Nissan is aiming for EV leadership

[AZEqualizer]

Seekingalpha (http://seekingalpha.com/article/105704-is-nissan-building-a-car-that-charges-itself) had this to report:

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autobloggreen.com/media/2008/11/pivo_minoru_shinohara.jpg

Researchers at the Japanese automaker are trying to see if there is a way to charge the batteries in electric cars while the car is driving without using gas, said Minoru Shinohara, senior vice president of the technology development department at Nissan, in an interview at Ceatec last month. The car would function like a Chevy Volt, but it wouldn't have a gas generator.

"Electric charging without a connection," he said, "it is very [futuristic], but we need zero emission vehicles. ... With India, Russia and China, there is a large increase in vehicles expected."

One potential option: ultracapacitors. APowerCap (http://www.apowercap.com/) from the Ukraine is working on ultracapacitor chargers for cars. Like Toyota, Nissan could also explore hydrogen.

"We are aiming for EV leadership, which means we need to cover the market," he said. "Which means we need to prepare several vehicles."
Still, even with the excitement around electric cars, selling commuter cars will require a good dose of consumer education.

Plans for a plug-in hybrid are off the front burner at the moment. Last year, plug-ins were at the top of the schedule. "The electric car is the ultimate solution," Shinohara said.

Finally Shinohara said that robotic accident prevention is improving. Automakers are working on devices that will take control of a car right before an accident. "It will be applied in a very restricted manner, when people can't react quickly," he said.

Nissan and scientists at the University of Tokyo also are studying bees, which rarely collide with each other, to see if biomimicry can solve the problem.

[Baja_Traveler]

They are not going to sell anything if what they build looks like that!

[AZEqualizer]

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autobloggreen.com/media/2009/04/nissan-cube-ev-02-test-car.jpg

According to GreenCarAdvisor: (http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/04/nissans-ev-to-have-a-100-mile-range-but-no-advanced-tech-price-premium.html)

Nissan has unveiled a few more details this week about the electric vehicle it will launch in 18 months. Following Nissan's direction on wanting to be the EV leader....Mark Perry, director of Product Planning and Strategy for Nissan Americas, said the EV will be a "real car" offering real-world practicality. It will be a five-door hatchback with a 100-mile range on a single charge and will be "aggressively priced."

The picture above and what was shown at a Sounthern California event to intorduce Nissan's electric drive system -was a retrofitted Nissan Cube "mule" rather than in the car the company plans to put on sale.

The test car features the future EV's advanced lithium-ion battery pack and Perry said it provides enough power that that some journalists "lit up the tires" driving the test car on this nationwide tour being held to introduce the battery-electric powertrain. It was reported that "was amazingly quiet and moved seamlessly - no whirring and of course, no shifting. The only apparent compromise is that the backseat of the Cube was raised to allow the installation of the battery pack beneath the floorboards."

Perry said the car could be recharged at three levels. Household current (110 volts) would require 14 hours for a full recharge while 220-volt power - available in most homes and businesses - would recharge it in four hours. At special 480 volt-recharging stations the car could be brought up to 80 percent of its capacity in about 20 minutes, which, he said, was the average amount of time Americans take when stopping at a fast food restaurant.

"It is a dedicated all-new car, not the conversion of something we already offer," he said. He described the look of the car as "iconic" adding, "You need something that is different enough to let people know you are driving a special car."

[Miracleman89]

They are not going to sell anything if what they build looks like that!


Awww, Come on!!!! I like the bubble! LMAO j:o"k'e)

[rogwild]

Awww, Come on!!!! I like the bubble! LMAO j:o"k'e)
Looks like a Hydrocephalic Aptera.:confused:

[Miracleman89]

Looks more like a fish bowl to me!!

[AZEqualizer]

The local Phoenix News (http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2009/04/16/20090416biz-electriccars0416-CP.html) sources (http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2009/04/16/20090416biz-electriccars0416.html) and GreenCarAdvisor (http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/04/renault-nissan-alliance-adds-phoenix-region-to-growing-ev-charger-program.html) posted the following info:

http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20090306/ecotec_charging_arn_lsv-100_270x202.jpg

The Renault-Nissan Alliance (http://www.renault.com/en/groupe/l-alliance-renault-nissan/pages/l-alliance-renault-nissan.aspx) is aggressively pursuing compacts with various government and private entities to get public charging systems underway in advance of Nissan Motor Co.'s planned launch next year of a rechargeable electric car (http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/04/nissans-ev-to-have-a-100-mile-range-but-no-advanced-tech-price-premium.html).

The latest (area) to sign on to the program, and the sixth in the U.S., is the private-public partnership of the Maricopa Association of Governments (http://www.mag.maricopa.gov/), which represents communities in the Phoenix, Ariz., area, and Ecotality (http://www.ecotality.com/), a Phoenix-area electric transportation and power storage company.

Ecotality, which also is a partner in the Tucson-area program, will assist in installation of the EV chargers and coordination of various government policies affecting EV charging systems, while Nissan (Renault may be a partner but it doesn't operate as a car retailer in the U.S.) will provide electric vehicles for sale or lease in the area and will work with the other partners to install and maintain the charging station system.

In addition to its Arizona agreements, the Renault-Nissan Alliance has executed EV charger development and electric vehicle promotion pacts with the states of Tennessee and Oregon and, in California, Sonoma County and the City of San Diego.

[waltbscott]

About the only players missing from the electric car revolution are the Big 3, and for that they're going down. I only hope I don't get too much on me...

[ziggy951]

Too late my friend, too late.


Z

[RAN]

I'm very interested to see what this EV will look like.

[rogwild]

Possibly like the Nissan 'Cube':
http://zedomax.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/nissan-cube.jpg

[AZEqualizer]

Mark Perry, director of Product Planning and Strategy for Nissan Americas, said "It is a dedicated all-new car, not the conversion of something we already offer," he said. He described the look of the car as "iconic" adding, "You need something that is different enough to let people know you are driving a special car." It will be a five-door hatchback.
So i doubt that it will be Like the Cube they use as a test mule.

[rogwild]

"You need something that is different enough to let people know you are driving a special car." It will be a five-door hatchback.
So i doubt that it will be Like the Cube they use as a test mule.
Too bad, since the CUBE looks like a practical 'do almost anything' vehicle (much like my Honda Element). I hope they don't try to 'cram' it all into a small sedan that will have little trunk room, and limited utility.

note: message posted immediately.......no 'moderation' message, this time.