The 2013 Nissan Leaf has many standard safety features, such as the side air bags, curtain side airbags, child safety door locks, a traction control system, and more that were part of the features earning it another Top Safety Pick title. The vehicle received “Good” ratings down the board, according to the itemized list, which you can check out here.

The 2013 Leaf was put through a moderate overlap front test crash, a side impact crash test, and a roof strength crash test, with the only one not performed being the small overlap front test. For the three different testing categories, the Leaf was rated as “Good.” While such a rating is good for any car, it is worthwhile to point out that the Leaf is an electric vehicle, which are criticized by some as being less safe.

Said Nissan’s Director of Electric Vehicle Sales Erik Gottfried: “Driver and passenger safety are top priorities for Nissan and the ‘Top Safety Pick’ designation by IIHS reflects the design and innovation that have gone into this car to make it a practical, no-compromise electric vehicle. The new, U.S.-assembled 2013 Nissan LEAF provides customers with a remarkable level of value, comfort and security at prices competitive with gas-powered cars in a fun-to-drive package.”

[via Green Car Reports]

Says Nissan, the 2014 GT-R Track Edition is meant to take the popular GT-R car up a notch, heading towards the realm of competition racers. To facilitate the differences, the Track Edition features things like specialized brake cooling guides, carbon fiber air ducts, and – instead of normal backseats – a quilted cloth. Other cars in the GT-R family include the GT-R Black and the GT-R Premium.

Both of those GT-R models are cheaper than the Track Edition model, with the Black being priced at $109,300 and the Premium being priced at $99,590. The Track Edition in particular will have a very limited production of 150 vehicles, which are already on sale at select Nissan GT-R dealers across the United States. Both the Black and Premium editions are also available.

Unlike the other GT-R models, the Track Edition features Bilstein DampTronic gas-pressure shock absorbers and high spring rates, giving it an updated suspension system. Nissan says that the Nurburgring was heavily used in the suspension’s development, putting it through testing and aiding with benchmarks. The front seats are high-grip, the tires are nitrogen-filled, and the rear spoiler is handmade from carbon fiber.

[via AutoBlog]

With the spare tires being over or under-inflated, they can fail without warning the driver, leading to an bigger risk of crashing. 2013 Nissan Altima owners are expected to receive their recall notifications beginning May 3rd. They will be asked to bring in their vehicles to their nearest, authorized Nissan dealer who will proceed to inspect and fix the spare tire issues at no charge.

This isn’t the first time that Nissan issued a recall for the 2013 Nissan Altima. Earlier in March, Nissan recalled the vehicle due to a potential problem with the airbags. The airbags would improperly deploy during a crash, which could have led to injury, and worse, death. Alongside the 2013 Nissan Altima, the Nissan Sentra, the Nissan Pathfinder SUV, and the 2013 Nissan Leaf EV were all recalled as well.

Just last week, Nissan also issued a recall for around 20,000 of its 2013 Pathfinder and 2013 Infinite JX vehicles as well. The vehicles potentially had faulty brakes due to one component in the brakes being manufactured incorrectly. The faulty component could potentially reduce the braking power of the affected vehicles, resulting in an increased chance of crashes. Customers with the affected vehicles are expected to receive their recall notifications in early May as well.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

Nissan states that the Nissan Leaf taxis have a range of around 100 miles, making it more than enough to handle the average daily taxi route of 70 miles. Nissan and New York wants to see whether or not these taxis are fit to take on the demanding life of New York citizens, who are in constant demand of a taxi at every moment. Just in case these Nissan Leaf taxis are unable to survive the day with only one charge, Nissan has set up quick-charging stations around New York so drivers can recharge their taxis if need be.

These 6 new electric taxis are all part of New York’s Mayor Bloomberg’s goal of having electric taxis make up at least 33% of New York’s taxi cars by the year 2020. If the Nissan Leaf performs well as a taxi, then Bloomberg’s plans are well on their way to becoming a reality. David Yassky, the Taxi and Limousine Commissioner, stated that Nissan is “working on that timeline”, with both the Nissan Leaf and an electric version of Nissan’s NV 200.

The Nissan NV 200 is New York’s “Taxi of Tomorrow”, and is set to become the official taxi of New York. It was approved by the Taxi and Limousine Commission and it beat out several rivals for the position. While not electric, it will be much more fuel friendly than the entirety of the taxis in New York City. Nissan plans on launching the NV 200 by October this year, starting the 10-year agreement it has with New York to be the city’s official taxi provider.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

Nissan received a field report about a front brake torque member failure on its 2013 Pathfinder. After a detailed analysis of the front brake torque member, Nissan discovered,

“The casting was out of specification due to a ‘cold shut’ condition which occured during the supplier’s manufacturing process. A small amount of molten iron flowed into an adjacent mold prematurely, and did not fuse properly with the newly introduced metal due to temperature loss”

Nissan determined that the defect exists in a number of its vehicles, and issued a recall so that it can resolve the issue. Owners of the defective vehicles are expected to receive their recall notifications in early May, and will then be asked to bring in their vehicle to their nearest Nissan dealer so that it can be inspected. The dealers will inspect the manufacturing date of the torque member, and if it falls between December 3rd, 2012 to January 29th, 2013 (the period when the defective part was manufactured), the vehicle’s front brake torque members will need to be replaced (at no added cost to the vehicle’s owner).

There are approximately 14,168 Nissan Pathfinders and 5,090 Infiniti JX vehicles that potentially have the faulty brakes. This isn’t the first recall that Nissan issued this month. On April 11th, Nissan, Honda, and Toyota recalled over 3 million vehicles due to a potential issue involving their airbags. The airbags could potentially deploy improperly, which could lead to serious injury, or worse, death.

[via NHTSA]

Takata is a Japanese manufacturer of safety equipment and the defective airbag inflators were manufactured between 2000 and 2002 according to a company spokesman. Toyota has already said that these malfunctioning airbag inflators could cause the airbag to deploy abnormally during an accident. Improperly deployed airbags could lead to injury or possibly even death.

Toyota, Honda, and Nissan combined will be recalling over 3 million vehicles due to the potential airbag issue. This is the largest recall Takata has been involved with since 1995 when automakers using its seatbelt products were forced recall almost 9,000,000 vehicles. Honda also recalled over 430,000 vehicles in 2010 due to a faulty airbag module supplied by the same company.

In this latest recall, Toyota has recalled 1.73 million vehicles around the world, Honda has issued a recall on about 1.1 4 million vehicles, and Nissan says it’s looking at recalling 480,000 vehicles. Mazda has also recalled 45,463 vehicles. Toyota says that the vehicles covered in the recall were equipped with front passenger airbag inflators that may have been assembled with improperly manufactured propellant wafers. The Toyota vehicles covered in the recall include the Corolla and Camry built between November of 2000 and March 2004.

[via Bloomberg]

The gasoline-electric hybrid Pathfinder will feature both a supercharged 2.5-liter gas engine and an electric motor that, combined, offer 250 horsepower. This will bring about 5 more miles per gallon, bringing the total up to 25MPG in the city and 27MPG on the highway for a combined total of 26MPG.

This is a tad higher than the current 21MPG combined total for the all-wheel drive gasoline model. Of course, an electric hybrid brings with it some extra-battery baggage, which will be found below the third-row bench, taking up that section of space and perhaps proving inconvenient to some owners.

Nissan’s Vice President of Product Planning Pierre Loing said: “The Pathfinder Hybrid is highly affordable because it matches motor and battery size well, while minimizing the number of additional parts or modifications needed to the platform and body. It is designed as a logical bridge between conventional internal combustion engine powertrains and the wider acceptance of hybrid systems by providing enhanced efficiency with no compromises versus the standard vehicle.”

[via Wall Street Journal]

The reason for the recall is a sensor that could be faulty which would result in the front passenger’s seat airbag not deploying when it is needed. Such an issue poses a potentially serious safety concern, and as a result the five affected models have been recalled. The number of vehicles that are being recalled is still being calculated.

The affected vehicles are comprised of the 2013 Nissan Altima sedan, the Nissan Sentra, the Nissan Pathfinder SUV, the 2013 Nissan Leaf EV, and the 2013 Infiniti division’s JX35 luxury SUV crossover. The information comes from data posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The faulty sensor’s discovery was made when Nissan observed airbag warning lights at one of its automotive plants, as well as warranty claims being made. The problem was traced back to the sensor’s supplier, which altered the process it uses to make the sensors. Those with the affected vehicles will begin receiving notifications in April.

[via USA Today]

Nissan promises that its new Note has technology and features that are useful in day-to-day driving allowing the driver to feel safer and more secure. The Note has technology that Nissan says is typically only found in premium luxury car models and the technology is coming to the small car sector for the first time. Safety Shield is comprised of three advanced safety systems.

Those advanced safety systems include Blind Spot Warning, Lane Departure Warning, and Moving Object Detection. Nissan combines those technologies with its Around View Mirror giving not only additional protection for the occupants of the vehicle, but also for pedestrians around the vehicle. The vehicle will launch in the UK where Nissan hopes the safety technology will help reduce automotive/pedestrian accidents the claim about 34,000 lives each year.

The Around View Monitor uses four separate cameras arrayed around the car that show images on a 5.8-inch dashboard mounted screen. The car is powered by an efficient line of available engine and transmission options with CO2 outputs as low as 95 g/km. The base engine is a 1.2-liter unit producing 80 ps and 110 Nm of torque. Nissan also offers a more powerful 1.2-liter DIG-S engine producing 98 PS and 142 Nm of torque. The car will also be available with a turbo diesel engine in the European market. Nissan expects the Note to go on sale in Europe in the fall of 2013.

[via Nissan]

Autonomous driving is a big area of interest for many automakers and technology companies around the world. Google is one of the biggest companies in the autonomous driving arena and has perhaps the largest fleet of self-driving vehicles in the world. Autonomous vehicles are able to operate themselves with no input from a human using GPS and an array of sensors.

The new facility that Renault and Nissan are opening is called the Nissan Research Center Silicon Valley. Nissan says that the new center will enhance its global research capability via collaborative partnerships with companies and research institutions. Nissan says that the goal of the research center with autonomous vehicles is to realize the future with safe and stress-free mobility.

Nissan also lists goals of researching connected vehicles to allow them to tap into infrastructure and the Internet to maximize energy and efficiency. Nissan also wants to research the area of the human machine interface to enhance the experience of autonomous and connected vehicles for drivers. The research center will also participate in planning and advanced development of connected vehicle services and designing of user interface systems that are complementary to the research center’s main goals.

[via Nissan]

The Nissan GT-R might be a big and heavy car, but box stock it’s capable of putting down some very impressive times on a road course. Nissan knows that there is a very dedicated cadre of GT-R road racers out there and for those lucky enough to have the bank account to support it the automaker has announced the 2014 Nissan GT-R Track Edition.

The car will be very limited edition with only 150 being produced. There’s not a lot on the outside of the vehicle to set it apart from its more street-focused counterparts. On the outside car has a large hood bulge, enlarged central intake, and front fenders with something called aero blades. The car does get a new front spoiler with carbon fiber air ducts and a dry carbon fiber rear spoiler for improved downforce at speed.

The car will be available in five colors including deep blue pearl, jet black, solid red, gun metallic, and pearl white. What’s likely the most easily identifiable differentiator between the Track Edition and normal GT-Rs is on the inside. The Track Edition will have no rear seats, instead having rather cheap looking quilted cloth in place of the rear seats. Under the hood of the car does get different fuel injectors to emphasize torque response and to provide better acceleration. The Track Edition also gets baffles in the oil pan to keep the engine oil where it needs to be under high cornering loads. The car delivers 545 hp and peak torque of 463 pound-feet.

As you would expect with a Track Edition, the car has special suspension including Bilstein DampTronic shock absorbers with higher spring rates. The brakes for the car are also refined and the car gets new forged lightweight wheels with ultrahigh performance run-flat tires. The car will be available at some Nissan dealerships in May 2013 in the limited edition run of 150 units at an undisclosed price.

[via Topspeed.com]

The 2014 370Z NISMO comes with a handful of new exterior and interior enhancements that offer an improvement over the 2013 model. However, they’re mostly cosmetic changes that include a new front spoiler, rocker panel extensions, rear bumper, side mirrors, and rear wing, with red pinstriping to finish off the details. The car will have the same 350-horsepower 3.7-liter DOHC V6 engine when it goes on sale this summer.

The Juke has to be one of Nissan’s strangest-looking vehicles to date, but the company gave the crossover vehicle NISMO status at the Chicago Auto Show. The new vehicle features a modest performance upgrade, going from 188 horsepower at 5600 rpm to 197 horsepower at 6000 rpm, but it’s still sticking with the 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine block. The Juke NISMO does features some nice-looking exterior changes, though, including red pinstriping and black wheels to give it a meaner look. No pricing or availability details were announced.

Finally, there’s the NV200, which most of us may not be interested in, unless you need haul some cargo. The NV200 is Nissan’s latest commercial cargo van. The new vehicle touts tall rear doors, a low load floor, and a 1,500-pound payload capacity. It’s front wheel drive and it has a 131-horsepower 2-liter four-cylinder engine, which is rated to get around 24 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway, which isn’t too shabby for cargo van. The NV200 will start at just under $20,000 and will be available starting in April.

The more power the systems required to operate, the less power is available to propel the vehicle. It would stand to reason that Nissan would want to place the most power efficient systems inside the Leaf it could possibly find. Nissan has announced that it is equipping some versions of the Leaf with a new energy-efficient Bose sound system.

Not only is the sound system more energy-efficient, but it’s also significantly smaller and lighter than conventional systems. Smaller and lighter in an electric vehicle is almost as important as energy efficiency. Nissan says that the Bose system uses about half the electricity of the standard Leaf audio system.

The new Bose system will be available on SV and SL models as part of the premium package. The system uses smaller and lighter speakers and has a powerful bass unit mounted in the cargo area of the vehicle. The subwoofer is mounted in a 6.2-liter custom-engineered Acoustic Waveguide bassbox. The system has six lightweight speakers placed around the interior of the vehicle.

[via Nissan]

Nissan has announced it is teaming up with NRG Energy to try and triple the number of electric vehicle fast chargers in the Washington DC area. Nissan plans to install at least 500 quick charging stations in the area over the next 18 months. Nissan and its partners estimate that right now 160 fast chargers are available for public use across the United States.

Nissan says that there are no fast chargers available for public use in Washington DC. Adding more fast chargers in the Washington DC area will allow drivers to increase how much they drive their electric vehicles according to Nissan. Nissan plans to install fast chargers including a network of 40 eVgo Freedom Station sites across the city.

Each of those sites will have a Nissan fast charger able to provide EVs like the LEAF with an 80% charge in under 30 min, it’s unclear if the charters will support only Nissan EVs. Nissan says that it currently operates fast charger networks in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and other locations around the country. Nissan’s plan will cost approximately $150 million.

[via Nissan]

Fuel-cell electric vehicles, or FCEVs, power their motors by combining hydrogen and oxygen, with water the only physical byproduct. A high-pressure tank contains the hydrogen, while oxygen is extracted from the air.

The three companies involved have, they point out, a cumulative total of over 60 years of fuel-cell vehicle development, and more than 6m miles in test driving and demonstration models. Work on the homogenized stack will take place in multiple locations around the world, while teams from the three companies will also look at collaborating on other components FCEVs will require so as to achieve further economy of scale.

Unlike the BMW-Toyota partnership, however, which will take an active role in pushing the development of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, Ford, Daimler, and Renault-Nissan instead hope that their work “sends a clear signal” to existing hydrogen network stakeholders that they need to pull their finger out and get working.

Still, that focus means today’s deal may result in a workable car – or cars – before BMW and Toyota have something ready for the forecourts. The trio today claim 2017 is the earliest a fuel-cell vehicle may be on the market, whereas BMW and Toyota gave themselves a little more wiggle-room, estimating that they would have something prepared by 2020.

Nissan’s base price for the entry-level Leaf will be $28,800, the company has confirmed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week. That’s $6,000 less than the current cheapest model, and forms the bottom rung of a new, three car line-up.

With locally-decided subsidies, however, those in more EV-friendly states could save $10,000 off the sticker price, bringing the Leaf comfortably under the all-important $20k boundary. “Now, customers won’t have to pay a premium for owning a green car that’s really fun to drive,” GVP Billy Hayes said of the new model, “and that’s exciting.”

However, the cheapest Leaf won’t have quite the same kit bag as its more expensive siblings. For the new line-up, Nissan is adding an onboard fast-charging system that can apparently rejuice the EV in roughly half the time of before; that will be standard on the two higher-tier versions, but a paid option on the budget Leaf.

That 6.6kw charging system will be a standard option on the top two tiers of Leaf – known as the Leaf SV and Leaf SL – and should significantly reduce the time it takes the get the car juiced up and back on the road. In fact, the updated charger is expected to roughly halve charging time in comparison to the 2012 Leaf, the batteries of which can be filled in around seven hours.

Those who opt for the cheapest 2013 Leaf will have to pay extra for the fast-charge system, part of Nissan’s cost-cutting for the new car. It will be produced in Nissan’s Tennessee plant, with the batteries manufactured in a nearby facility. Options will include a more premium interior with more advanced infotainment systems.

Range for all three variants will be improved over the models on sale in the past two years, as Nissan tries to be more competitive against popular rivals like Chevy’s Volt. The Japanese company sold under 10,000 Leaf cars in 2012, half of its target amount.

To address the complaints of Leaf owners Nissan has decided to expand warranty coverage for the vehicle battery packs. Nissan has announced that it will be replacing batteries that have lost capacity for Leaf owners. Nissan says that it is the first and only auto manufacturer to provide limited warranty coverage for battery capacity loss on the EVs it produces.

The extended warranty coverage will go into effect this spring and apply to all 2011 and 2012 Leaf vehicles. The coverage will protect against capacity loss and batteries that fall under nine bars of the maximum 12 bars displayed on the Leaf’s battery capacity gauge. The extended warranty covers the batteries if they fall under nine bars before 60,000 miles.

If the capacity loss occurs before the 60,000-mile mark, Nissan will replace or repair the batteries free of cost. Nissan is also said that it is working to improve the accuracy of the battery capacity gauge in the vehicle. Some Leaf owners have found themselves stranded on the side of the road when that gauge showed that the batteries had enough capacity to make a trip.

[via Inautonews]

The numbers after the Q or QX branding will indicate where the vehicle falls within the Infiniti heirearchy. For example, the Q50 model number will be applied to the G sedans, while the Q60 model number will be used for the convertible and coupe varieties of the G model. Along with the new Q and QX designation will be a new badge, the first of which will be displayed on the Q50 in January.

Infiniti Motor Company’s President Johan de Nysschen offered this statement. “Over the past few months, we have talked at length with our retailers, our customers, and our business partners about our brand. The need for a new identity and direction to promote consumer familiarity with our model range as we expand the portfolio became evident.”

And thus this change marks the company’s “ambitious growth plans,” and precedes what will be an eventual expansion of what Infiniti has to offer. You can check out the first Q-branded Infiniti model in a few weeks at the North American International Auto Show. Stay tuned to Slashgear and we’ll keep you updated on the happenings.

The facility will manufacture battery components to be used during the ramp-up of production for the all-electric 2013 Nissan Leaf EV early next year. Nissan says that the new plant will only be the third of its kind in the entire world operated by a major automaker. I can’t help but wonder why Nissan is ramping up production of its Leaf when sales of the vehicle have been less than stellar.

Nissan says that since December of 2010 it sold over 18,000 Leaf EV’s to customers in the United States. Nissan also brags that it has sold 46,000 of the fully electric vehicles around the world. While Nissan has struggled to meet its sales goals in the United States, the company claims that the Leaf is the most successful completely electric vehicle in history.

Nissan says that the first batteries produced at the plant have completed the required aging process and are now ready to be charged for the first time. The battery factory is capable of producing up to 200,000 batteries annually depending on the market demand for the vehicle. Nissan says that the batteries produced at the plant can also be used for future vehicles added to its electric vehicle portfolio. Nissan says that the battery plant could add up to 1000 additional jobs depending on demand.

Once the top 16 drivers floated to the top after a series of on and off track challenges, the top drivers fought it out to win a seat in a real Nissan racing car. The track challenges were held at the Silverstone circuit in England over six weeks and aired on the GT Academy television series. Interestingly, this year’s winner, Steve Doherty, was in the competition last year.

He missed the final 16 in the 2011 series by only 6/10 of a second. This year Doherty came back and took it all. The first official race for Doherty in a Nissan racing car will be on January 10 when he and three other GT Academy champions from Europe will team up to race a Nissan 370 Z at the Dubai 24 hour race.

Last year the GT Academy team took a third-place finish in the event in their class. If you missed this season’s episodes of GT Academy, you can watch them all on the Spike TV website. The series spanned six episodes this season.

The new version of the Leaf has modifications that were made by Nissan based on feedback from owners of current Leaf EVs. One of the biggest worries Nissan noted from Leaf owners was the fear of running out of electricity and being stranded. The upgraded version has a system that will tell drivers exactly how much battery life is left to help alleviate fears of being stranded.

The new version of the Leaf also has an extended electric driving range. Nissan claims that the new version of the Leaf can travel 142 miles on a fully charged battery. That is an increase from 124 miles on the previous version. However, the caveat for 142 miles on a single charge is that you can’t use the air conditioning.

The longer driving range was made possible thanks to improvements in the vehicle battery system and reductions in vehicle weight. The new version of the Leaf sells for under $31,000 for a base model with no options in Japan once government subsidies are applied. Nissan has sold 43,000 Leaf vehicles globally since it launched in 2010, with half that number sold in Japan. Nissan says it has sold 17,000 Leaf EVs in the US and sells about 1500 monthly.

[via Detroit News]

The cheaper ‘S’ model will use steel rims and wheel trims instead of alloy, and a less distinctive black interior, as well as regular halogen headlamps, instead of the LED units in the current Leaf. However, Nissan confirmed that the Leaf S doesn’t sacrifice any performance to the higher-spec models, and that MPG ratings are the same as well.

Nissan has also reduced the 2013 model’s overall weight, and included more trunk space, providing 13 cu-ft. instead of 11.6 cu-ft. Nissan has used lighter parts throughout the car, and have also combined parts together in order to reduce weight. Along with an improved battery module and more integrated electronic units, the new model has lost over 170 lbs.

Along with a new motor, and between the weight reductions and a re-jig of the steering technology, the 2013 Leaf should accelerate and handle better than previous-gen Leafs. While the new 2013 Leaf will be making it’s way to the US next year, Nissan has said that the US model might be different than the Japanese version.

[via Green Car Reports]

The second season of GT Academy will begin airing on November 1 on Spike TV. The first of the six episodes will air on Thursday, November 1 11:30 PM Eastern 10:30 PM central. The remaining five episodes of the series will air the same time each Thursday night.

People who want watch that don’t get Spike TV on cable or satellite services will be able to watch each episode via the Nissan YouTube channel the following Monday after the episodes air on Spike TV. Episodes will also air on MTV 2 a week after the original airdate on Spike TV. Like the original series, there’ll be an online competition to find the top online racers.

Those online racers will then be whittled down to the fastest 16 that will be invited to the Silverstone Racing complex in England for mental and physical challenges in addition to track driving in a variety of vehicles. So far, drivers from GT Academy have done very well in real life racing with the first season winner, Lucas Ordonez, winning the P2 Class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It combines slightly modified looks of the Juke-R with the fact that it has the twin turbo 3.8-liter V6 and all-wheel drive train from a 2013 GT-R, and I’m really interested. The first time we saw this customized Juke it was nothing but a publicity stunt on Nissan’s part. Then we found out Nissan would actually build these for anyone wealthy enough to afford the over $600,000 asking price.

Nissan has announced that the first production version of the Juke-R has been built and is on its way to its owner. The vehicle has 545 HP and is packed with racing seats, racing seatbelts, and a roll cage. This car was made for track driving and I would love to hoon one around a road course.

You might think that at $600,000 this would be the only version being constructed. However, Nissan says that a second production version is currently being built for another customer. If I were rich enough, I’d certainly have one of these in my garage, this may be the ultimate modern sleeper.

[via Car & Driver]

Some of the first Nissan Motor Co vehicles to get the technology will be in its high-end luxury Infiniti line. Nissan says that the technology will pave the way for future cars that can be steered using joysticks rather than a traditional wheel and cars that can be program to avoid crashes automatically. Steer-by-wire technology would forward data on position from the steering wheel of the car to the wheels using electronic means.

A computer-controlled unit with an actuator would control how much directional change was needed in the wheels to keep the car along the path the driver wants. Nissan says that the electronic steering system would have a failsafe clutch. That failsafe would link the wheels mechanically to the steering wheel inside the car in the event of an emergency such as the electrical system failure.

Automotive manufacturers have been increasingly going to electronic systems rather than mechanical and hydraulic systems. Many automakers already using throttle by wire systems rather than mechanical throttle linkages. There are also multiple vehicles on the road that use electronic power steering rather than traditional hydraulic power steering. Aircraft have been using control systems “by-wire” rather than mechanical or hydraulic systems for years. Nissan says that the electronic system is able to respond to signals more quickly than traditional systems because electronic signals travel faster. The first vehicles using the new steering system are expected in the next three to five years.

[via The Droid Guy]

Those changes would include the relocation of some of the components used, along with cheaper versions of them. Nissan will apparently be asking its suppliers to cut their costs, though it’s unclear whether new parts or simply cheaper versions of existing parts will be introduced.

Nissan’s existing model spec levels, the SV and SL, will continue to be offered in the 2013 model year, and there’s no word on whether their current pricing – $36,050 and $38,100 respectively – will be carried over. Similarly, pricing for the cheaper entry-level car is also unknown.

Costs will also be pared back  by shifting production, with US cars now being manufactured in Nissan’s Tennessee plant; until recently, the Leaf has been produced in Japan and shipped to the US.

A combination of pricing and uncertainty among consumers around electric cars has added up to mediocre sales. Nissan aimed to sell 20,000 Leaf cars in 2012, but has so far sold just 5,212. Sales in 2011 were just 9,674.

[via Motortrend]

As well as the four car companies, three hydrogen infrastructure firms are onboard: HyOP AS of Norway, and H2 Logic A/S and Copenhagen Hydrogen Network A/S both of Denmark. Meanwhile five non-governmental organizations – NyNor Norway, Hydrogen Sweden, Icelandic New Energy, Hydrogen Link Denmark Association, and the Scandinavian Hydrogen Highway Partnership – are also signees of the MoU.

Honda already has a fuel-cell vehicle on US and Japanese roads, with the Honda FCX being supplied to roughly two dozen private lessees, including private business owners, lawyers, educators and others. Earlier this year, meanwhile, Honda revealed its next fuel-cell vehicle would launch in 2015, with “significant cost reductions” promised.

Whether Honda, Toyota, Nissan, or Hyundai will be offering fuel-cell cars to individual drivers or prioritizing fleet sales and rentals is unclear at this stage. Even with the MoU in place, there is still plenty of work to be done to actually equip the four countries with suitable hydrogen infrastructure.

Technical details on the new engine are scant so far. Described as a 4-cylinder gasoline unit, with direct-injection and a turbocharger, it will supposedly be “compact” and show up in the first cars from all firms in 2016 at the earliest.

Meanwhile, Nissan has also grabbed a license to manufacture automatic transmissions using Daimler technology, which Nissan has said will take place in Mexico. Daimler gearboxes already help waft-friendly autobahn cruisers like Mercedes’ sedans shuttle through eight gears, and Nissan’s versions will use “park and shift by wire” and “start and stop” tech the German firm has developed.

The new ‘boxes will be used in both Nissan and Infiniti models, also from 2016, likely tuned for various degrees of efficiency, smoothness, and performance, depending on the specific vehicle and target audience.

Daimler and Renault-Nissan are still in discussions regarding fuel-cell powertrains, the companies confirmed, as well as a cross-supply program for battery and powertrain components for zero-emission compact models. City-car manufacturer and Daimler subsidiary smart showed off a concept all-electric model, the forstars, last week at the Paris Auto Show, which pairs battery power with smartphone remote control and an integrated projector for impromptu movie screenings.

This week New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission approved regulations requiring the replacement of retiring taxicab vehicles with Nissan’s NV200 Taxi of Tomorrow. The regulation sets a new standard for vehicles that operate on the streets of New York and will go into effect in October of 2013. Members of the commission expect the new taxi to significantly improve the overall fuel efficiency of the New York taxi fleet.

The exclusive agreement with Nissan begins in October 2013 and spans 10 years from that date. The new Nissan taxis use a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine designed to reduce carbon emissions and enhance fuel efficiency. The NV200 is also the first taxi to be crash tested with taxi hardware in place such as the partition.

The NV200 was also created to be wheelchair accessible. Major features for the new taxis include room for four passengers and luggage, sliding doors with a step and grab handles, a transparent roof panel, opening side windows, and independently controlled rear air-conditioning. The vehicle also has an active carbon lined headliner to help reduce odors and overhead reading lights as well as floor lighting. Charging solutions for mobile devices in the back include a pair of USB ports and a 12 V electrical outlet. The vehicle also includes a 150,000-mile powertrain warranty. The MSRP of the vehicle with all standard features is $29,700.

The biggest event that the DeltaWing has been part of so far was the 24 hours Le Mans held three months ago. Nissan has announced that the DeltaWing will race again and has entered the prototype vehicle in the American Le Mans series finale. The finale race will be held at Road Atlanta on October 17-20th.

Nissan created the cool DeltaWing race car in an attempt to use half to fuel and half the tires of contemporary sports prototype racecars during the Le Mans 24 hours race. Sadly, the Nissan DeltaWing had to retire from the infamous race after six hours of participation due to unintended contact with another vehicle.

Interestingly, the rules of the endurance race said that driver Satoshi Motoyama could’ve reentered the fray if he could fix the vehicle on his own. The driver spent 90 minutes by himself on the side of the racetrack attempting to repair the damage and get back into the race before he was ultimately forced to retire.

A six-speed manual is an option on the base Sentra, while the top-spec Sentra SL gets 17-inch alloys, auto headlights, and a tire pressure monitoring system that beeps the horn when you’ve topped the tires up sufficiently. Overall it’s 5-percent lighter than the previous model, but offers more accommodation and trunk space.

Inside, leather is an option, as is maple wood trim, while standard features include a 6-way manual driver’s seat, air conditioning, tilt/telescope steering wheel, power windows, remote keyless entry and a 4-speaker AM/FM/CD system. Hit the options sheet, however, and you can have dual-zone temperature control, a 6-speaker AM/FM/CD system with 4.3-inch LCD, USB iPod connectivity, Bluetooth hands-free, and an 8-speaker Bose system with an amp supposedly tuned specially to your choice of cloth or leather seats.

If you really push the boat out, though, you can have NissanConnect, centered around a 5.8-inch touchscreen and including spoken text messages, Bluetooth audio streaming, SiriusXM, live traffic updates, Google POIs, and Pandora access.

Twitter has taken away Tumblr Friend Finder functionality, and the inexpensive T-Mobile Concord has launched to bring 4G to budget-minded consumers. It was recently discovered that the SMS security hole known to plague iPhones doesn’t affect other devices running a different OS like Android or BlackBerry, and LG has apparently started working on the screen that may end up gracing the iPhone 5. Speaking of the iPhone, it seems that production on the next model has slowed thanks to a shortage of supplies.

The FCC has approved Verizon’s bid to buy up additional 4G LTE spectrum, and the Xbox 360 will be offering users election coverage starting next week, complete with live streams of the three debates that are planned. A large percentage of consumers are saying that they don’t need 4G LTE service, despite the fact that carriers are advertising it like mad. There’s a new OS X Mountain Lion update on the scene, and it’s bringing some software fixes with it, while today we received word that Facebook’s storage requirements grow by 500TB each and every day.

Sony Mobile has announced that it will be laying off 1,000 employees by March 2014, and the jury that is deciding the Apple and Samsung patent case decided to put in a little bit of overtime today. Paypal will be teaming up with Discover to bring its service to a ton of retail locations, Nissan will be giving prospective buyers of its 2013 Pathfinder a virtual tour of the car with a little help from Kinect, and Amazon has a new event coming up next month, where we’re thinking it will announce a brand new Kindle Fire. It just so happens that we’ll be at that event, so if there is a new Kindle Fire announced, you’ll be able to read all about it here at SlashGear.

Finally tonight, we have a brand new hands-on with the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0. Enjoy the rest of your evening everyone, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow night for Friday’s edition of the Wrap-Up!

Many of the vehicles Zipcar operates are green as well. Zipcar has announced that it has teamed up with the City of Houston using the Zipcar FastFleet technology to create the first municipal electric vehicle car-sharing program of its kind. The City of Houston owns 50 fleet vehicles and 25 of those vehicles are Nissan leaf EVs.

All 50 of the city’s municipal fleet vehicles were equipped with Zipcar’s FastFleet fleet sharing technology for use by all city employees across all departments. The City of Houston expects the new municipal fleet sharing program to help improve efficiency, utilization, and cut costs while allowing its city employees the mobility they need to do their job.

Using the technology the City of Houston will be able to design and configure its fleet footprint in real time for optimal utilization. The technology will also allow city workers to manage critical activities, including preventive maintenance, fueling, billing, and fleet distribution. The FastFleet technology will also allow fleet managers to analyze usage and diagnostic data as well as automatically capturing every trip city vehicles take.

Nissan wants to get car shoppers excited about the new Pathfinder ahead of the actual vehicle being available for test drives and close inspection. The company has chosen 16 of its dealers across the nation and is piloting a new program called the Pathfinder Kinect Experience. Sixteen dealerships around the country will have a virtual 2013 Pathfinder SUV to explore using Microsoft Kinect for Windows technology.

Using the Kinect Natural User Interface car shoppers will be able to climb into a virtual Pathfinder and explore the vehicle using motion and natural human gestures. The virtual exploration system and each dealership will include a Kinect for Windows kiosk with a computer, TV, and Kinect hardware. The shopper will be able to explore the exterior of the vehicle, select colors, bend down to inspect wheels, view the front and back of the vehicle, and climb inside for a virtual experience inside the SUV.

The Pathfinder Kinect Experience will be available in select dealerships across 13 states from August 20 through the end of November. Nissan says that this program is paving the way for a broader virtual showroom allowing shoppers to explore new Nissan vehicles months before they’re available in dealerships. If the pilot program in the 16 dealerships around the country is successful, Nissan says that it could extend the Kinect virtual showroom to all 1100 dealerships around the country.

According to GE, rather than the quality of the electricity supply coming through the Wattstation systems, it’s actually how the Leaf handles that power that’s the problem. Although the company tacitly admits that the juice can fluctuate, apparently it’s the Leaf’s software that needs to be tweaked, not its own supplies:

“Nissan and GE have completed their investigation into the instances of Nissan LEAFs experiencing on-board charging (OBC) issues when using certain EV chargers. Nissan has traced the root cause of the issue to the LEAFs OBC software that can allow damage to occur to its OBC components while using certain chargers and in certain instances, such as when a brief under voltage or blackout condition occurs” General Electric

The solution, GE claims, is a software update that will allow the Leaf’s systems to better handle the potentially wonky power supply. Until then, however, the advice is to avoid recharging at times when it’s possible that the Wattstations could be unsteady:

“Nissan is working to address this issue as quickly as possible, and in the meantime is advising customers to avoid charging during times when brownouts or momentary power dips may be likely, such as during electrical storms or high power usage on the grid” General Electric

Recharging via a regular 120V outlet is still supported and apparently unaffected by the OBC issue, though the recharging process itself will take longer than through a higher-power Wattstation.

[via Yahoo]

The charging station is about the size of an outdoor air conditioning unit, which means most homes will be able to easily accommodate it. Also, multiple units of the charging station can be installed on one supply line to accommodate multiple LEAF vehicles.

While conventional battery chargers take about 8 hours to charge the LEAF to 80% capacity, the new EV Power Station takes only 4 hours. The electricity returned to power the home can supply about two days’ worth of power for the typical household.

The EV Power Station will go on sale starting in July with pre-orders taken in mid-June through Nissan dealers in Japan. The unit is priced t 480,000 yen or about $6,000 USD. Including a subsidy from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Infrastructure, brings the cost down to 330,000 yen or about $4,100.

[via DigInfo]

The beginning of production for the 2013 year model Altima is in preparation for the car to go on sale at the end of June. The starting price for the car is $21,500. The new 2013 Altima has a certified fuel economy rating of 38 mpg on the highway for the 2.5-liter engine. The car also now comes standard with a Bluetooth hands-free phone system that can also stream audio via Bluetooth.

The car can also be equipped with a navigation suite that allows hands-free text messaging and Pandora playback. All 2013 Altimas also get the Easy Fill Tire Alert system that we talked about before. The base 2.5-liter dual overhead cam in-line four-cylinder engine produces 182 hp and an optional 3.5-liter V6 produces 270 hp. Both engines are mated to a Nissan Xtronic CVT transmission. The price range for the 2013 Nissan Altima starts from $21,500 up to $30,080 depending on the model.

Nissan has installed a very cool and useful system on its 2013 Altima called the Easy Fill Tire Alert. The system comes as standard equipment on all 2013 Nissan models. The system works in much the same way as other similar systems on the market with a dash light that glows when a tire is low. When the driver begins to inflate the tires, the car’s four-way flashers will flash to confirm the air is going into the tire.

Once the tires are at the proper pressure, the horn will chirp to let the driver know the inflation procedure is complete. That also means anyone can fill the tires to the correct pressure without having to know what the correct pressure setting is and without having to locate and fiddle with a tire pressure gauge. The Nissan system also tells the driver which specific tire or tires are low. If the driver happens to overfill the tire, the flashers blink faster and the horn beeps three times. The horn will chirp again, when the driver lets the air out of the tires to reach proper inflation. The only thing I wonder is if the system is adjustable. If the driver changes the factory tires, and those new tires have different pressure requirements, the system will need to be adjusted to function correctly.

At today’s sales numbers, that includes BMW, Hyundai and Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Volkswagen, and Volvo. The sales numbers may change in six years’ time to require more or less automakers to comply. Those who don’t meet the quota are fined. The quota changes based on a staggering number of factors – specific technologies used, driving range, whether or not automakers’ targets are met by a certain time, and more. Like carbon emissions themselves, credits can be purchased outright from California’s Air Resources Board and traded between companies in order to avoid fines.

California’s population and economy is large enough that its legislative bodies can drive sweeping changes in US and international corporations, and it’s doing so for automakers as it has for other environmentally suspect industries. Ten other states have similar laws on the books, but none are as heavy-handed as California’s. Due to the complexity of the current quota and credit system, the Air Resources Board doesn’t have exact statistics on how many zero-emission vehicles are on the road in California. When the wider statute starts in 2018, the system will be simplified to only grant credit based on the range of the vehicles in question.

[via Consumer Reports]