Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. announced today that 30 Nissan D22 4×4 pick-up trucks arrived in Haiti and were received by the United Nations’ World Food Programme. The trucks will be put to work immediately to deliver food, supplies and aid in the massive ongoing efforts to help rebuild lives in a nation ravaged by a devastating earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010.

The donation of trucks, in response to a request from former U.S. President Bill Clinton, founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and currently UN Special Envoy for Haiti, is an expansion of relief efforts in Haiti sponsored by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and its global community of employees.

With the donation of the pick-up trucks, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and its employees worldwide have contributed cash and products valued at nearly $750,000 to relief efforts in Haiti.

Immediately after the earthquake in January, Nissan employees took action to help – first with a donation of more than $100,000 cash, corporate matches for gifts from employees, and a commitment to partner with Habitat for Humanity International to construct new homes. In response to the request for trucks, Nissan’s Corporate Social Responsibility team worked with the U.N. to identify a partner relief organization and found a match in the World Food Programme, which took delivery of the trucks today in Port-au-Prince.

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It’s almost the end of the decade for the 2000’s and it’s time to look back and review what trucks were the most significant. PickupTrucks.com and AutoPacific has just announced a list of the Most Significant Trucks of the Decade. As expected the list were made up of trucks that were technologically cutting edged advanced and who pushed the envelope in terms of quality and design.

So here they are:

• 2000 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab
• 2001 Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra Heavy Duty with 6.6-Liter Duramax Diesel
• 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche
• 2004 Nissan Titan
• 2005 Toyota Tacoma
• 2006 Honda Ridgeline
• 2007 Toyota Tundra
• 2009 Dodge Ram 1500
• 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

And the Most Significant of the Decade:

• 2009 Ford F-150

Why It’s Significant: Remains the gold standard against which other half-ton pickup trucks are compared.

Ford gave its F-150 half-ton pickup a major revision for 2009 and gave buyers an astonishing seven different models to choose from before they even considered engine choice or cab type. Two more models have been added for 2010! It’s not the most powerful truck but the F-150 features an excellent six-speed transmission and innovative features like Ford Work Solutions that make doing jobs with a truck easier. From contractor to urban cowboy, Ford has an F-150 to meet almost anyone’s needs.

“On balance, we thought the 2009 Ford F-150 was the most significant pickup of the last decade,” said Jim Hossack, vice president of consulting for AutoPacific. “It sells in high volume, owners like it and its body, chassis and powertrain are all first rate. Features abound, and there are more models, series and options than can be counted. It’s a good looking truck and suitable for the widest possible range of tasks and uses.”

Congratulations to the Ford F-150 team for creating a Pick-up Truck that ruled a decade.

Press Release

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Do you remember last time that there was a contest on how car designers view cars in the year 2030? Well it got a lot of entries but naturally there can be only one winner. And the one who won it is the Nissan V2G.

The Nissan V2G (Vehicle to Grid), was chosen for its holistic approach in answering the future’s design questions. With the consensus that the future will be much more integrated, the V2G offered a great vehicle design that took environmental aspects into consideration.
“The scope of this year’s concepts and designs – from the initial sketches to the final presentations – were very impressive,” said Chuck Pelly, director of Design Los Angeles and partner in The Design Academy, Inc. “In the end, it came down to which team had the most inventive and solution-oriented design. Nissan’s designers showed passion and were able to create the ultimate Youthmobile for 2030 with their V2G design.”

Well, there’s no note on whether the cars who joined this contest would be running on gas or not, but I guess they focused more on the design. It would be great if they can also figure in the “green” aspects of a car.

Entries were judged by multi-discipline design professionals who selected the winner based on its originality of creative concept, integration of futuristic design elements and level of adaptation to the needs of the youth consumer in 2030. All of the Youthmobile 2030 entries delivered a great variety of answers to the question posed by this year’s Design Challenge. However, the Nissan’s V2G design was most distinguished with its combination of story and design.

Well, here’s hoping that they include the green aspect next year.

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As I mentioned before, the evolution of cars from gas guzzlers to electric suckers is inevitable if you want to help the environment shape up. With car manufacturers recognizing the effects of using gas powered vehicles to the environment, most of them are looking for ways to create green cars that won’t alienate their current gas powered car customers and lovers. One of these manufacturers is Nissan as they just showed off their green car: The Leaf.

“This is not a golf car, it’s a real car,” Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told the crowd. The Leaf, with motors equal to a 100-horsepower gas engine, can be recharged to 80% capacity in a half hour, of fully overnight. The five-passenger sedan can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than 10 seconds.

As with most problems with green cars, it is extremely expensive! According to the article, there’s a very big chance that the price will range from $25,000 to $30,000. Now whether this will go down as more people buy green cars is really up for debate, but in the long run, the price of maintaining this is a heck of a lot cheaper.

The next problem now are the charging stations–and it looks like Nissan is actively participating in setting up the stations. It should push the other car manufacturers to do their share in making the world better for everyone. I’m hoping that this starts the ball rolling for more electric cars in the future.

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What if you could look into the future–let’s say 2030? What type of cars will we be driving? Will it be a flying car or still a land based vehicle? This is what the Southern California Automotive Design Studios thought when they created a contest.

“Automotive designers have always been fascinated with the next generation of drivers and this year’s Design Challenge has provided them with the opportunity to use their creative talents to revisit the concept of ‘the car’ with new eyes, using the hottest technologies to both explore and fulfill the needs of young people,” said Chuck Pelly, director of Design Los Angeles and partner in The Design Academy, Inc.

The following have submitted their entries:

Volkswagen/Audi of America Design Center California: Audi eOra and eSpira

General Motors Advanced Design: Car Hero

Honda Research and Development, North America: Honda Helix

Mazda R & D of North America: Mazda Souga

Nissan Design America: V2G

Toyota’s Calty Design Research: Toyota LINK

I’m not sure but do these cars still run on gas? I hope they’ve taken into consideration not only the environmental effects but also the economical effects of being too dependent on gasoline and oil. The last thing we need are even more gas guzzling giant vehicles. Nevertheless, they look cool and I hope to see and ride them in my lifetime.

Entries will be judged by Tom Matano, Director of Industrial Design at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University; Imre Molner, Dean of Detroit’s College for Creative Studies; Stewart Reed, Chair, Transportation Design, Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design and Jason Hill, Principal of Eleven, LLC and Designer of the Aptera electric and plug-in hybrid/electric vehicle.

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Nissan North America has announced the pricing for the new 2010 Sentra which is currently at local Nissan dealer showrooms. Armed with a number of enhancements, the retail price for the 2010 Nissan Sentra models are as follows:

• 2.0 CVT : $16,600
• 2.0 S CVT: $17,160
• 2.0 SR: $17,160
• 2.0 SL: $18,560
• SE-R: $19,580
• SE-R Spec V: $20,080

Among the new features of the 2010 Nissan Sentra includes:

(Source) Press

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Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today unveiled Nissan LEAF, the world’s first affordable, zero-emission car. Designed specifically for a lithium-ion battery-powered chassis, Nissan LEAF is a medium-size hatchback that comfortably seats five adults and has a range of more than 160km (100 miles) to satisfy real-world consumer requirements.

Slated for launch in late 2010 in Japan, the United States, and Europe, Nissan LEAF ushers in a new era of mobility – the zero-emission era. The car is the embodiment of Nissan’s radical, transformative vision for the future and the culmination of decades of investment and research.

Key characteristics of the LEAF include:

1. Zero-emission power train and platform
2. Affordable pricing
3. Distinctive design
4. Real-world range autonomy – 160km (100 miles)
5. Connected Mobility: Advanced intelligent transportation (IT) system

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Images from Hybrid Cars

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AutoNation stores in Lithia Springs offset their Carbon Footprint. Team Honda, Team Toyota and Team Nissan of Lithia Springs, Georgia, already had an extensive recycling program in place for their used tires and oil when they decided to take the next step and offset their carbon footprint, becoming the first carbon neutral dealerships in Georgia.

“We found out that energy use was 90 percent of our carbon footprint” said the Controller of Team Honda, Toyota and Nissan, Clarence Ratcliffe. “It’s our job to make sure our dealerships run efficiently. Saving energy and natural resources have the benefit of helping the environment. Our customers were so impressed with our waiting room recycling unit that they’ve asked us where they can buy one too. We also reduced waste by giving each employee DCI Thermal Porcelain Cups, which eliminated the need for Styrofoam.”

All AutoNation dealerships, Team’s parent company, make it easy for car buyers to shop for more fuel-efficient vehicles with its E-Vehicle program. The program identifies cars and trucks that produce at least 28 miles per gallon or deliver 10 percent better fuel efficiency than average for their class. AutoNation also singles out what they call “F-vehicles” with a yellow leaf logo; these are cars and trucks that use flex-fuel technology.

“The three dealerships are taking responsibility for their carbon emissions,” said Verus Carbon Neutral’s Eric Taub, whose company measured the footprint and provided the offsets. “Seems especially appropriate when you offer hybrids that get anywhere from 35 to over 50 miles per gallon,” adds Taub. “Bottom line, they are trying to lower their electricity use but are still dependent on the grid. Until the local utilities employ more renewable energy, 50 mpg cars and offset projects help to reduce emissions.”

Team Honda, Toyota and Nissan decided to use a Georgia forestry project, managed by Valley Wood Timber, to offset their carbon footprint. The project is actively managed to sequester CO2 in a sustainable manner that protects over 60,000 acres of forest habitat. Proceeds support the Humane Society. Additionally, Team Lithia Springs also promotes Georgia Beautification license plate tags.

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Nissan North America, Inc. today announced pricing for the all-new 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster, which goes on sale in September at Nissan retailers nationwide.

The 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster is offered in four models. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices start at $36,970 USD for the 370Z Roadster 6MT and $38,270 USD for the 370Z Roadster 7AT.

Also offered are two Touring models, which add a 6CD Bose audio system, XM Satellite Radio (XM subscription required, sold separately), Bluetooth Hands-free Phone System, HomeLink Universal Transceiver, aluminum-trimmed pedals and power leather-appointed heated and cooled ventilated net seats. The 370Z Touring Roadster 6MT is priced at $40,520 USD and the $370Z Touring Roadster 7AT is $41,820 USD.

“The new 370Z Roadster offers more refinement, quality, performance and sheer driving pleasure than any Z convertible that has come before – while retaining its great value positioning in the sports car segment,” said Christian Meunier, vice president, Nissan Marketing, NNA.

“Compared to the 2009 350Z Roadster, the new 370Z Roadster features 26 more horsepower and cleaner emissions from an all-new standard 3.7L with VVEL technology. The Z Roadster also offers an all-new exterior design, refined interior, all-new auto-latching convertible top design, and technology not previously available on the 350Z Roadster, including Bluetooth, XM Satellite Radio and Nissan Navigation System with XM NavTraffic Real-Time Traffic Information.”

Two option packages are offered (Touring model only): the Sport Package, with 19-inch RAYS forged wheels and Bridgestone Potenza tires, Nissan Sport Brakes, SynchroRev Match (6-speed manual transmission only) and Viscous Limited Slip Differential; and the Navigation Package, with Hard Drive-based Nissan Navigation System, 9.3GB Music Box Hard Drive and USB connectivity.

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