Nissan shows off latest electric car prototype with battery monitoring system, iPhone app
By Laura June 
posted July 27th 2009 11:24AM
posted July 27th 2009 11:24AM
Nissan's started showing off its latest prototype electric car, based on the Versa. This one will house a 108 horsepower / 206 pound-feet electric motor to drive the front wheels, and a 24 kWh, lithium ion battery pack will be fitted under the floor for storing electricity, with an expected range of 100 miles. To top things of nerd-style, the newest prototype will have a navigation system which will show the current life of the battery, and the mile range its current amount of juice will support, and will boast the ability to download info about nearby charging station locations. And need we say, "there's an app for that?" That's right, Nissan also has a working prototype of an iPhone app making the rounds in Japan which would allow users to communicate with their car remotely and find out the state of the battery's charge. Can this get any cooler?
Read - Nissan shows off new Versa-based electric vehicle protoype
Read - Nissan dials iPhone for car remote control
Read - Nissan shows off new Versa-based electric vehicle protoype
Read - Nissan dials iPhone for car remote control
yes it can, merge nissan with apple....lol
I can imagine the ad campaign now
"I'm a Nissan" "And I'm a Toyota"
Then the Toyota guy runs straight into a wall.
I'll wait for the Jailbreak so I can tether...
Yes, the would make the merger "ni-pple".
Yes, make friendly with all smartphone not just the iphone.
Yay! Another crappy electric car! Yay!
100 miles? I drive about 150 miles a week. Sure, I won't be using gas or spending money, but my home electric bill or bill from a charging station will pretty much rape my bank account.
In the U.S.:
Lets see, cheap gas ~= 2.75 a gallon right now, and at 30mpg, that's about 13.75 for 150 miles.
Electricity ~= 10c a killowatt, so, for the sake of argument, let's say it takes 2 times the bat. capacity to charge. that equals 20c a killowatt, which is ~ 4.80 for 150 miles.
Electricity prices would have to triple for this to be more expensive than gas, and that's if you're driving a very fuel efficient car to begin with.
Math disproves your bank account rape fallacy, unless you live in some bizzaro universe where gas is cheaper than electricity.
Perhaps he lives in Iraq, where gas used to be $0.10 a gallon. Oh wait, those days are over.
@kjb434
So you leave for work Monday, and come home on Friday? Really? or is your commute 30 miles per day, allowing you to recharge at home? Go ask your banker what 100 minus 30 is; even though I went to public school, I'm pretty sure it is less than 100.
its all about kjb434. :)
@ kjb434
I have to support you on the first part of your statement. Even if you can recharge it all the time you do not want to be thinking all the time about that. If not the recharging itself ( charging station hunting if you are not at home ) you will be worried about the time it takes to recharge. For this reason this car will be bound for city use. I am still very excited by this because this is the beginning of the EV era and shortfalls are to be expected. I just wish Car manufacturers wil be more willing to engage in parternships with other ( better ) battery manufacturers.
That particular technology is the only element holding EV cars to become a real replacement for traditional fuel cars.
On the second bit man, you ve lost me. I am sure by now you know why.
my electrical company charges more when you go over a certain amount of usage per month... so how cost effective will this be when im paying 300$ a month for home electricity?
Wow you can't even do that with gas!
I wonder why we don't have an iPhone gas gauge yet...
Don't get me wrong I will immediately buy whatever mainstream electric car/efficient plugin hybrid comes to market first. They just need to start making them!
Prototype, Chambo, chill out. And charge outside.
Sorry, comment meant for Kjb434, my bad Chambo
This is important!
I try to depict similar soulful message
Its an honour commenting on your blog
Our base belongs to you! Ha Ha Ha, make your time
Ah! Now please make a Z electric!
That also has some mileage range!
300 mile range on average and 10 minute charge time or GTFO
We just need more iDrivers that are iIdiots because they use an iIphone to look at iGuage while driving.
KillaGrammarBrotha, say whut now?
I read iGuage as "I Eye-goo-ah-hay", with kind of a latin accent on the "hay". Interesting!
Most people just go to work and back home 90% of the time, 100 miles is more than enough. I think there is a study on this but its very warm here in Germany now and I am too lazy to google it.
I think it will be even crazier when they have those auto driving things working better. Imagine driving your car to some place. getting out, and using your phone to tell it to go find a parking space. and then when your leaving you just tell your car to come back.
Your examples account for a small number of people around here.
They don't need to make the absolute best electric car for everyone at first. Most people don't drive more than 50 miles in a day, and there are plenty of people who sit in traffic for hours at a time. This car would work for me.
not a single day goes by without something apple related here on engadget... while other tech blogs have 1 apple post a week at most. i'm gonna leave engadget if it stays this way.
on topic: why the fuck would you make a iphone app for that. why not a web portal where you can log in to your car and retrieve data using your iphone... or your pre, G1, htc hero, laptop or any other device connected to the interwebs.
Because there are more iDiots than normal people.
because this way, people will talk about your car that's why.
Had they not announced the iphone app, this would just be a side note, I doubt engadget would have even had a post about it.
Come on people, think. The advertisers did.
Who cares if the BLOGGERS want to talk about apple?
The auto industry really needs to stop show boating and spending hundreds of millions on concepts and prototypes for things they have no intention of shipping now or until 5 - 10 years down the road. You don't see this much bragging on things they can't deliver from most other industries. Ack!
Ah, that's interesting.
But the Question is: Will it blend?
If you American types call petrol gas, what do you call gas?
petrol = gasoline -> gas.
natural gas
looks like an japanese police car
It would be cooler if it had a vampiric inductive charging mode where I could just park it under some power lines and it would sip, sip, sip up the go-go 'juice'.
But for now I would just be happy if they would increase that range a bit... which I'm sure they will in due time.
100 miles can go by pretty quickly and I would not like to be out on a day's errands trying to decide if I can make it to the chinese buffet and back home or if I should just head straight there and have a PBJ.
Color scheme reminds me of bacon.
Hey Xenoterranos, did you read the 1300 page Cap and Tax bill? If it gets passed by the Senate as is (bills rarely make it through both houses without some tweaking by all sides), you will have your wish of electricity costs tripling. And it will happen quickly if it gets passed.
Look it up. The 0bama administration doesn't want any electric vehicles, doesn't want coal or nuclear and is doing its best to make oil more expensive too. One way or the other, fuel of any kind will be more expensive by the time this administration is done and it will cost more to live here in the US with transportation costs escalating, energy decreasing and 0bamacare bankrupting us.
Ah, you're one of those neocon crazies. Noted.
I'm so glad that they chose the iPhone, because it proves that the iPhone is the best smartphone on the planet. Too bad for Microsoft, HTC, and those companies that copy Apple, they don't have devices useful as the iPhone.
wow.
electric cars are finally getting some attention (and more importantly R&D) and you're wanting them to meet your silly requirements yesterday?
Yes they have a ways to go to compete and appeal with gas counterparts that have had mainstage for the last 100 years, go figure.
We should expect more, but demand it? You obviously don't understand how the system works. It's not like these are all that electric cars will ever be and that car engineers are all retiring after their greatest achievement. It's simply one step in many on this road to get what you are wanting now. Be patient, that's what everyone would like (and beyond).
And I wouldn't hesitate to say that these cars aren't made with the average person in mind. But they will work for enough people to potentially make a profit. It's not for you, so just check back in a few years.
I want one
dude you make us iphone owners all seem like jackasses.
I bought an iphone because it had the best web browser out of all the phones I tried. It is by far not the best smart phone out there, get real. What it does well...it does well but what it lacks, other phones (including "dumb" phones) have had or been able to do for years. Especially if you start taking price/cost into consideration.
dude you make us iphone owners all seem like jackasses.
I bought an iphone because it had the best web browser out of all the phones I tried. It is by far not the best smart phone out there, get real. What it does well...it does well but what it lacks, other phones (including "dumb" phones) have had or been able to do for years. Especially if you start taking price/cost into consideration.
engadget, your comment system blows.
that comment was for: The "i"
you may not be a fanboy but I can tell by all your "first" comments that you are a jackass.
jackass
idiot
stupid
stalker
oh, did someone get their feelings hurt?
Are you ashamed of all your lame "first" comments?
Grow up, what are you, 12?
If your trip is 150 miles round trip then this car obviously isn't for you, until they have charging set up at your work place or a rapid charger network gets built.
Like jjamese says, this is only the start (EVs are just beginning to revive after being killed again in the late 90s - early 2000s), you can't expect all EVs to satisfy every demand immediately when they launch. Probably 90-something% of the people in the US travel less than 100 miles a day (GM says 78% travel less than 40 miles a day), but obviously there will be people who travel further (you for example) or some people who frequently go on roadtrips and don't have a second car. Just because it doesn't satisfy the needs of those people doesn't mean it's useless for the rest. Eventually they'll have more range (it's not impossible to have 300 mile range but the battery will cost ~$45k, the Tesla Model S will have an optional pack that has 300 mile range but it starts at $57k before tax credits with 160 mile range) but it'll take some time for the prices to go down.