Nissan News

  • Toyota Prius body damage

    When we wrote about the debate over whether silent electric vehicles should have noise legislated into them, we obviously hit a nerve. Now EV enthusiast Mark Larsen has added further data to his original analysis of 1994-2008 traffic death figures from the Fatality Reporting System maintained by the NHTSA. He added a new analysis of injury data, not just fatalities. At speeds below the 15 miles per hour where electric-drive vehicles may be hard to hear, collisions between vehicles and pedestrians are far more likely to result in injury than death. And, he also adjusted the injury and death...

  • Mitsubishi MiEV
    Mitsubishi i-MiEV Edges Closer To Late-2011 U.S. Rollout

    With the 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt arriving this fall—if you're so lucky to be one of the top names on the list—the electric vehicle buzz is about migrate from social media platforms and signup lists to real dealership showrooms.

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf
    VIDEO: 2011 Nissan Leaf EV Navigation System Demo

      When the 2011 Nissan Leaf goes on sale later this year, each copy of the first mass-market electric car on earth will come with a navigation system. Nifty spiff--and an integral part of the Leaf experience. High Gear Media took a quick drive in a 2011 Leaf prototype today in San Jose, while...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf
    2011 Nissan Leaf: Live Photos

    The 2011 Nissan Leaf is in the final stages of development before it rolls into showrooms late this year. Today, High Gear Media took the Leaf for a first drive around San Jose, California, before the Plug-In 2010 Conference and before a very big announcement from Nissan on future Leaf sales. We're...

  • Leaf Trio
    Should Nissan Offer Warranty Options For The 2011 Leaf?

     What is an acceptable warranty for an electric car? Three years? Four years? Ten Years? And should customers be able to choose what that warranty level is? That is the question Nissan was asking last week when it sent out a questionnaire to the 16,100 people who have paid out $99 to reserve a...

  • Toyota Prius body damage
    Sounds For Silent EVs: Solving a Problem That May Not Exist

    It's a wonderful TV news flash: Blind people in peril from killer electric cars! News at 11. The fear is that electric vehicles are so silent that blind people can't hear them coming, so new draft safety regulations may now require electric vehicles to emit sounds. There's just one problem...

  • 2011 Nissan LEAF prototype

    According to a recent report by Nissan, most consumers signed up to buy the 2011 Nissan Leaf are already electric vehicle owners or hybrid drivers. In short, early adopters are mainly enthusiasts who already know the ins and outs of driving electric. But what about the general public? We've sat down and come up with five questions we think Consumers will want to know before they stump up the cash for a new car powered by electric. 1. How do we refuel? It's a simple question that's often overlooked with a simple answer. - You plug it in. But let's examine how, why and when. Most consumers will...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf
    Most 2011 Nissan Leaf Drivers Plan to Lease Rather Than Buy

    Are you buying a 2011 Nissan Leaf? If you're one of the 16,064 lucky people who has already placed a $99 deposit down on one of the most eagerly anticipated cars of the year, Nissan thinks it knows how you'll finance the $32,780 cost of purchase. Nissan expects most people to lease. And it turns...

  • 2011 Smart electric drive  -  first drive
    Detroit Dinosaur Thinks Kilowatts Are a Buzzkill, World Laughs

    As any parent will tell you, progress takes time. Evolution often takes a much longer time yet. So rather than pounding our head on the wall when we read idiotic editorials, perhaps we should take a deep breath and calmly reflect that those who can't adapt to change will eventually die out. What...

  • 2011 Brammo Empulse. Official Brammo Photograph
    Why Your First Electric Vehicle Could Have Two Wheels

     We're living in exciting times. In the next year we'll see electric cars hit the market in the form of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Mitsubishi i-Miev to name just three. While we wax lyrical about the multitude of vehicles set to reach the market there are very few available...

  • Nissan supercharged and direct-injected three-cylinder engine
    Nissan Unveils Supercharged And Direct-Injected Three-Cylinder Engine

    Hot on the heels of its new dual injector engine comes another relatively unique engine design from Japanese automaker Nissan. The latest innovative design consists of a compact 1.2-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine with direct fuel injection and supercharger technology, boosting output to what...

  • Leaf Trio
    2011 Nissan Leaf: Industry Says It Drives Like A…

    The Question Is Will It Change the Automotive Landscape

  • Nissan dual injector four-cylinder engine

    Nissan recently announced a range of new fuel-saving technologies that it plans to launch over the coming year as part of its new ‘Nissan Green Program 2010’ (NGP 2010) mid-term environmental strategy. The new technologies, in addition to its all-electric Leaf, focus around improving engine and transmission efficiencies and include things like hybrid drive and engine stop-start systems as well as brake-energy and heat-energy recovery devices. One of the most innovative technologies is a dual injector engine, which Nissan is launching in its new Juke crossover in Japan this week. The new...

  • Power lines by Flickr user achouro
    No, Electric Vehicles Won't Bring Down the U.S. Power Grid

    Last week's heat wave prompted another eruption of that perennial question: Won't electric cars that recharge from grid power overload the nation's electricity system? Or put more bluntly: Will electric vehicles bring down the U.S. power grid? The answer, equally bluntly, is: No. They won't. (And...

  • Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car at quick charging station
    U.S. Buyers Save Less Using EVs (But It's Not About Payback)

    Auto industry analysts get paid to issue reports, and most of them are vastly better at data analysis and number crunching than we'll ever be. That doesn't mean, however, that sometimes their data isn't misleading. It's important to keep context in mind, and not miss the forest for the trees...

  • CA 'Access OK' Clean Air Vehicle carpool lane sticker
    California Yanks Prius Perks: No More Hybrid HOV-Lane Access

    You may remember that in California, 85,000 lucky owners of three hybrid vehicles were granted special stickers giving them access to High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes, even with only a single occupant in the car. Well, their luck runs out on December 31, the last day those stickers are valid. While...

  • Wrecked Toyota Prius owned by Elizabeth James, photo by Ted James, from Houston Press
    How Do First Responders Act Around a Crashed Hybrid or EV?

    Once more, a reader question prompts us to share the answer with our entire green car audience. In this case, it's about how first responders should approach accidents that involve vehicles with high-voltage battery packs, whether they're conventional hybrids (e.g. Toyota Prius) or upcoming...

  • 2012 Infiniti M35 Hybrid
    Nissan’s New Hybrid System Will Double Mileage Of Gasoline-Only Models

    Nissan (and its Infiniti luxury division) may have been late to the table when it comes to hybrids but the Japanese automaker is boasting that its new generation of gasoline-electric vehicles will smash the competition out of the water. Nissan claims that its first vehicle fitted with its own...

  • 2011 Nissan Juke

    Nissan has showed us the future of the automobile with its advanced Leaf all-electric vehicle but that doesn’t mean it’s game over for the internal combustion engine. Gasoline and diesel powered cars can live on, well into the future in fact, thanks to new fuel-saving technologies that Nissan and other automakers are starting to roll out. Most of these fuel-saving technologies focus around improving engine and transmission efficiencies, and include things like hybrid drive and engine stop-start systems as well as brake-energy and heat-energy recovery devices. Nissan hopes to be one of the...

  • Nissan LEAF Charging Port
    Japanese Firm Lets EVs Refill Faster Than a Gas Car

    What can you do in three minutes? Boil a egg? Buy a Coffee? Check your Mail? Visit the bathroom? Thanks to Japanese based JFE Engineering, you can now add half-charging your EV to the list, courtesy of its ultra-fast charge station. Designed to comply with the CHAdeMo standard developed by Tokyo...

  • Citroen C1 ev'ie
    Forget The Showroom, Your First EV Test-Drive Could Be A Rental Car

    Imagine going on a  vacation to London, or Paris. You've just got over the jet-lag and are feeling like exploring the city.  You've done all the usual tourist activities and have some friends on the other side of town to visit. Do you navigate a strange subway system, take a taxi, or make your...

  • Chevrolet Volt product and marketing director Tony DiSalle
    Want to Buy a 2011 Chevrolet Volt? More Details, Dealer Info

    Less than six months from now, the first 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicles will be sold by dealers in selected launch markets. Today, General Motors showed a few more cards, releasing news in various presentations on additional early markets, production numbers, and answering...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf spied -- via Nissan-LEAF.net
    Nissan Experience a Hiccup With Leaf Deliveries

    According To Consumers, Nissan Hasn’t Given Firm Delivery Date

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf delay email
    2011 Nissan Leaf Misses June 30 Deadline

    We've been keeping you in the loop as High Gear Media--well, me in particular--angles to be among the first to drive and own the 2011 Nissan Leaf electric car. Since Nissan opened up the ordering process to potential buyers earlier this year, the company's been aiming to release more specifics on...

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