A Time When Import Quality Was Supposed Benchmark: Nissan Recalls Again

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nissan is recalling 372,250 Infiniti QX4s and Nissan Pathfinders from model years 1997-2001 to replace a faulty fuel filler tube assembly. The problem could result in a fire, especially in areas of the country that use heavy concentrations of road salt in the winter, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The federal agency explained in a posting on its Web site that during the coating process of the fuel filler tube assembly, an insufficient amount of coating may have been applied at the lower mounting bracket.

"This could result in an opening in the coating which can allow water to enter and make contact with the bare metal of the tube," NHTSA said. "If a mixture of snow/water and salt makes contact with the bare metal, corrosion may occur to a degree which results in perforation of the tube. In this case, fuel leakage may occur when filling the tank. Fuel leakage, in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire."

NHTSA said the recall involves vehicles sold or registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

Source: http://forums.motortrend.com/70/6412339/the-general-forum/a-time-when-import-quality-was-supposed-benchmrk-n/

Nissan GT-R Website Goes Live

Tokyo, Japan, (September 26, 2007) – Nissan today started the pre-launch activities in support of the all-new GT-R, the high performance sports car to be revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show on 24 October. Central to the launch of GT-R, which will ultimately go on sale around the world, is a dedicated website that will provide all information on the car, including latest news, specifications and where to buy. The address for the website is www.gtrnissan.com and will available in six languages: Japanese, English, Spanish, German, French and Italian.

With sales due to start in Japan in December, Nissan is today also confirming the final name of the car. Previous generations of this car were known as the Skyline GT-R; the new name for this car is simply "Nissan GT-R" in all global markets.

The Nissan GT-R website is divided into regions and, for European enthusiasts, the website will open with a celebration of the heritage of the GT-R badge and the famous Nissan models that have carried it over the last decades. In addition, those visitors to the website who are interested to learn more about the car – with a view to potentially buying one – can register their details to ensure they are the first to hear the latest news from Nissan on the next generation of this sports car icon.

News, announcements and other regular updates will appear on www.gtrnissan.com over the coming weeks and months, allowing existing fans – and more recent converts – of Nissan's ultimate sports car to keep in touch with the build up to the car's launch.

The next update will take place to coincide with its global unveiling at the Tokyo Motor Show.

Source: http://www.carma.com.sg/news/news.php?id=527

Nissan Develops Fourth-Generation Nissan Advanced Safety Vehicle

TOKYO (Sept. 27, 2007) – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. has developed its fourth-generation Advanced Safety Vehicle, known as the Nissan ASV-4. Based on the Advanced Safety Vehicle (ASV*1 ) Promotion Plan by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the vehicle is designed to help reduce accidents by employing advanced vehicle-to-vehicle communications*2. Nissan will use the Nissan ASV-4 to test various technologies in preparation for commercial application.

The Nissan ASV-4 warning system employs vehicle-to-vehicle communications to alert the driver to take defensive actions in situations where an on-coming vehicle is not yet visible, but poses a potential threat to road safety. While the system will be tested using real-time navigation information, it currently has some limitations because it is dependent on information received from vehicles equipped with the Nissan navigation system, therefore participating drivers must remain alert to other vehicles on the road that the system is unable to detect. The preventive safety technologies deployed on the Nissan ASV-4 were developed to address specific high-risk scenarios that account for approximately 60%*3 of traffic accidents in Japan.

Cumulative data on traffic accidents reveal that most accidents occur within the following circumstances:

* Two vehicle collisions at blind-intersections
* A right-turning vehicle hit by on-coming vehicle from the opposite direction at an intersection
* Broadside of a motorcycle or bicycle by a left-turning vehicle
* Rear-end collision

The driver can both hear and see the warnings issued by the navigation system when a potentially dangerous situation has been identified.

For example, as the vehicle approaches an intersection or attempts a right turn, the system can warn the driver of the potential danger with an on-coming vehicle as it accelerates after a stop, even when the driver fails to notice.

Nissan will participate in Phase Four of the Advanced-Safety Vehicle project an initiative under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The company is also leading the ITS (Intelligent Transportation System) project in Kanagawa prefecture*4, involving customers' vehicle participation, where the system is fed traffic data via links to traffic infrastructure (e.g. using beacons). Another on-going project employs telematics via cellular phones to improve traffic flow and reduce traffic congestion. To help reduce vehicle-pedestrian accidents, Nissan has developed an ITS system based on cellular communications between pedestrians and drivers, and is refining its information system to allow the driver to receive an alert on an unseen pedestrian.

Nissan continues to accelerate the development of its advanced ITS-based accident-prevention technologies for commercial application. In Japan, the company's safety vision is to halve the number of traffic fatalities or serious injuries involving Nissan vehicles by 2015 compared with the level in 1995.

Source: http://www.carma.com.sg/news/news.php?id=526