1998 Nissan Maxima Gle Sedan 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Auto industry insider previews tell-all book, What Did Jesus Drive?

"It's about some of the biggest crises in history. It's about who did it right and who did it wrong." - Jason Vines
Jason Vines, the former head of public relations at Chrysler, Ford and Nissan, has seen a lot during his more than 30-year career, and now he's offering a behind-the-scenes look at the auto industry in his tell-all book What Did Jesus Drive? that went on sale this month.

A look inside Infiniti's variable-compression engine

We're sympathetic to anyone who had trouble understanding what's going on with Infiniti's new variable-compression engine. While we got a full tech briefing on the novel VC-Turbo back in August, the visual aids were lacking. The cutaway engine Infiniti brought to the Paris show fixes all of that. You can thank the little green and pink lines on the cutaway for making the whole idea a little more clear. Click through the gallery to see two lines – one green and one pink – that represent the different strokes allowing for different compression ratios. Remember, the compression ratio is the amount of volume in the cylinder on intake compared to the amount at the end of the compression stroke. Leave more room at the end and you lower that ratio. The length of the stroke doesn't change with this system, but where it sits along the cylinder does. Hence those two lines. The variable compression ratio allows this new turbocharged engine to maximize fuel economy when the turbo isn't needed by raising the compression ratio. It will see its first use in the next Infiniti QX50 crossover, previewed by the QX Sport Inspiration concept that's also on display in Paris, and has performance targets of 268 horsepower and 288 pound-feet of torque. After, it will migrate to other Infiniti and Nissan vehicles, with transverse front-drive-based applications first in line. Eventually, it's likely to completely replace Nissan's corporate 3.5-liter V6. We'll be poking around the engine a little more in Paris today to try and get some more info. For now, enjoy those cutaway images and those friendly little lines. Featured Gallery Infiniti VC-Turbo engine cutaway View 14 Photos Paris Motor Show Infiniti Nissan Technology Emerging Technologies engine 2016 paris motor show

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla owner's garage makeover, Lucid signs deal with LG Chem

A Tesla owner has remodeled his garage to resemble a Tesla showroom. The Model S owner, who also runs Teslainventory.com, painted one wall a very specific shade of red, mounted a Tesla logo on it, and even bought the same table and stools used in some showrooms. He also documented the transformation, and gives tips on how other fans can give their own garage a makeover. Check it out in the video above, and read more at Electrek. Lucid Motors will source lithium-ion batteries from LG Chem. Lucid's batteries will use proprietary cell chemistry developed in partnership with LG. Lucid also has a battery supply deal with Samsung SDI for its first vehicle, but says it could use batteries for other companies through its own supply business, or for specific performance variants of its electric sedan. "The differing performance attributes available from the two cell suppliers provide Lucid with maximum flexibility to select the best cell for each application," Lucid says. Read more in the press release, or at Green Car Congress. Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi will share an electric vehicle platform. As other automakers are building their own mass market EVs, these three are teaming up in order to be able to offer their own models at prices competitive to their gasoline powered counterparts. According to the Nikkei, EVs from the three companies will all use the same platform as the upcoming 2018 Nissan Leaf, and will share motors, inverters, and batteries. Read more from Reuters, or at Green Car Reports. Related Gallery Lucid Motors EV Prototype News Source: Electrek, YouTube: DAErik, Lucid, Green Car Congress, Reuters, Green Car Reports Green Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Tesla Renault Green Automakers Green Culture Electric Videos recharge wrapup