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Nissan will test its self-driving taxi service in Japan next year
Nissan wants to have its fully-automated ride service on the road in Japan by the early 2020s. The plan is to start with a "public field test" for the Easy Ride service in Yokohama. Nissan has partnered with technology company DeNa for the venture, and the hope is to have everything from pick-up to payment and drop-off handled via mobile app. If you'd rather take the scenic route to your destination, options will be available for that as well.
Infiniti unveils a semi-autonomous QX50 for 2019
After nearly a year of teasing, Infiniti finally debuted its newest QX50 crossover at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show on Tuesday. The vehicle features not only an inline-4 engine capable of adjusting the length of each cylinder's piston stroke on the fly, it's also the first Infiniti to incorporate Nissan's ProPilot semi-autonomous driver assist system.
The US government may take away the $7,500 tax credit for EVs
If you were hoping to take advantage of the federal government's $7,500 tax credit for buying an electric vehicle, you may soon be out of luck. According to a report at Bloomberg, the provisions in the US tax code may be eliminated in the current round of tax cut efforts. If so, it could affect the entire nascent industry by not supporting EV sales at a federal level.
Nissan is joining Formula E
Nissan has made big strides in its push for electrification by unveiling two new zero-emission concept vehicles and announcing its plans to join Formula E racing from the 2018-2019 season. At the Tokyo Motor Show the brand showed off the IMx all-electric crossover, which offers fully autonomous operation and a range of more than 600 kilometers, and the Leaf NISMO, which brings a hefty dose of racing technology to the company's flagship electric car. According to Nissan, this concept boasts better aerodynamic performance and less lift.
Nissan's EVs will swap engine noises for 'song'
The US Department of Transport (DoT) recently decreed that all hybrid and electric vehicles must make a noise to protect pedestrians, especially folks who are blind or have limited vision. Rather than just saying, "okay, we're adding a noise to our EVs, you guys," Nissan made a big production about releasing its "song," even giving it a name. "'Canto' has been developed to help with pedestrian safety, as well as to provide ... a sound that is energizing and confident," the company said in a press release.
Nissan's Rogue is its first US car with semi-autonomous driving
You won't have to wait long to try Nissan's semi-autonomous ProPilot Assist on American streets. The automotive giant has announced that the 2018 Rogue crossover will be the first car in the US to have the feature as an option. Not surprisingly, it won't come standard. While the Rogue starts at $24,680, you'll need to spend about $35,000 for a Rogue SL with the Platinum Package to get that robotic assistance. In classic car maker fashion, you'll have to spend on extras you probably don't care for (like leather seats and large wheels) just to get the one option you do.
Nissan made a DualShock-controlled car to promote 'GT Sport'
Professional racer Jann Mardenborough recently got the chance to live every Gran Turismo fan's dream: he drove a real car using a DualShock 4 controller from aboard a helicopter. That car was a modified Nissan GT-R aptly called the GT-R /C, made to celebrate the automaker's 20th year of involvement with Gran Turismo and GT Sport's upcoming launch. The vehicle is fitted with four robots -- one each to control the steering wheel, transmissions, brakes and throttle -- and a micro-computer to receive commands from the unmodified DualShock.
Renault-Nissan bets its future on electric and hybrid cars
The Renault-Nissan alliance is no stranger to producing electric cars. Have heard of this little thing called the Leaf? However, its eco-friendly vehicles have tended to be odd ducks in the lineup. That's about to change: the Renault Group has unveiled a "Drive the Future" plan that will see the company field eight all-electric models and 12 hybrids by 2022. Simultaneously, it's trying to leave emissions scandals in the past by cutting its diesel range in half over the same period.
Thanks to Alexa, you can start a Nissan SUV with your voice
The latest skill for Amazon's Alexa doesn't connect it to some gadget or appliance -- it's to lightly operate Nissan cars. Following last week's news that BMW's next models would work with the voice-controlled assistant, Nissan has announced that some of its cars will, too...so long as you just want to have it remotely start your car or unlock your doors.
Nissan and Mitsubishi to launch 12 EVs and a 'robo' ride service
Renault-Nissan and Mitsubishi are joining forces to produce electric and hybrid cars and become "a global leader in ride-hailing services," they announced. The group, called Alliance 2022, will partner up on 12 electric cars and 40 vehicles with autonomous driving tech by, you guessed it, 2022. "With the emissions rules coming in, it's the end of gas," said Alliance 2022 CEO Carlos Ghosn in a statement. "Between now and 2040 there will be no more diesel and gasoline. This is absolutely a scenario."
Nissan's 2018 Leaf is a smarter, longer-lasting EV
Nissan's pure EV Leaf has been largely dominating the electric car market for seven years. So a refresh has been a long time coming. This week the company finally unveiled a vehicle with a higher range, an optional semi-autonomous feature and one-pedal driving. None of this is is necessarily groundbreaking, but after being behind the wheel of a preproduction model in Las Vegas, it's apparent to me that the automobile is ready to take on the latest crop of electric cars.
Nissan's next Leaf is cheaper and can almost drive itself
The Nissan Leaf does pretty well for the automaker. It's one of the best selling EVs ever and today the company introduced a redesigned $29,990 Leaf with ProPilot, a hands-on semi-autonomous feature for heavy traffic. With a 150 mile range and a price about $700 cheaper than it predecessor, Nissan is determined to stay at the top of the electric-vehicle sales-numbers pile.
After Math: Come out and burn
As the current presidential administration keeps trying its best to be America's last, let's take a moment from the existential horror of nuclear annihilation at the hands of the world's other wannabe king and see who's been killing it in tech this week. Game of Thrones roasted way more horses and stuntmen than necessary in the name of VFX (spoilers, duh), Nissan is shelling out nearly another $100 million in hopes that the Takata airbag scandal will just drag itself into the woods and die already, and Facebook quietly took the Groups app out behind the woodshed mere days after axing the teen-targeting Lifestage app. Numbers, because how else are we going to accurately describe the literal decimation of the global human population when this pissing contest is over with?
Infiniti prototype melds a 1940s race car with EV power
As a rule, electric car concepts embrace the future. Even those with a retro flavor are clearly products of the 21st century. Don't tell that to Infiniti, however -- it's going deep into the past. Nissan's luxury badge has unveiled the Prototype 9, an EV whose design unabashedly recalls 1940s race cars (particularly those from Auto Union). And it's not just the long nose, spoked wheels and massive front grille that pay homage -- the prototype was even built using traditional techniques. Inside, of course, it's very much the product of 2017 know-how.
Nissan settles Takata airbags lawsuit for $97.7 million
Earlier this year, we reported that Takata, the Japanese auto parts maker that was charged with criminal fraud for covering up faulty airbags, had agreed to pay a $1 billion settlement after a US federal investigation. This week, Nissan agreed to pay $97.7 million in a class-action settlement due to customers' economic loss because of the recall of 4.4 million vehicles equipped with Takata airbag inflators.
Nissan’s door alert honks at you to check the backseat
The last thing you want is to forget items in the back of a car during these relentless summer days. But even with all the technical wizardry found inside modern vehicles, there's really nothing stopping you from just being plain absent-minded. And, before you know it, your car ends up reeking of leftover food or your gym clothes. However, Nissan's new warning system is aimed directly at your backseat.
‘Final Fantasy’ characters are now selling Nissans
Final Fantasy character Lightning has landed herself another ad campaign. She's already hawked Prada and Louis Vuitton and now she's moved from the fashion world to the auto industry. Lightning appears with Snow Villiers -- who was also in the Prada campaign -- in an ad for Nissan.
Nissan preps its semi-autonomous driving assist for the US
Nissan is one step closer to bringing its semi-autonomous ProPilot Assist feature to American roads. The automaker has shed more light on the US-optimized version of the assistant ahead of its launch in the new Leaf near the end of 2017. As Nissan stresses, the initial version is intended only to make life easier during single-lane highway driving. Think of it as a sort of Autopilot lite. It'll use a camera, radar and sensors to keep you in your lane, maintain speed and brake if the driver ahead slows down, but it won't change lanes, handle city streets or brake in an emergency. It's definitely not a hands-free option -- it'll deactivate if you have a less-than-firm grip on the steering wheel.
Nissan teases self-driving features for the next-gen Leaf
The next generation Leaf EV will be the first with ProPilot driver assist in North American and Europe, and Nissan has just showed how that will look. Activated by a button on the steering wheel, it can control steering, braking and acceleration, but only in a single freeway lane. The driver can see exactly what's going on with the aid of a fancy animation front and center in the largely digital dashboard.
Nissan imagines Faraday cages in cars will stop phone use
Despite the many tools developed to help us down our phones while driving -- from the simple Bluetooth headset to apps that automatically reply to texts -- it appears we just can't stop fiddling with the things when we're behind the wheel. And even if your eyes are fixed on the road, barking hands-free voice commands can still render you dangerously distracted. Simply ignoring your phone is the most sensible thing to do, and Nissan has come up with the most elaborate, over-engineered way of ensuring that happens: Putting a Faraday cage inside the driver's armrest.