2010 Nissan EV

Nissan Electric Vehicle: Hidden inside this Cube

Even though Nissan has made an effort to carve out a place for itself in the Hybrid market, according to Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, zero emission vehicles are the future of the company.  To that end, Nissan has been running tests on an electric version of the compact Cube in preparation of an EV to produced and sold in Japan and the U.S. in 2010.  Those that are interested in Electric Vehicles but not the styling of the Cube can rejoice in the news that according to Nissan the new vehicle will not be based on the styling of any currently produced model.

Nissan Electric Vehicle: 2010 launch

The hang-up for the production of most electric vehicles is the weight and size of engineering the batteries.  In the Cube prototype the three battery units weighing 220 pounds each are located under the rear seats which result in the rear passengers being placed in an awkward position that is higher than normal and not comfortable. Presumably since the Cube is only being used to test the mechanics, that will not be an issue in the production model.   Each unit contains 24 lithium-ion batteries powering the equivalent of a 107 horsepower electric motor.  The prototype fitted to the Cube’s shell can accelerate to 60 in about 13sec, but according to Nissan, the finished actual production model will reach that same speed in under 5 seconds.  Nissan’s goal is for a driving range of 100-150 miles after a full charge, which takes six to eight hours.  Right now in the prototype the range is a respectable 62 and 75 miles, depending on which electronics are on, such as AC.  An 80% charge can be had in just 30-60 minutes.

Nissan EV Track Testing

To achieve their goals, Nissan is focused on lithium-ion battery technology that is half the weight and significantly better than nickle metal hydride cells used currently.  Li-ion batteries have been avoided by Honda and Toyota in their hybrids for concerns over safety, but Nissan is confident that it will be able to successfully navigate any potential engineering hurdles in time for 2010.

Nissan’s plan to unveil their EV in 2010 is the same year GM’s Volt and a host of other automakers’ fuel-efficient offerings will be offered; giving potential buyers lots of options.

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Cars not available in the USA

Surprisingly enough, there are cars that are not on sale in the States, there are many reason that go around as to why this is, but at the end of the day, these mainly European vehicles cannot be ordered despite that quality of the design and build.

Not available in the US:

Alfa Romeo Spider V6 model, Costs about $46,377.

Aston Martin Vanquish S Costs about $360,000.

Audi S3 Costs about $39,700.

BMW 1 Series Estimated U.S. Starting Price: Around $30,000.

Citroen C6 Costs about $54,000.

Fiat 500 Costs about $14,000.

smart fortwo Starting U.S. Price Under $12,000.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Estimated U.S. Price: Around $35,000.

Nissan Skyline Costs about $25,000.

Peugeot 4007 Pricing Not Available.

The top euro brands like Renault, Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat are not sold in the States, the only euro type cars that you are likely to be seeing in a showroom are the high end brands, Porsche, Ferrari and Maserati etc, even German brands have trouble in some States this has something to with the emissions.

Yet it was not that long ago when the cars above were readily available and were sold in decent numbers too. So what has changed?

It was all to do with the 1990’s the euro car makers were struggling with high costs and prices, plus there was a new revival of the Japanese car makers, like Toyota and Nissan, one by one the euro cars were pulling out of the States and concentrating on the home market, of which they have done very well, but still they will not return to the States.

There are the weak possibilities that with the modern hi tech diesels that there may be another euro invasion of the states, with clean and green cars taking the lead these days for consumers on both sides of the USA, these cars could be the leading edge for them

So it would appear that US car buyers could have a little bit more of a choice when choosing a new car, but how many will want to take the leap of faith is anyone’s guess, the US car market is huge and people have the likes and dislikes, could the euro cars get it right? We can only wait and see.

Source [Forbes]

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The Mercedes Non Diesel, Diesel Engine

Sounds a bit strange, well it is. There is not doubt that a diesel engine that does not use diesel fuel, has to be one of the strangest things that you are ever going to hear about in the engine department.

But buying diesel fuel from the service station is getting a lot harder these days. How many pumps of diesel do you see at your local service station?

So the clever guys hidden away deep within Mercedes Benz, have been toying with the diesel engine and have come up with an idea that has been named DiesOtto, with full working prototype and everything. (more…)

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In the meantime though the only two states that are showing a readily available ...

With the demand of alternative fuels on the rise and a national desire to reduce our dependence on foreign oil why is the market still limping forward in making the available alternatives accessible? The flex fuel mixture of E85 has been around for over a decade and yet few states outside of the mid-west have more than 20 stations that carry it. On the West Coast that number drops down to fewer than 10 stations that sell E85.

Those numbers are provided by fueleconomy.com where you can find local filling stations in each state that provide the E85 ethanol fuel option at the pump. As more Flex Fuel vehicles are built in the next year the number of filling stations that carry E85 should increase, assuming that the supply remains available. In the meantime though the only two states that are showing a readily available supply are Illinois and Minnesota. And for both states that supply alternative received state and local government support.

As more ethanol refinaries begin production in the coming years and more farms turn to growing the crops necessary to produce ethanol Flex Fuels like E85 should become more readily available. In the meantime, if you have a Flex Fuel vehicle or are contemplating the purchase of one, go to www.fueleconomy.com and search for the E85 station nearest you.

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