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Nissan's autonomous cars could drive in US first, maybe by 2020

Future shock could be just six short years away, and coming first to the US. Nissan says it might start making autonomous versions of its cars available in the US by 2020, before the tech hits the road in other countries. The Japanese automaker is in extensive discussions with regulators from California, the best-selling state for the Leaf battery-electric vehicle, for allowing self-driving vehicles to be on its roads, Hybrid Cars says, citing a conversation with Nissan executive Andy Christensen at the recent Detroit Auto Show. Many decisions need to be made between now and then, given the hurdles related to issues such as regulations, liability, safety and technology - and Christensen said the first wave of self-driving vehicles would be able to do their thing only on the highway. The vehicle of choice is most likely to be the Leaf because it's completely battery operated, making the conversion to autonomy that much easier. Last summer, Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn first promised production autonomous cars by 2020. The automaker has teamed up with MIT, Stanford, Oxford and others to extensively test its "Autonomous Drive" concepts since then. Late last year, Nissan tested a self-driving Leaf on Japanese public roads. Nissan is not alone promoting autonomous driving as a way to increase safety, fuel economy and traffic flow, just some of the reasons why the idea may be the wave of the nearer-than-we-thought-future. For example, the company says 93 percent of accidents are caused by driver error.

Nissan e-NV200 electric van will start FedEx testing in DC

The electric van test program that Nissan and FedEx announced today at the Washington Auto Show isn't really all that new. After all, FedEx is already testing the all-electric e-NV200 in Singapore, Japan and Germany. The news today is that FedEx will be one of the first companies to test the EV in the US, and Nissan brought a prototype to the show to gin up interest. 200 CHAdeMO stations were added in December, a monthly record. The e-NV200 uses a powertrain similar to what's in the Nissan Leaf and weighs about the same as that passenger car, but Nissan isn't talking about US performance figures quite yet. Nissan isn't even saying if the vehicle will even come to the US, but this test program sure hints that something like that is in the works. For now, all that's official is that Nissan will bring two - yes, just two - e-NV200 units to the US, letting FedEx test one in the Washington, DC area for between six to eight weeks before cycling the EVs to other companies in the US over the next year. The idea, as you may have guessed, it to gather data on how companies might use this van and let Nissan figure out if it wants to sell the e-NE200 here. The van will start being built in Barcelona, Spain this spring and is currently intended for Europe and Japan. FedEx is no stranger to greener vehicles, and has 167 EVs in its US fleet right now. Read more in the press release below. The e-NV200 can use CHAdeMO fast charging, and Nissan said today that it has helped install 570 of those DC fast chargers in the US since announcing expansion plans last year. At the time, the target was 500 chargers in 18 months, so things are progressing faster than publicly anticipated. In fact, 200 CHAdeMO stations were added in December, a monthly record. Jan. 22, 2014 Nissan and FedEx Express Put All-Electric e-NV200 to Work in Collaborative U.S. Test WASHINGTON, D.C. - FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., and Nissan announced today at the Washington Auto Show that the two companies will begin testing the Nissan e-NV200, a 100 percent electric compact cargo vehicle, under real world conditions in Washington, D.C. This test marks the first time the vehicle will be running in North America. FedEx Express and Nissan have conducted similar e-NV200 tests with fleets in Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Brazil. FedEx and Nissan are both committed to reducing the environmental impact of their operations worldwide.

Autoblog's guilty pleasure cars

Guilty pleasures are part of life – don't even try to pretend like you don't have one (or two, or six). In the non-automotive space, this could come down to that secret playlist in your iPhone of songs you'll only listen to when you're alone; or think of that one TV show you really do love, but won't admit to your friends. I've got plenty, and so do you. Going back to cars, here's a particularly juicy one for me: several years ago, I had a mad crush on the very last iteration of the Cadillac DTS. Oh yes, the front-wheel-drive, Northstar V8-powered sofa-on-wheels that was the last remaining shred of the elderly-swooning days of Cadillac's past. Every time I had the chance to drive one, I was secretly giddy. Don't hate me, okay? These days, the DTS is gone, but I've still got a mess of other cars that hold a special place in my heart. And in the spirit of camaraderie, I've asked my other Autoblog editors to tell me some of their guilty pleasure cars, as well – Seyth Miersma, as you can see above, has a few choice emotions to share about the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Read on to find out what cars make us secretly happy. Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG This decadent convertible is the epitome of the guilty pleasure. It's big, powerful, fairly heavy and it's richly appointed inside and out. It's a chocolate eclair with the three-pointed star on the hood. Given my druthers, I'd take the SL65 AMG, which delivers 621 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. That output is borderline absurd for this laid-back convertible. I don't care. You don't need dessert. Sometimes you just crave it. The SL line is about the feel you get on the road. The roof is open. The air, sun and engine sounds all embrace you. It's the same dynamic you could have experienced in a Mercedes a century ago, yet the SL gives you the most modern of luxuries. An Airscarf feature that warms my neck and shoulders through a vent embedded in the seat? Yes, please. Sure, it's an old-guy car. Mr. Burns and Lord Grantham are probably too young and hip for an SL65. I don't care. This is my guilty pleasure. Release the hounds. – Greg Migliore Senior Editor Ford Flex I drove my first Flex in 2009 when my mother let me borrow hers for the summer while I was away at college. The incredibly spacious interior made moving twice that summer a breeze, and the 200-mile trips up north were quite comfortable.