Nissan Announces Leaf Roll-Out

Electric car comes to dealerships in December, 2010

Nissan Leaf

Nissan begins taking reservations for its new Leaf electric car in April. Interested buyers pay a $100 fee to get a priority spot when the automaker begins taking orders later this year.

The Leaf is available for lease or sale to consumers. A single transaction includes the battery. Cars begin rolling into dealerships in December.

In the meantime, the automaker is modifying its Smyrna, Tennessee plant to manufacture the Leaf and its battery packs. A $1.4 billion loan from the US Department of Energy is funding the project.

Rental car giant, Hertz, will be adding the Leaf to its US and European fleets in 2011. The electric cars will be available in major urban markets, where Hertz anticipates the highest demand.

The EV Project is deploying the recharging infrastructure, funded by a $98 million Department of Energy grant. ETec, a division of Ecotality, is providing 6,510 charging stations for the project. The public charging stations will be installed in five major markets: Seattle, Oregon, Tennessee, Phoenix/Tucson, and San Diego. Stations include both 240-volt and Level 3 fast chargers.

The company is also providing 4700 home charging stations for Leaf customers.

Nissan has formed eighteen partnerships with states and cities in the US, Mexico and Canada to prepare markets and infrastructure for electric cars. The partnerships include the state of Oregon, Sonoma County,  San Diego, San Francisco, Phoenix, Tucson, Washington DC, Seattle, Orlando, Raleigh, Houston, the state of Massachusetts, Mexico City and Vancouver Canada.

For more information on Nissan’s zero-emissions vehicle, visit the consumer web site.

2010 North American International Auto Show

Automakers charge up a new generation of electric cars

By Nina Russin

Volvo Electric C30

In its race to find renewable alternatives to gasoline, the auto industry is once again considering the electric car. Electric cars have been around almost as long as the internal combustion engine. Problems with battery technology and the lack of a recharging infrastructure prevented plug-in vehicles from migrating into the mainstream.

Advances in nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion battery technology provide two viable alternatives to lead-acid. Lead-acid batteries are heavy and space consuming. Because the electrolyte is fluid, they also present a safety risk.

Manufacturers including Nissan and Mitsubishi are working with state and federal agencies to put recharging stations in public places. Nissan hopes to have a good start on its plug-in infrastructure when the Nissan Leaf rolls into dealerships the end of this year.

This week’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit saw a new flock of plug-in concepts from Volvo, Audi, GM, Honda and Nissan. Volvo is using its compact C30 as the basis for a fifty-unit electric car test fleet that hits the streets in 2011. Read the rest of this entry »

Nissan Leaf Comes Stateside

Nissan promotes electric car with a 22-city tour

By Nina Russin

Nissan Leaf

Electric cars have been around almost as long as the internal combustion engine. But they’ve never gained widespread popularity for two reasons: limited driving range, and the lack of a recharging infrastructure.

Nissan hopes to bring electric cars into the mainstream with the Leaf: a pure electric production car that arrives in dealerships at the end of this year. The four-door hatchback holds up to five passengers, and has a driving range of about 100 miles on a full charge. Top speed is 90 miles-per-hour.

Lithium-ion batteries similar to those used in personal computers provide the energy for the Leaf. They are significantly less bulky than the lead-acid batteries used in most automotive starting and charging systems. Recharging the Leaf takes about eight hours on a 220-volt household line. Read the rest of this entry »

ALV Award at San Diego Auto Show

Ed Witt and Jim Woodman

The sixth annual Active Lifestyle Vehicle of the Year program concluded this week with an awards presentation at the San Diego Auto Show. ALV co-founder and juror, Jim Woodman, presented the award for best luxury on-road vehicle to Ed Witt, owner of Witt Lincoln Mercury. Witt was accepting the award for the 2010 Lincoln MKT.

Athletes who drove the MKT were impressed by the performance of Ford’s new EcoBoost engine, innovative safety features such as blind spot warning and cross traffic alert, as well as the vehicle’s versatile interior.

The Active Network Inc., one of two program sponsors, has hosted the athlete’s ride-and-drive event at its San Diego campus for the past five years.

“We were honored to host the 2010 Active Lifestyle Vehicle Awards,” said Jon Belmonte, chief operating officer of The Active Network. “This event has had great success in connecting auto manufacturers with active consumers.”

The San Diego Auto Show runs through January 3 at the San Diego Convention Center.

My Three Thousand Mile Year

Running shoes

Actually, it was 2970 miles. A slight calf pull at the beginning of December kept me from running the sixty-plus mile weeks that I needed to reach 3000 by January 1.

If one were to string the past 52 weeks worth of runs end to end, it would be the equivalent of running across America. It makes me wonder what it would be like to run or bicycle across this country: to watch the terrain change from hardwood forests to the grasslands, the desert, and eventually the Mediterranean climate of southern California.

While I have contemplated such a journey, it has never been a goal of mine, any more than running the equivalent mileage was. Looking back at my diary, my goals for 2009 were to stay healthy, enjoy running, and jump into a half marathon or two. Read the rest of this entry »

Winter Tires Add Traction in Extreme Weather

By Nina Russin

Winter Tire Test at Tire Rack

When I was a kid, using winter tires was common practice. Before the days of front and all-wheel drive, winter tires were the only way drivers could give their cars better traction for driving on ice and snow.

While technologies such as electronic stability and traction control enhance a car’s all-season performance, winter tires add an important measure of protection. Rubber compounds are temperature sensitive. Summer performance tires work best in temperatures above freezing. All-season tires maintain traction over a wider range of temperatures, but still don’t perform as well as winter tires in extreme cold weather.

Tread patterns on winter tires are designed to move moisture away from the surface, so the tires maintain their contact patches with the ground. If the tires lose traction and the car hydroplanes, none of its other safety systems can bring the vehicle back under control. Read the rest of this entry »

2009 Los Angeles Auto Show

Eco-friendly cars pave the way to economic recovery

By Nina Russin

2011 Chevrolet Cruze

Los Angeles has become known as the green auto show: a hot bed for sustainable technology. Since LA is the first major North American auto show of the season, it also sets the tenor for those that follow. While the 2009 show lacked some of the bells and whistles of more prosperous times, automakers had a more optimistic outlook than they did the year before.

Fuel-thrifty compacts

Chevrolet kicked off the media preview with the North American debut of the Cruze: a compact sedan that replaces the Cobalt. The Cruze is already on sale in Europe; it rolls into North American dealerships for the 2011 model year. A 1.4-liter turbo-diesel engine and six-speed automatic transmission give the Cruze superior fuel economy: up to 40 miles-per-gallon on the highway. All grades come with antilock brakes, electronic stability and traction control, ten standard airbags and GM’s Onstar telematics system. Read the rest of this entry »

2010 Active Lifestyle Vehicle Awards

San Diego area athletes weigh in on this year’s entries

Athletes Judge the Best Value Category

This week, two dozen San Diego area athletes got their turn to drive the 2010 entries for Active Lifestyle Vehicle of the Year, and cast their votes. The awards program, now in its sixth year, recognizes new cars and trucks that best meet the needs of active buyers. The program is sponsored by AAA and the Active Network. The Active Network has hosted the one-day ride-and-drive program since 2005.

Twenty manufacturers participated in the 2010 competition, entering vehicles in seven categories. A panel of twelve automotive journalists, including Larry Edsall, Denise McCluggage, John Stewart, Jim Prueter, Sue Mead, Tamara Warren and others drove the initial field of entries and pared the group down to 28 finalists.

Athletes on hand included members of Team Aquaphor, Active Network Media, and the San Diego Triathlon Club, participating in sports that ranged from surfing and sprint triathlon to ultra-distance running. The athletes’ votes weighed fifty percent in the final tally: jury panel votes comprised the remaining fifty percent. Read the rest of this entry »

SEMA News

Automotive aftermarket show features accessories for active lifestyles

By Nina Russin

Yakima Rack-and-Roll trailer

SEMA is the Specialty Equipment Manufacturing Association: the biggest organization of aftermarket equipment suppliers in the world. Once a year, members gather in Las Vegas for a trade show of overwhelming proportions.

How big is it? According to a colleague, the 2007 SEMA show had twenty-six miles of exhibits, filling all three halls in the Las Vegas Convention Center.

While the current show is slightly smaller, it’s still an impressive display. In addition to the exhibition halls, hot rods and customs fill the open air spaces in front of the convention center. Despite the fact that admission is limited to industry members, attendance is huge. By mid-day, it’s hard to find space to walk down the aisles.

Among the thousands of participants are all the major manufacturers of roof racks, camping supplies, navigation systems, specialty suspensions, tires, and towing equipment. Following are a few of this year‘s highlights.

Roof and hitch racks

Yakima‘s new Rack and Roll trailers are an ergonomic alternative to roof racks. There are two models: a 66-inch wide rack that weighs about 130 pounds empty, and a slightly heavier 78-inch wide rack that can hold up to eight bicycles. Read the rest of this entry »

2010 Nissan Sedans

Maxima, Altima, Sentra and Versa get refreshed styling and technology updates

By Nina Russin

2010 Nissan Altima sedan

Virtual imaging has been a blessing and a curse for the car world. On the plus side, design teams can take concepts from the drawing board into production faster. The drawback of virtual imaging is that designs have, in many cases lost the human touch.

The Nissan Xterra is a perfect example of how important humanism is to car design. The design team didn’t conceptualize the Xterra in the studio. They did it by spending time with athletes in and around San Diego, and observing their lifestyle needs.

The same type of humanism infuses Nissan’s sedans. The 2010 models offer many new features active buyers crave.

A good example is the $400 navigation system available on the 2010 Versa and Sentra. The value-priced option interfaces with onboard infotainment: it includes a touchscreen and is available with a rearview camera.

Renewed focus on sedan lineup

Sedans are Nissan’s bread and butter.  The upscale Maxima, best-selling Altima, compact Sentra and value-priced Versa compete against some of the highest volume vehicles in the car market: the Toyota Camry and Corolla, Honda Accord and Camry among them.

The recent economic slump has shrunk the pool of prospective customers, making it more difficult to conquest customers away from other brands. Nissan’s strategy has been to give the sedans refreshed styling and some important technology updates for the coming year.

All four models have redesigned front ends, including new headlamps, grilles and hoods. The redesign gives Nissan sedans a more cohesive appearance, enhancing their brand identity. Designers refreshed the vehicle interiors with new upholstery and updated instrument panels.

All sedans except the Versa come with standard vehicle dynamic control: one of the most effective accident avoidance technologies. A new Nissan quality assurance program includes updated computer systems in assembly plants, positioning the workers within eye level of the vehicles to reduce accidents and manufacturing flaws, and an enhanced vehicle inspection system. Read the rest of this entry »