Car buffs, especially Nissan fans, are in for a delightful surprise as the Japanese auto brand is gearing up its four new concepts for the upcoming Tokyo auto show.

First in line is the next-generation Nissan Maxima equipped with a new V6 diesel Nissan engine. It offers barn-style doors for easier access and a large panoramic glass windscreen. The luxury vehicle also includes Nissan parts such as two Nissan headlights that occupy the front wing and bonnet areas, aerodynamic mirrors, and two tailpipes with the rear bumper.

Second is the Nissan NV200 concept vehicle that looks more like a mobile office. The van, which works like an office away from office, is designed to cut the commuting time of working people by providing a spacious and fully-equipped area for them to do their jobs.

On the other hand, the Round Box Concept, also called Rd-Bx, offers a unique view on open-air monitoring. This red car is a fusion of economy and space of a supermini car with the looks and handling of a sports car. The four-seater machine ha no roof, but it has an almost vertical rear. A 1.6-liter petrol turbo engine powers the Rd-Bx. Clear panels under the doors give the sense of amazing speed by enabling passengers to view the road surface flash under them. Such innovation was first used on Nissan’s Urge concept that was launched last year at the Detroit auto show.

The last and the most eye-catching is the clever Pivo2 that resembles a toy car. This electric car that uses lithium-ion batteries can rotate at all directions because of its wheel base. The most striking feature of the Pivo2 is a robot on-board the car that employs a camera directed on the driver to monitor fatigue. If the driver falls asleep while driving, the Pivo 2 can raise the alarm to awaken the driver.

Source: Auto Express

During the Frankfurt Auto Show, Renault revealed a 3.0-liter diesel V-6 engine and it also confirmed that this engine will soon make its way to the US auto market under its partnership with Japanese automaker Nissan. This engine and new Nissan parts will be available in the 2010 model year of Nissan Maxima. Other details such as power and torque are not yet known but Nissan said that the engine will be meeting the strict Tier 2 Bin 5 emission standards, and it will be certified for sale in all of the fifty states.

Car and Driver Editor Editor-in-Chief Csaba Csere spoke with Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn during the 2007 Detroit auto show and he asked him about the future plan of the Japanese automaker regarding fuel-efficient cars and Ghosn said that he saw diesels and continuously variable transmissions or CVTs leading the way in efficiency in the near future.

He said, “”Diesel makes more sense in bigger cars than in smaller ones, and diesel is easier to adapt to a wide variety of vehicles than a hybrid is.”

Throughout the month of July this year, Nissan was able to record sales of 3919 units of Altima Hybrids in the U.S. That is already a considerable figure for the Japanese automaker as it is in line with their expectations, considering that the model is only sold in eight states. At this time, there are no plans of expanding the model further.

Their focus as of the moment is the development of Nissan’s own in-house hybrid technology that have Nissan parts that will contribute to its vehicles’ environmental efficiency , with a vehicle for sale by 2010 in Japan and U.S. Also, they continue to work on a plug-in hybrid.

Nissan’s hybrid technology is but one element of Nissan’s broader plan to redefine their take on new environmental, safety, and performance technologies in coming years. The Green Program 2010 is Nissan’s larger blueprint to make its vehicles, their Nissan parts, and plants more environment-friendly through a quite a number of measures like diesel and direct-injection gasoline engines, including turbocharged four cylinders come April of 2010.

There are plans to launch an electric car in Japan early in the next decade, and the field testing will begin and be conducted throughout the fiscal year of 2010. Aside from the peek at the soon-to-be diesel vehicle, Nissan also presented its Mixim model, their electric car model, during the Frankfurt Motor Show. The tiny, funky three-door hatchback uses lithium-ion batteries to power twin motors for all-wheel drive. Also due in the 2010 timeframe is a fuel-cell vehicle with a stack developed in-house.

Japanese automaker Nissan has made it a point to take their Maxima into a whole new level for this year’s edition, which is already the sixth generation for the Maxima. Its interior has been made more refined and a whole lot of features have been added to it, so that it could now be considered as one of the top large sedans in the automotive world.

Nissan Maxima is now much like Toyota’s Avalon, as it now offers a more comfortable spacious interior that’s present in the Avalon. But of course, it is still a little more different than the Avalon as there’s a few more strings attached to it. These strings are the sporty styling features and road handlings that can level up to that of other expensive sport coups.

Nissan’s flagship Maxima embodies a nearly-perfect combination of comfort, handling, and styling. This is because Maxima targets buyers who love driving, but would still want to have something of a practical family sedan. That’s where Nissan Maxima has its edge over the other large sedans. Its roominess is reflected in its capacity to seat five people and still have room for their luggage.

If the Nissan Maxima of before is greatly designed, then buyers would now be more amazed as Nissan has definitely put its effort into making it even more standout among its lot of large sedans. This effort is clearly reflected in both the Maxima and Altima. These two Nissan models may have shared chassis platforms before but now, the 2007 versions of each model have come out differently. This is because the two have been extremely redesigned and now Altima comes in a slightly smaller platform. Now, the Maxima has its own platform, and not just a plain upscale edition of the Altima.

The uplevel Nissan Maxima SL has a base price of $30,300 plus $605 freight. It comes with the standard facilities like leather seats, wood-tone interior trim, Nissan’s intelligent key system, an eight-way power driver’s and four-way passenger’ seat, a Bose premium audio system with six-disc CD changer and the “SkyView” glass roof.

If buyers would want a bit less than the Maxima SL, then Nissan has an entry-level Maxima SE that costs about $28,050. This model is still well-equipped just minus the leather seats, power passenger seats or the Bose stereo. But the other features are still present like the dual-zone automatic climate control, keyless entry/start system, and the glass roof.

Nissan Maxima’s specs are great as its maximum power output is 255 horsepower from its 3.5-liter V6 engine. It also produces 252 pound-feet. It is connected to the new Nissan Xtronic continuously variable automatic transmission. This new transmission replaces the conventional automatic on last year’s model.

Using the 2007 EPA formula, its fuel economy is quite decent seeing that it is a large sedan. The recorded fuel economy is 21 miles per gallon in the city and 28 miles per gallon on the highway.

Nissan Maxima’s audience is the much younger people but the age of its buyers fall under late 30s to early 50s.