Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. announced it will begin testing of a new technology to prevent drunk-driving in cooperation with local prefectural authorities in Japan.

Nissan is actively engaged in developing a wide range of technologies to improve road safety through the prevention of drunk-driving. In June, Nissan introduced a new message alert against drunk-driving through its Carwings navigation system.

Nissan will test a new on-board breathalyzer system that can detect the alcohol level on a driver’s breath. If the system detects the presence of alcohol above the specified level, the ignition will be disabled through an “interlock” mechanism.

The tests will be conducted in partnership with Kitakyushu city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Tochigi Prefectural Government and Kaminokawa town, as well as Atsugi city in Kanagawa Prefecture.

The system is installed on daily-operating vehicles where the drivers will monitor various factors such as functionality and alcohol-detection reliability. Nissan will use these test results to further its research and development in preventive drunk-driving technology.

Globally, Nissan is committed to build safer vehicles equipped with advanced safety technologies. In Japan, the company’s safety vision is to halve the number of traffic fatalities or serious injuries involving Nissan vehicles by 2015 compared with the level in 1995.

Nissan is taking holistic approach towards safety that extends beyond the technology built into its vehicles. To achieve a “safe driving environment”, Nissan has embarked on the Intelligent Transport System Project (ITS) in Kanagawa Prefecture - aimed at helping to reduce road accidents via the analysis of traffic data collected from on-the-road vehicles and traffic beacons. In addition, Nissan is engaged in various road safety campaigns targeted at both adults and children, and continues to collaborate with partners from the government and private sectors.
source:autochannel

Chrysler has shelved plans to build a production version of the Imperial concept it introduced at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. Citing increasing fuel costs and more stringent fuel economy standards expected from Capitol Hill, Chrysler said that the Imperial project was off, as a viable business case could no longer be made for the car.

Chrysler will still invest in the Brampton, Ontario plant that had been earmarked for Imperial production, but that focus will be on the next-gen 300 instead. Regarding the Imperial, Chrysler spokesman David Elshoff said that given the current climate, bringing the Imperial to production would have been “irresponsible.” A side benefit of the cancellation is that we will be spared the sight of the “poor man’s Phantom’s” ghastly front end on American roads.

Source: Detroit Free Press

After months of testing, BMW’s pending X6 has finally shed some of its anti-spy cloaking, giving Brenda Priddy’s spy shooters a glimpse at its true shocking form.

A radically sloping backlight was predicted, and BMW’s engineers haven’t disappointed, as the X6 clearly has a coupe-like profile, which looks dynamic but likely seriously eats into storage and rear-seat passenger space. Bimmerphiles won’t like this analogy, but it rather reminds us of a modern AMC Eagle (a car that is arguably the progenitor of the whole crossover movement in the first place).

The X6 promises to be at once longer and lower than the current X5, but it is expected to deliver a more overtly sporting driving experience, and only seat four. It is expected to be assembled at BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina facility, alongside the Z4 and X5.
source:windingroad

Yachiyo Industry Co. Ltd., a Honda consolidated subsidiary in Japan, announced it has determined to acquire the land adjacent to its Yokkaichi Factory to build new production facility in the effort to further strengthen its mini-vehicle business.
The purpose of the land acquisition is to establish the optimal production system for mini-vehicles, including engines and parts, in order to further improve the competitiveness of mini-vehicles that the company produces.

Although the detailed plans are still to be finalized, the company plans to begin with the establishment of an engine assembly facility, which will enable the company to achieve synchronous production of automobiles including the engine and the complete automobile, which in turn will help the company improve the efficiency of production and logistics.

source;autochannel

Recent teen driving tragedies involving text messaging while driving are evidence that driving distractions are becoming as prevalent as drinking and driving in terms of inhibiting teens’ driving abilities.

According to recent teen driving research by SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, instant and text messaging while driving leads the list as the biggest distraction while driving for teens.

In a national survey of more than 900 teens with driver’s licenses from 26 high schools, teens rated the following behaviors or activities as “extremely” or “very” distracting:

Instant or text messaging while driving - 37 percent
[The teen driver’s] emotional state - 20 percent
Having several friends in the car - 19 percent
Talking on a cell phone - 14 percent
Eating or drinking - 7 percent
Having a friend in the car - 5 percent
Listening to music - 4 percent
SADD and Liberty Mutual have collaborated on seven years of research on teens’ attitudes, behaviors, and decision-making behind the wheel. Study results include data on cell phone use while driving, alcohol and drug use, seat belt use, and speeding, as well as comparative data between teens and parents.

SADD Chairman and CEO Stephen Wallace and SADD Executive Director Penny Wells are available to further discuss study results, including texting while driving and teen behavior in general behind the wheel.

What Can Concerned Parents Do?

While most states have adopted or are adopting legislation around teen driving, the restrictions of teen driving laws vary from state to state. Based on the extensive research over the past seven years, SADD and Liberty Mutual have set forth the following all-encompassing recommendations for concerned parents of teenagers.

Know your state’s Graduated Driver License laws and restrictions, including unsupervised driving, time of day, and passengers in the car, and enforce them. The Governors Highway Safety Association provides a description of each state’s laws at www.statehighwaysafety.org.
Set family rules about driving and outline clear consequences for breaking the rules. Liberty Mutual and SADD suggest some rules if they are not covered by your state laws:
No use of alcohol or other drugs
No cell phone use, including text messaging
Limit or restrict friends in the car without an adult
No driving after 10 p.m.
Keep two hands on the wheel - No distractions while driving, including eating, changing CDs, handling iPods, and putting on makeup
Enforce consequences if a family rule is broken . The SADD/Liberty Mutual studies show that parental enforcement bolsters safe driving habits. More than half (52 percent) of teens who say their parents are unlikely to follow through on a consequence if they break a driving law report they talk on a cell phone while driving, compared to only 36 percent of teens who believe their parents would indeed penalize them.
Do as you say . Exhibit behaviors in the car that you would like your teen to emulate. And, don’t engage in behaviors you have established as off limits for your teen. While young people say overwhelmingly their parents are or will be the biggest influence on how they drive, almost two thirds (62 percent) of high school teens say their parents talk on a cell phone while driving; almost half (48 percent) say their parents speed; and almost a third (31 percent) say their parents don’t wear a safety belt.
Sign a teen driving contract. SADD’s Contract for Life can be found at http://www.sadd.org/contract.htm.
source:sadd.org

Hybrids are trendy, and, as an automotive writer, I’ve had the opportunity to drive all of the current production gasoline-electric hybrid cars and a few prototypes. Knowing this, friends and acquaintances have asked me if they should buy a hybrid.

The first thing I do is ask them a question: how much city and traffic driving do you do? Because that’s where hybrids have the most advantage in fuel economy. When a hybrid is stopped at a light, or in traffic, where a regular car will get zero miles per gallon, it doesn’t use any fuel. And when running at slow, steady speeds and light engine loads, as in under 35 mph or so on level ground, a hybrid will run under electric power, using no gasoline.

Under acceleration and at highway speeds, the hybrid uses its gasoline engine, perhaps with an assist from the electric motor while accelerating. Because the gas engine is smaller than the one in a similarly-sized gas-only car, it may be running under a higher load, particularly under acceleration or while climbing a hill. Because of that, fuel savings might be less than expected.

The dirty little secret of the hybrid world is that EPA highway fuel economy ratings are more than a little optimistic. Because of the abstract way that the ratings have been calculated, internal-combustion engine fuel economy is also inflated, but not usually by as much. Changes in calculation methodology have been announced, which is good, because most of us do not drive at a steady 50 mph on level ground when on the highway.

Still, if you do a lot of city driving or commuting, a hybrid makes sense. If you want better fuel economy and do more highway driving, buy a diesel.

Yeah, you heard that right. Modern diesels are less like the ones we’d rather not remember from the 80s than modern gasoline engines resemble their counterparts from the 1950s. They are quiet, smooth, and smoke-free, thanks to new design and construction technology and new ultra-low sulfur fuel. Spark-ignition (gasoline) engines have been the focus of development for passenger car use, especially in the US, for the past century. Compression-ignition (diesel) engines are just beginning a period of development. Consider the diesel of today to be where the gasoline engine was in about 1970. New fuels and emissions technologies are about to make some major changes for cleanliness and efficiency - and the diesel is already more efficient than the spark-igniton engine.

The Lexus RX 400h I drove recently got 24 mpg overall in a week of mostly highway driving. Not bad for a two-ton vehicle. But I recently drove a 2007 Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec turbodiesel under similar conditions, at mostly higher speeds, and got 34 mpg. Yes, the Benz is lighter, by about 500 pounds ( a 13 percent difference), but the diesel’s fuel economy was 40 percent better than the hybrid’s.

Diesel-electric hybrids? Likely in the future. Note, too, that diesels are amenable to alternative fuels. Biodiesel, produced from used cooking oil, is available today. No surprise that a diesel engine can run on cooking oil - the petroleum product known as diesel fuel was not available when Dr. Rudolf Diesel developed his compression-ignition engine. Among the fuels he used before the development of a petroleum-based fuel was peanut oil.

By Carey Russ - autochannel

Nissan Motor Co. is recalling 140,582 of its 2007 Altima cars, the automaker’s best-selling U.S. vehicle, because the air filter can catch fire if a hot object is drawn into it.

The recall affects Altima cars with a 2.5-liter, four- cylinder engine, the Tokyo-based automaker told the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nissan told the Washington-based agency it began notifying owners July 3. Four fires were reported in February and March, the company said.

The filter will be replaced because it can ignite if something hot such as cigarette ash enters through the vehicle’s fresh-air intake valve, Nissan said. An air deflector also will be installed to prevent a buildup of debris at the filter.

The Altima accounted for 140,253, or 26 percent, of Nissan’s U.S. sales this year through June. The model was ninth in sales among all cars and light trucks in the U.S. during the period.

The recall affects Altimas built from Sept. 25 to May 11 at its plant in Smyrna, Tenn., and from Oct. 30 to May 11 at its Canton, Miss., factory, Nissan told the agency. The vehicles are under warranty, the company said.

Tony Pearson, a spokesman for Nissan’s Nashville, Tennessee- based U.S. unit, declined to say how much the recall will cost the automaker. Nissan expects to notify all owners by Oct. 1, he said in an interview.

Nissan’s American depositary receipts rose 3 cents to $21.58 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. They have fallen 11 percent this year.

Most people learn when they are very young that everyone has five senses: hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and seeing. Similarly, today’s vehicles have sensors in the engine that must be maintained and checked regularly so that the vehicle can get maximum fuel economy, and that everything stays running smoothly.

“Pay attention to your check engine light and your vehicle’s sensors or you could pay the price,” says Bryan Gregory Advance Auto Parts’ director of consumer education.

“Sensors monitor air-fuel mixture, engine temperature, air-flow, wheel speed and more, so essentially they are telling your vehicle’s computer what to do,” Gregory states. “If your sensors fail, your engine may experience poor mileage and performance, and in severe cases your engine may fail altogether.”

In most cases, a “check engine” light will illuminate to let you know that there is a problem. Any Advance Auto Parts store will scan your OBD (On-Board Diagnostic) port at no charge and print out the fault code to help you determine your next steps.

Access to these sensors is usually the most difficult part of the replacement process. In the case of oxygen sensors, the project can be simplified by using a specially designed O2 sensor socket that accommodates the sensor wiring. A Haynes Repair Manual specific to your vehicle can be very helpful when replacing sensors.
source:autochannel

Rental car agencies are starting to go green in increasing numbers. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co. recently announced that it will establish an E85/Flexible Fuel branch in Washington D.C. The rental car outlet will stock about 50 E85-friendly General Motors vehicles (representing about 50 percent of the branch’s fleet). Overall, it plans to dispatch some 41,000 flex-fuel vehicles to its offices around the country (it currently offers around 3000 gas-electric hybrids in its fleet nationwide).

The move by Enterprise comes on the heels of Hertz establishing its Green Collection, which touts fuel-efficient offerings like the Toyota Prius. The company plans to have some 3400 units of the hybrid in fleets by next summer.

We haven’t yet to learn if there will be pricing premiums for these greener models from either Enterprise or Hertz (versus similar-sized gasoline-only models), but it’s reasonable to expect a surcharge of some kind.

All of this begs the question: Would you be willing to pay more for a green rental car? Have you made any efforts before to rent a more fuel-efficient vehicle? Have your say in ‘Comments.’

source:windingroad