Who’s worried about the 2016 Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards? Definitely not Honda, Toyota, Nissan, or Subaru.

The new standards, part of a nationwide fuel economy program proposed by President Barack Obama, cover model years 2012 to 2016. The program requires auto makes to offer a fleet-wide fuel economy of 35.5 mpg.

While 35.5 mpg seems to be quite a leap from the current industry standard of 25 mpg, Japanese automakers aren’t even breaking a sweat. By 2016, Toyota plans for hybrids to take 30% of sales. The make’s also researching battery technology that’s better than lithium-ion products.

Honda claims that modifying its current hybrid technology will help it get past the new CAFE standards. Aside from that, the make’s developing ways to make its cars lighter and more aerodynamic.

Subaru’s feeling confident, too. “I think we can meet the rules by improving our current drivetrain technology,” said Subaru President Ikuo Mori. “But if the rules become more stringent, it will be very difficult to do so with the internal combustion engine.”

Source: Automobile Mag, Wikipedia

To reach its target of one million annual vehicle sales, Nissan is looking to release the Nissan Micra to the US market.

Nissan Micra

The subcompact Micra will most likely be equipped with a 3-cylinder engine, and offers 50% better fuek economy. The make also plans to include a 4-door sedan, a 5-door hatch, and an MPV in the line, which will be Nissan’s smallest US offering.

Source: Jalopnik

Nissan’s latest concept car, the Land Glider, is set to make its debut at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show. Even before things begin at Tokyo, though, Nissan has revealed a few details about its motorcycle-ish concept car.

The Land Glider is equipped with two electric motors and a lithium-polymer battery pack that allows the Glider a 100-mile range. The minicar’s active suspension system helps the car lean into corners more, improving cornering stability.

The Land Glider also carries a crash avoidance technology that allows the car to change direction with contact.

Pretty cool, eh?

Source: AutomobileMag

In this day and age of hybrid vehicles, car owners are more interested in mpg rather than horsepower.

“Nissan Leaf = 367 mpg, no tailpipe, and no gas required. Oh yeah, and it’ll be affordable too!” was Nissan’s tweet in response to GM’s announcement of the Chevy Volt’s expected 230 mpg.

Nissan Leaf

Unlike the Chevy Volt, which uses a gasoline engine to charge the motor through a generator, the Nissan Leaf runs solely on electricity. So when the Leaf uses up its 100-mile range, the battery needs to be recharged or replaced.

No details are completely revealed and finalized, though. We’ll all just have to wait and see till these hybrids are released.

Source: AutomobileMag

The Renault-Nissan Alliance and the City of Seattle are forming a partnership to promote zero-emissions transportation by developing an electric vehicle (EV) charging network. By 2010, Nissan plans to introduce zero-emissions vehicles to the US.

Part of the team-up’s plan is to build a charging station for EVs, as welll as the operation and maintenance of a charging network. Nissan has also agreed to supply the Seattle metropolitan area with a sufficient amount of EVs.

““Nissan and the City of Seattle share in the belief that electric vehicles offer one of the best solutions to reducing CO2 emissions.” said Dominique Thormann, senior vice president, administration and finance, Nissan North America.

Likewise, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels has set a goal to clean up the city’s transportation system by using clean, green electricity.

“From light rail to street cars to electric vehicles, we’re reducing the impact of transportation on our climate,” said Mayor Nickels. “Electric-powered transportation is particularly attractive in a city with a carbon-neutral utility, generating clean electricity through hydropower.”

Source: Nissan

It’s final - we won’t see even a hint of Nissan at this year’s North American International Auto Show (NAIAS).

The Asian auto make has announced late last year that the company would not be making an appearance at the 2009 NAIAS. Local dealers, however, pressed on and expressed intentions to show models on the floor.

“The dealers were going to support a presence and all stepped forward,” said Doug Fox, owner of Ann Arbor Nissan. “But the week before Christmas we received a request from Nissan to please respect their decision to not have a presence at the North American International Auto Show.”

Despite the dealers’ disappointment, they agreed to respect Nissan’s national decision to not participate in the 2009 NAIAS. In November, Nissan said that the make’s decision was based on efforts to cut back on marketing expenses.

Perhaps due to the global economic slump, other auto makes have also pulled out of the 2009 NAIAS. Aside from Nissan, we won’t be seeing Ferrari, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, and Suzuki at the show.

But despite these makes’ absences, organizers of the year’s premium auto show have said on the 2009 NAIAS website that attendees can expect “plenty of thought-provoking new technologies and head-turning designs”.

Let’s see about that, eh? See you in Detroit next week!

(source: www.automobilemag.com, Detroit Free Press)

Nissan’s American arm, Nissan North America Inc. is taking back over 200,000 units of the Asian make’s light trucks, to replace crash sensors in the said vehicles.

These crash sensors are prone to corrosion from road salt, which is used to reduce slippage on roads. When the sensors get damaged, the front-impact airbags on the vehicle are disabled.

Included in the recall are 2005-2009 Pathfinders, Frontiers, and Xterras registered in 20 states and the District of Columbia, where road salt is frequently used.

(source: www.autonews.com)

Not until 2010, though.

Renault and Nissan’s first-ever V6 diesel engine is making its US debut housed in the Nissan Maxima sedan.

Aside from the Maxima, the diesel-powered engine will also be used for the Renault Laguna, the Nissan Pathfinder and Navara, and the Infiniti FX, GX, and G37. A large sedan built by Renault and Samsung will also get the all-new Renault-Nissan engine.

The said engine was conceived from a $245 million joint-development project between Renault and Nissan. As of present time, production is at 25 engines per week. Production is expected to increase to 100 engines weekly as the first six months of 2009 progress.

(source: www.motorauthority.com)