An iPhone case from Nissan? As you can imagine, it would make no sense for the automaker to develop an ordinary case, and the so-called Nissan Scratch Shield iPhone Case is actually special. According to the company, it’s the world’s first “self-healing” iPhone cover: in other words, it quickly fixes (fine) scratches by itself.
Nissan says they used their self-healing paint finish originally… → Read More
We like the Leaf. It’s not a good choice for everyone, but it’s a great second car or city car, set back the most perhaps by the trouble one has to take in charging it. At home you are advised to spring for a high-capacity outlet, and abroad you must plan your trips to coincide with existing charge points. Anything that can make adding power to these cars easier will increase their… → Read More
One of the drawbacks of current (if you will) electric cars is the rather long time it takes to charge their batteries. We found with the Leaf that as long as you adapt your lifestyle to it a bit, it’s not a problem, but the unexpected happens and it would suck to be at low charge when you suddenly need to get to the hospital, or what have you. Quick-charge solutions are out there, but few are… → Read More
The Linux Foundation announced today the first ever Automotive Linux Summit. Taking place in Japan on November 28, 2011, it will be an opportunity to address the growing need for carmakers and Linux developers to collaborate on the future of cars as devices. Nissan and Toyota will both be there, along with Intel, NEC, and a host of other mobile solutions developers. → Read More
Next-generation homes are definitely one of the big trends at the CEATEC 2011 exhibition that currently takes place in Chiba, Japan. We have covered multiple “smart home” concepts from various Japan companies over the last years, and at CEATEC, Nissan’s so-called NSH-2012 Smart House of the Future is stealing the show.
It’s not a typical home but rather a simple house that’s specifically… → Read More
Car buying sucks but Nissan is trying to make it suck less by putting QR codes on vehicle window stickers. The thought is that buyers might want a little more info than the Maroni providers, and these QR codes are a direct link to Nissan. Jon Brancheau, Nissan’s VP of of Marketing calls the On Vehicle Graphics QR codes a “silent salesperson” but it’s more like a trustworthy salesperson. Amirite? → Read More
Consumers have spoken and Nissan has listened. The 2012 Nissan Leaf will now pack more standard features — and a noticeably higher price. Starting July 25 the second model year Leaf will be available for order in the Southeastern United States and Illinois. Consumers with existing reservations have first dibs, though. That is if those consumers are still on board after they see the new price. → Read More
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and 4R Energy Corporation announced today that the two companies have developed and installed a new EV charging solution that combines renewable solar energy and high capacity lithium-ion batteries. The system was recently installed for testing at Nissan’s global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan.
The system uses the solar cells to collect the energy and a large lithium-ion… → Read More
If the road is smooth enough, you can hear birds chirping while you’re going 35 mph. With the windows up. The Nissan Leaf is that quiet. When going less than 30 mph there’s just a slight electric whine from the powertrain and above 45 mph the wheels produces a steady hum. But there’s this special spot between 30 and 45 where the two combine in a way that they cancel each other… → Read More
Created for “a series of special demonstration appearances,” this Leaf Nismo RC is a racing-based rethinking of the Leaf design and powertrain. They’ve shaved off about 40% of the weight, bringing it down to just over 2000 lbs, lowered it to have only 2.4″ of clearance, and of course switched it over to rear wheel drive.
The performance is… well, we can’t expect too much, since it’s more or… → Read More
Although I’m excited about the Leaf and EVs in general, the launch hasn’t exactly been smooth. There have been shortages, range issues, and now some sort of bug with the AC unit that’s causing some cars to not start at all. It’s unclear how widespread the problem is, or what Nissan intends to do, but the consensus seems to be “if your Leaf gives you a weird error on… → Read More
Nissan’s unveiling the ESFLOW EV concept at the Geneva Auto Show next month. Well, here it is. Click through for the interior shot. God I wish the CE industry had the guts to show-off their forward-thinking concepts — just the Microsoft Courier comes to mind. Anyway, the European auto show is actually expected to feature a fair amount of new production and concept vehicles with this Nissan as one… → Read More
The Nissan Leaf is a pretty neat car. It has no gas tank or combustion engine. Instead, it’s powered by lithium-ion batteries and an 80kW electric motor. It lasts up to 100 miles on one charge. Unfortunately, the the Leaf isn’t sporty or fun to drive. The only thrill you get is from driving one of the first EVs on the road. Nissan, however, is capable of making some pretty good sports cars… → Read More
Never before has an EV been European Car of the Year; this year the Nissan Leaf gets it. Similar to the North American Car of the Year, which the Chevrolet Volt won, the European COTY is chosen by auto journalists; 58 of them from 23 European countries. The contest was very close. The Leaf rang up 257 points from the journos, besting the Alfa Romeo Giulietta by only 9 points. So why did the Nissan… → Read More
Being the first affordable all-electric car on the market, the Leaf was kind of guaranteed to be a big seller. But their way of going about selling the thing seems to have given their customers unrealistic expectations of when their cars would actually arrive. People have been given extremely vague promises of when their car will arrive (“4-7 months”?), and theories have arisen in the community to… → Read More
Hope you got your Leaf already ordered because otherwise you’re out of luck, hippie. Nissan just stopped taking orders for its electric sedan now that there are 20,000 orders. That was the plan all along, however, Nissan didn’t expect to hit this mark until December, which clearly states there’s a demand for a polished electric vehicle. Hear that, Chevy? Your Cruze EV better hit American dealers. → Read More
Nissan announced plans to out a pure-electric commercial van by 2013. Details are a bit light , but apparently it will be about the same thing as Ford’s upcoming Transit Connect Electric. It’s easy to see where Nissan is going with this, though. It just makes so much sense. → Read More
I just had the opportunity to test-drive the new Nissan Leaf here in sunny Seattle, and had enough time with the car to garner some first impressions, take some pictures, and shoot a little video. The Leaf, as you are probably aware, is Nissan’s new plug-in electric vehicle, and the first of the new generation of consumer EVs to be released here in the States. Sure, you’ve got the… → Read More
Nissan‘s Leaf is almost ready to be picked. The company announced its all-electric car will be available to buy as early as December, but only for those in California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Tennessee. Other parts of the country will have to hold their horsepower a little bit longer.
Nissan chose to release to those five states first because they’re home to the EV project, the world’s… → Read More
Nissan has decided that Hawaii will be in the first wave of Leaf-enabled states. They say (truthfully, I think) that it’s because of Hawaii’s commitment to green power and all that. Yes, very good. Lots of solar. But, as Treehugger notes, Hawaii is also a rather small island where the range limits of the Leaf won’t really be apparent during the critical launch period. It’d be like if they launched… → Read More
This, according to Nissan, is the future of urban transportation. It’s called the Land Glider (sounds a bit like a Land Rover knock-off, no?), and it’s designed to city-dwellers of all ages. The idea is to make a small, energy efficient vehicle that’s capable of easily navigating a city’s tight spaces. → Read More
It seems the car industry doesn’t have any problems left that need to be solved. Or what else can explain Nissan’s shot at designing a car that can “show emotions”? The so-called Smiling Vehicle was jointly developed by the Hara Design Institute Nippon Design Center and the automaker. And yes, the mini vehicle, based on the Nissan Cube, does look friendly.
The concept car is covered with a… → Read More
Nissan announced Thursday [press release in English] that it has developed robots that are able to move in a group without colliding into each other. Much like a school of fish, the so-called Eporo can also avoid obstacles standing in their way safely. Nissan claims this is the first time the world sees robots that are able to show group behavior. → Read More
The U.S. Government created a requirement that by 2020, the majority of cars sold here must get at least 35 miles per gallon. This requires a big commitment on the part of auto makers and so the Energy Department was authorized last year to lend $25 billion dollars. The first round of financing is expected to be announced today with Ford, Nissan, and Tesla getting all getting a sizable chunk… → Read More
<img src="http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/whitezombie2.jpg"?Everyone knows that the Tesla Roadster is a quick car and can beat most Porsche’s down the quarter mile. That $100k+ ride doesn’t have anything on this Datsun powered by lightweight lithium ion batteries dubbed White Zombie. This little guy can scoot down the strip in under 11.5 seconds at a speed of… → Read More
Nissan Motor, in cooperation with the University of Tokyo, has developed a two-wheeled mobile robot [JP] that can avoid collisions with objects in its path. The French/Japanese car maker said the so-called BR23C employs an avoidance mechanism similar to that of a bee (which avoids collisions even when flying with other bees in a swarm). The technology is being developed to prevent car collisions… → Read More
Nissan‘s proprietary “Intelligent Key” technology will soon be built into a mobile phone, which is produced by Sharp and, at this point, unfortunately Japan-only. The Japanese car company’s key system is already used in over 950,000 vehicles but now, drivers can wirelessly enter, exit and start their Nissans with the (yet to be named) Sharp phone. Reportedly, the device is… → Read More
Nissan is throwing its hat into the electric vehicle ring in a big way. The Japanese auto maker just announced the development of a vehicle that has a new type of battery. Compared to the batteries found in other electric (and hybrid) vehicles, the one found in Nissan’s can store twice as much electricity. Batteries are seen as one of the choke points in electric and hybrid vehicle… → Read More
Nissan and Tennessee’s state government announced they will jointly promote local use of electric cars. The automaker hopes to build an infrastructure that makes it possible to launch electric cars in the United States in 2010. Nissan Motors’ president Carlos Ghosn made the announcement at his company’s North American headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee. Nissan and its French sister… → Read More
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