By 2012, Nissan Motor Co. may make their diesel vehicles be widely available in US as the Japanese automaker is looking to add fuel-efficient vehicles that will emit less carbon dioxide, according to the US product development chief of Nissan.

Earlier this month, Nissan said that it developed ways to treat diesel exhaust and be able to meet the standard emission in California and the other states of US that now have excluded them because of emissions. In 2012, the largest market foe diesel vehicles, Europe, will be adopting the rules that are closer to California’s. Nissan’s Larry Dominic said that this makes enough time to launch such vehicles in the US.

He said, “That’s when it becomes more compelling, in terms of cost, to bring diesel to the U.S.

Nissan is Japan’s third biggest automaker and it is the latest to diesel to technologies that are expected to meet the stricter environmental rules and fuel economy of the United States. California actually has the strictest emission standards. General Motors Corp., Volkswagen Ag, and Honda Motor Corp. all said that they will introduce diesel vehicles that are clean enough to reach the standards set forth by California.

California has banned present diesels because of the fact that they emit too much particulate matter, or soot, or gases that are connected to heart and lung disease. In Europe, the diesel vehicles rival the sales of the petrol engines, where the fuel is cheaper, offers around 30 percent fuel-economy increase and helps meet the regional restrictions on emissions of carbon dioxide.

Titan made Diesel

The Vice President of product planning for Nashville, Tennessee-based Nissan North America, Dominique, informed that the automaker is continuing its study on whether to produce a diesel version of the Titan large pickup truck.

He said, “It’s an important issue for us, but we’re still considering the business case.”

This Japanese automaker is already just a year or two away from the production of a US program to evaluate plug-in electric hybrid vehicles, according to Dominique. General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. are already working on those type of vehicles. This type of vehicle can be recharged through a home outlet and then be able to travel for a distance powered alone by their batteries. This year, Toyota is beginning its road tests on such vehicles, and in 2008, GM will start theirs.

Dominique said, “We are looking at plug-ins, but at this point it’s still a laboratory study program.”

In preparation for the launch of the all new X-Trail on the 1^st of September this year, the Japanese automaker Nissan has informed of a tempting £700 consumer offer rising the value of the Aventura eXplorer and the Sport eXpedition models together wih a low rate finance offer of 5.9 percent APR. This will be available across the entire range.

Normally, it would cost an additional of around £1700 to add kits like the DVD satellite navigation system with voice recognition, color rear parking camera, chrome door handles and intelligent key to the Sport or a DVD satellite navigation system with voice recognition, color rear parking camera, and xenon headlights to the Aventura, but with the offer of Nissan, the cost is reduced to £1000. This indicates that the cost of the Sport eXpedition 2.5 now starts at £21,695 and the Aventura eXplorer from £23,695 for the 2.5 petrol engine. If owners want a diesel engine for their vehicle, then they just have to add £800 for the 150PS 2.0dCi.

Investing in the purchase of the all new X-Trail has been made easier and more appealing with the offer of a low interest rate of 5.9 percent APR if it was bought through Nissan’s ‘Preferences.’ This just means that the payments for the TREK 2.0dCi can begin as low as £259 a month will be paid for 36 months based on the low deposit rat of 23 percent.

For an additional £20 a month, the highly equipped Sport can be driven. This model has a lot of features to offer over the Trek like the all-mode 4×4-i which is the intelligent version of the 4×4 system.[This system does not only transfers 2wd to 4wd when the conditions sense that it is necessary but now also has Electronic Stability Control (ESP), Uphill Start Support (USS) and Downhill Drive Support (DDS). The Sport also has 17” alloys, front fog lamps, panoramic sunroof, cruise control, privacy glass, speed sensing auto lock, rain sensing wipers, auto headlamps and a 6 x CD auto-changer with 6 speakers.

The all new X-Trail could be ordered now, together with bothe these offer, from any delaers of Nissan.

Just recently, Nissan Middle East held their second Regional Public Relations Awards ceremony where they acknowledge the best public relations (PR) programs that the dealers in Nissan Middle East carried out.

The ceremony was held in the headquarters of Nisan in Dubai and the PR Awards were under different categories such as Best PR Product Launch, Best PR Initiative, Special PR Recognition, and The Best PR Story.

The winners of these awards include Arabian Automobiles in Dubai and Northern Emirates; the Rasamny Motor Company in Lebanon; the Y.K Al Moayyed & Sons in Bahrain and the Suhail Bahwan Automobiles in Oman.

This Nissan Middle East prestigious awards acknowledge that have been successful in addressing Nissan related topics with professional skills, resourcefulness, and creativity. The award recognized the complete public relations programs that integrated sound planning, evaluation, and execution.

Saleh Jafar, the Senior Manager for Corporate Communications at Nissan Middle East commented saying, “In today’s competitive automotive industry, effective communication is very crucial to attract business and maintain positive reputations among customers, employees, shareholders, media and other key stakeholders. We are pleased to see our commitment to the Middle East region adopted by our dealers who are sparing no effort in planning and executing outstanding public relations initiatives that support our overall brand image and communications.”

The regional dealers of Nissan Middle East had undertaken different PR initiatives. These programs covered new launches and engaged the customers with activities that are interactive. The PR Award is a program of the Nissan Middle East and it is supported by Simon Sproule, the Corporate Vice President for Global Communications and Investor Relations of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

The gas-electric-powered Nissan Altima Hybrid sedan had only minor changes for its second year of production, according to the Japanese automaker itself.

The engine that’s providing the power of this Altima Hybrid remains the same – a 2.5-liter four cylinder engine that’s partnered with an electric generator or motor to give distinction that it is indeed a Hybrid version of the renowned Nissan Altima model. When these two things are combined, it produces a reasonable power output of 198 horsepower. Also, it still uses a continuously variable transmission through the front wheels of the vehicle.

OLD VERSION, 2007 NISSAN ALTIMA HYBRID

It could be remembered that the fuel economy of the previous version, the 2007 Altima Hybrid, is recorded at 35 miles per gallon when driven in the city and when used on highways, the fuel economy is 33 miles per gallon. The 2008 model year, since it has just been released, has not yet received its fuel economy rating.

As there are only minimal changes, these modifications are just present in the standard splash guards, factory-installed and activated XM satellite radio, and diversity antenna. The 2008 model year still keeps the body and interior of the standard gas-powered Altima, just like the 2007 hybrid version.

As of the moment, Nissan is only going to market the 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid to the eight states that would most probably bring in good profits as estimated by the automaker. These states are Vermont, Rhode Isalnd, New York, New Jersey, Main, California, and Massachusetts.

In order for Nissan to sell more Nissan Sentra SE-R than their expected annual unit sales, the Japanese automaker decided to team up with Microsoft to incorporate the SE-R into an X-box game. This popular Xbox game is the “Forza Motorsport 2.”

Nissan will be advertising their SE-R into the in-game placement billboards that gamers could pass through while they’re racing on the race tracks and through a course names Nissan. Aside from these, Xbox will be offering their players a “car pack” that allows them to download the Nissan vehicles, the SE-R included, and be able to customize them to compete in a racing tournament.

This new way of advertising by Nissan reflects that digital outlets such as video games could already be another medium where companies could have affordable marketing opportunities.

Melissa Adams, the Senior Manager of Media for Nissan said, “We’re in a situation that’s no different than most marketers. Our budgets aren’t growing, but the breadth of the portfolio is growing.”

A niche model like the Nissan SE-R would sell for about $20,000 and the audience it targets seems to be the young male population. Adam said that the affordability of he in-game integration and the fact that it matches the targeted demographic of the Nissan SE-R made this advertising program an attractive fit.

She said, “This is really our first initiative that recognizes we cannot always use traditional media to reach our targets. We have to learn to do things differently.”

The game “Forza Motorsport 2” is the sequel to the breakout hit game that was able to sell more than 1 million copies. This new version has been released in May and since then, 200,000 copies have already been sold.

Nissan will also be holding an SE-R racing tournament that would start later this month. With that, they hope to attract over 30,000 participants and the final tournament will happen on November 16-25 at the Los Angeles Auto Show. They will also be having a customization contest for the SE-R and so will b awarding the most creative virtual paint jobs made on the SE-R.

The in-game advertisements are not just Nissan’s way of promoting their model. More than that, they want to let the players have a virtual experience on driving the model. Dario Raciti, the gaming leader at OMD said, “This was more about letting the people interact with the car, letting people drive it. It’s more than watching an impression on a Web site or 30-second spot and ending there.”

Adams forecasts that there will be more automakers considering the digital channels as the main marketing vehicles for products as they make models that target specific audiences, instead of units designed for mass appeal.

She said, “It’s going to become increasingly prevalent because everyone launching cars from 25,000-50,000 units and it’s very hard from the scalability of traditional media to use TV to find those audiences efficiently.”

Nissan seems to be proving to the world that it is indeed committed on safeguarding the environment as the Japanese automaker made two announcements on Monday regarding their diesel technology commitment. Nissan announced that they will be introducing a new clean diesel technology to be incorporated in their X-Trail SUV in Japan. This will be launched in Japan on the fall season of 2008. They also said that their new clean diesel technology has a great potential in meeting California’s emission standard for super-ultralow-emission vehicles, which is one of the hardest green rating to reach in the world.

Nissan has not yet fully released the details on their X-Trail Diesel model but they said that they’ll be disclosing its performance and specifications when its already close to the time of its introduction. However, it has not yet on Nissan’s plans to offer this to the American market. But they did say that the X-Trails diesel will be based on the “M9R engine co-developed with Alliance-partner Renault.” They also said that it will be using high-performance catalysts and engine management technologies. Nissan said, “This clean diesel engine is being developed to lower exhaust gas emissions to levels comparable to those of new emissions standards in Japan.”

The second announcement that Nissan made is that their new clean diesel technology will “be able to achieve cleaner diesel emissions in future vehicles that will meet the stringent SULEV standards set by the state of California,” as the automaker also considers their US consumers to be of great importance. Nissan released a statement saying, “Nissan plans to do further research and development of the clean diesel technology for commercial applications in its future products.”

Nissan said that they plan to use three devices which are the high-performance catalysts, advanced engine control systems and a “modulated-kinetic combustion” in order to decrease the diesel emissions.

They said that their initial plan is not to sell this soon-to-be new model in the United States but considering that they put great importance to their US consumers, the US auto market could still hope to drive this X-Trail diesel model.

At first look, it would seem that the Nissan Bevel is the next-generation Cube concept. However, Nissan claims that their Bevel concept would fit the descriptions “dynamic, multipurpose vehicle” that’s designed for “male empty-nesters actively engaged in hobbies, recreation, and community service.”

The Bevel looks like a smaller sub-Xterra, but actually more of a crossover than being a sports utility vehicle. This was designed by the staff of Nissan North America in La Jolla, California with an asymmetric styling, high-utility three-zone interior and glass-roof mounted solar panels, and drive-by-wire steering, brakes, and throttle. Although it has been described as much like the Japanese-market Cube, it is still significantly larger. This Cube, which would be constructed for left-hand drive markets, has also been promised by Nissan/Renault Chief Carlos Ghosno to be out in the US by 2009. Nissan also said that their Bevel has an engine compartment that’s made for a V-6/electric hybrid drivetrain.

With this concept, Nissan has definitely made an intriguing design fit for a possible product for the future.

Nissan is certainly right on their track towards a future filled with safer cars as after their announcement of their development on cars with pedestrian protection and of alcohol detection system, they now continue on with a self-lifting gas pedal.

This self-lifting gas pedal will soon be offered some Nissan models and its function is to warn drivers of probable collisions. It will self-lift and the cars will automatically stop in response to this warning unless drivers continue on pressing the accelerator.

This new Nissan technology is a combination of radar sensors and a computer system that would measure the car’s speed and its distance to the vehicle in front, as reported by Nissan Motor Co. on Monday. The Nissan models equipped with this innovative safety system will be available this year in its home country, Japan, and next year in US.

According to Nissan’s Senior Manager Yousuke Akatsu, their idea is to make a car that’s able to detect danger on its own, muchlike an animal, so that both the driver and the engine could work together to prevent accidents. “It is almost like riding a horse, the way the rider can have a dialogue with the horse,” he said.

Akatsu explained that as soon as the driver heed the warning of the gas pedal and they lift off their foot it, the brakes will automatically kick in to, bringing the car to a halt.

The 2008 model year for the Nissan Altima Coupe is based on the platform of the Altima sedan, but although that is the case, it still offers a more unique design.

Car experts who did a review on this newly-released model from Nissan have been impressed by its stylish exterior, including it in one of the most stylish designs to be produced by the renowned Japanese automaker. When it was first rolled off the streets for a test drive, it immediately enjoyed a lot of praises and appreciation, and awed looks from motorists as well.

As mentioned before, it is based on the Altima sedan platform but it measures 7.1 inches shorter in overall length and 2.5 inches shorter in height than the sedan, as it is after all a two-door Altima. The only distinct characteristic that the Altima sedan and coupe share is their hood. Other exterior features like the grill, headlights, and four pipes out back are specifically coupe-inspired designs.

The interior designs were superb as the support and comfort offered by the heavily bolstered seats were excellently showed in this Altima coupe. The overall layout is attractive and easy to navigate and the switch gears have a substantial feel on them.

Owners could go either high or low with this new Nissan model as there’s a 270-horsepower V-6 and a continuously variable automatic transmission. The Nissan Altima Coupe that was tested carried a 175-horsepower output in a 2.5-liter, with 180 pound feet of torque. But although that is the case, it still proves itself a great car, both in performance and handling aspects. Its fuel consumption is estimated to be 23 miles per gallon in the city and 32 mpg in the highway and that is with a manual transmission. For the continuously variable transmission, it is estimated at 23mpg/32mpg.

Nissan has just announced recently that it plans to equip a model that will be released in Japan with a device that will help save pedestrians from injuries. This technology presents itself in the form of a hood that automatically pops upward a few inches to put more distance between it and the hard engine components below, thus giving the hood more room to flex.

This feature is actually among the technologies being developed and designed to protect the pedestrians, especially in the event of low-speed mishaps so that they would survive. There are tough requirements in Europe and in Japan for cars to be pedestrian-friendly.

This new system will be installed in the Skyline, a model that’s built either as a sedan or coupe. It will utilize an explosive charge to lift the hood if a sensor in the bumper detects a collision with a pedestrian.

This may be unusual but it is not unique as General Motors spokesman Alan Adler said that a similar system will also be present in the versions of the redesigned Cadillac CTS that will be sold in Europe in fall.

The president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety which is a research group, Adrian Lund said that there is a potential for the “pop-up hood” but he still worries about the unintentional deployments in minor parking lot bumps. He said, “A number of automakers and suppliers are looking at this as a way to protect pedestrians,” he said. “But it’s simpler to redesign the look of the car so that there’s more space between the engine — the hard things — and the hood.”

However, this is a good technological feature as the safety of the pedestrians is still one of the top priorities of the government regulators in Japan, Europe, and the United States. With this, there is a great chance of pedestrians surviving a car encounter.