterated that they are not seeking to add a new member to the Nissan-Renault alliance. “We’re not talking with anybody,” he said. “I don’t think it’s the right timing today.” He said that while it is speculated that Nissan should partner with more car companies aside from Renault so that it can gain more technological advances, they will not be looking to do that since Nissan is developing its new technology. The new facility is concrete evidence that Nissan can develop technology on its own.

While it is apparent that Nissan is taking steps to gain ground against Toyota and Honda, experts in the industry said that Nissan will be fighting a hard battle although it most certainly will not be a losing one. This is because Honda and Toyota are fueled by their competitiveness that they are constantly outdoing the other in terms of developing new automotive technologies. Toyota is known for its leadership in hybrid technology while Honda has the first U.S. government approved fuel-cell vehicle. For Nissan’s part, not only will they be producing more hybrid vehicles but they have also announced that they will be producing a diesel powered vehicle for the United States auto market.

The popularity of diesel engines in Europe and the fact the Renault is based in France means that Toyota will be able to seek the help of their alliance partner in developing the diesel-powered Nissan Maxima which is set to be released in 2010.



By: RyanThomas

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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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