2010 Nissan Titan 5.6 Se Crew 6 Pass Cruise Ctrl 49k Mi Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Recharge Wrap-up: Toyota battery breakthrough, PSA's millionth BlueHDi diesel

Scientists at Toyota have developed battery technology that allows for higher energy density. Using material from hydrogen storage, researchers at the Toyota Research Institute of North America (TRINA) in beautiful Ann Arbor, Michigan have created an electrolyte that works well with a magnesium metal anode. Besides improving energy density for smaller, more powerful batteries, magnesium is also more stable than lithium, making it a safer alternative. Rather than guarding their secret, Toyota is sharing details of this breakthrough in order to advance the technology in hopes of an earlier mass deployment of magnesium batteries. See the video above, and read more in the press release below. Farmdrop – a sort of online farmer's market in the UK – is looking for help naming its electric delivery "vanimals." The Nissan e-NV200 vans are painted and decorated to look like cows, pigs, and chickens. While three of the vans have already been named, fans can suggest their own clever ideas for the rest of the fleet on social media. Those whose names are selected will win a month's worth of shopping on Farmdrop. Cary McCarface, anyone? Read more at the company's website. PSA has built its millionth Euro 6 BlueHDi diesel engine. The automaker builds two diesel engines – a 1.6-liter and a 2.0-liter – at its plant in Tremery, France at a rate of 7,000 engines a day. BlueHDi technology uses three different emissions control mechanisms to filter pollutants out of diesel exhaust, including an oxygen catalyst, an additive filter to remove particulate matter, and a Selective Catalytic Reduction system to reduce NOx. BlueHDi is used in all new Peugeot, Citroen, and DS Euro 6 diesel vehicles. Read more at Green Car Congress. Charging Ahead Toyota Scientists Make Breakthrough on Safer, Smarter Batteries May 04, 2016 ANN ARBOR, Mich. (May 4, 2016) -- For anyone (i.e. everyone) who's ever panicked when their mobile device chirped, "low battery," the future could be far less stressful, thanks to the advanced battery research of scientists at the Toyota Research Institute of North America (TRINA). A new breakthrough involving magnesium batteries may soon open the doors for smaller, longer-lasting batteries for everything from cars to cell phones. What's the Big Deal with Magnesium? Magnesium metal has long been theorized as a much safer and more energy-dense alternative to current lithium battery technology.

Nissan Leaf all-electric taxis start pilot program in NYC [w/video]

When New York City picked the Nissan NV200 as its Taxi of Tomorrow, many were surprised that the vehicle wasn't electric, or even a hybrid for that matter. With NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg on hand, Nissan celebrated Earth Day on Monday by unveiling a pilot program of electric taxis for the city consisting of six 2013 Nissan Leaf EVs, which the mayor referred to as the "taxi of the day after tomorrow."
This pilot program is aimed to show how EVs can operate as taxi cabs, and Mayor Bloomberg said that New York City hopes to have a third of its taxi fleet electrified by 2020. In addition to the six cars, Nissan has also provided three quick chargers around Manhattan, allowing the Leafs to get an 80-percent recharge in just 30 minutes.
According to David Yassky, commissioner of the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, "What we have to do now is figure out how you integrate the charging of an electric vehicle into the duty of a taxi cab."

Renault wants to merge with Nissan, then go after Fiat Chrysler

The late Sergio Marchionne used to say consolidation would be the only way to compete against the biggest global carmakers. The company looks certain to fulfill that goal, but perhaps not in the way he intended. The Financial Times reports that Renault wants to begin merger talks with Nissan in the next 12 months. Assuming a merger gets completed, the plan is for the combined company to then pursue another merger, with Fiat Chrysler a prime target. Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi have been busy since cutting ties with ex-alliance boss Carlos Ghosn. They formed a new alliance board with Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard at the helm, Renault has shrunk the size of its board while Nissan added more outside directors, and the two agreed to a new governance structure to ease operational decision making. All three automakers have walked away from Ghosn-era goals to sell 14 million cars and find 10 billion euros in savings by 2022. New strategic plans for all three car companies are in the works. With stability in sight, it's said Senard wants to succeed where Ghosn failed — a full-fledged merger between Renault and Nissan with talks to begin "as soon as possible." Ghosn's pursuit of a merger last year in attempt to make the 20-year-old alliance "irreversible" is part of what led to his downfall, with Nissan executives including CEO Hiroto Saikawa against the push. The new effort is presented as larger scale being the only way for the alliance to take on companies like Volkswagen and Toyota. But the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi trio sold 10.76 million cars around the world last year, second to Volkswagen with 10.83 million sales, ahead of Toyota with 10.39 million. If Nissan hadn't suffered a 2.8 percent dip in sales, the alliance would have taken the top spot. If a little scale is good that means more is better, right? Pulling Fiat Chrysler into the alliance would add around 5 million annual sales, and would be another move in Ghosn's footsteps. The former honcho is said to have "held talks with FCA" about some kind of union within the past three years. The French government, which has a 15 percent stake in Renault and double voting rights, shut down the initiative. It's not clear if FCA will be an independent company by the time a potential Nissan-Renault merger closed, though.