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2015 Nissan Juke keeps its funky

The Nissan Juke is one of the most polarizing vehicles on the road today, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been a sales success, especially in Europe. Nissan is giving the the CUV its first styling refresh at the Geneva Motor Show. While the design changes will almost certainly be universal, the mechanical changes are still somewhat of a mystery for the US market. Nissan makes it clear in its press release below that it covers only the European model, and details about the North American model are coming later.
The exterior changes put a focus on making the Juke look a bit more angular and sporty. The lights on the fenders are now formed into a jagged point and somewhat echo the boomerang-shaped taillights. It also features Nissan's new, thicker V-shaped chrome grille. The door mirrors receive LED turn signals, and the lower portion of the rear receives a simulated mesh grille to look more aggressive. Other than some new color schemes, the interior is basically unchanged. However, the luggage area has been reshaped to increase storage capacity by 40 percent to 12.5 cubic feet (354 liters).
European buyers are getting a new 1.2-liter DIG-T turbocharged engine with 113 horsepower (115PS) and 140 pound-feet of torque (190Nm), and the 1.6 DIG-T also gets an increased compression ratio to produce 188 hp and is offered with either a six-speed manual or Nissan's Xtronic CVT. The all-wheel-drive system has also been upgraded with a torque vectoring system.

Recharge Wrap-up: Toyota FCV ready for production, Nissan tests Leaf-to-Home energy management

Toyota will begin selling its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV) in Japan in December. The US and Europe can expect to see the car become available next summer. The FCV, which will likely be called "Mirai" (meaning "future") in Japan, is ready for production ahead of its initial deadline at the end of the fiscal year in March. Toyota planned for annual production of 700 units, but might increase output to meet higher-than-expected demand, which is currently nearing 1,000 units. The cars will mostly be sold in the four cities where a hydrogen fueling infrastructure is already being put in place: Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka. Read more at Nikkei Asian Review. Nissan is testing the Leaf EV as part of an energy management system including "Leaf to Home" technology. The system allows the Leaf to help support the power grid during peak energy usage, or provide backup power to a home or building during outages, particularly in emergencies like natural disasters. Using the Leaf's battery to provide electricity during peak hours would lessen the demand on the grid and make the system work more efficiently. Furthermore, if consumers are compensated for the energy saved by using the Leaf for power during periods of high demand, it could encourage more people to adopt the EV. Learn more in the press release below. CDP has given Honda a perfect climate disclosure score in its Global 500 Climate Change Report for 2014. CDP keeps track of how much companies are disclosing about their impact on global climate change. "The need for data on corporate climate change impacts and strategies to reduce them has never been greater," says CDP CEO Paul Simpson. "For this reason we congratulate those businesses that have achieved a position on CDP's Climate Disclosure Leadership Index." Other perfect scores were earned by Nissan, BMW, Daimler and General Motors. Read more in the press release from Honda below. Scientists at Stanford University have developed a lithium ion battery that can warn users before it overheats. A thin layer of copper between the anode and the layer separating the anode from the cathode acts as a sensor. When it detects lithium buildups from overcharging are approaching the separator, it sends an early alert long before it gets to a point where it would cause a short (which could lead to a fire). The new safety measure could be used in all sorts of battery applications, and not be limited to EVs. Learn more at Phys.org.

Nissan recalls 226k vehicles over airbag inflators

Nissan and Infiniti are the latest automakers to issue recalls involving faulty airbag inflators from Takata. The Japanese automakers have announced campaigns covering about 226,326 units from seven models built in the early 2000s because they contain the bad part in the passenger-side, front airbag. The affected vehicles include the 2002-2004 Nissan Sentra, 2002-2003 Pathfinder and 2002-2003 Maxima, and it also covers the 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4, 2002-2003 I35, 2003 FX45 and 2003 FX35.
Like the other vehicles with the faulty inflators, it's possible for the part to rupture during airbag deployment and spray metal shrapnel at occupants. Nissan and Infiniti have even included vehicles with replacement airbags in this campaign because those parts also could have been defective. Both companies were also part of the earlier regional campaign to fix cars in high-humidity climates where the problem has been found to be the worst.
As is the usual response, Nissan and Infiniti will notify owners of the affected vehicles and will make the repair at no charge. According to the filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, these fixes will commence around August 11. Scroll down to read the report from NHTSA, or read the full defect notice as a PDF, here.