nissan

Perhaps you'd be more willing to buy an electric car if you knew that you could sell those pricey batteries down the road.

Nissan and electric power company ABB yesterday announced a partnership to test the technical and commercial feasibility of repurposing used EV batteries for energy storage on the grid and in homes. ABB will work with a joint venture called 4R Energy (for reuse, refabricate, resell, recycle) created by Nissan North America and industrial conglomerate Suminoto to research secondary uses of EV batteries.

The partnership intends to make a prototype stationary lithium ion battery system with at … Read more

Ever gotten a shiny new iPhone case, only to drop it and see it get scratched up within days? The same self-healing paint used to keep some Nissans blemish-free could be the next big thing for protecting iPhones.

Scratch Shield paint developed by Nissan can repair small scratches on a surface in a few hours. Made from polyrotaxane, the chemical structure of the paint enables it to react to small chips and fill in the gaps. It's currently used on the Nissan Murano, 370Z, and X-Trail, but the auto manufacturer has found a much larger market for its smart paint in iPhones. … Read more

Get a hands-on look at Nissan's electric utility vehicle.

Chevy sold 7,671 electric Volts last year, short of its expectation of 10,000. The car has gotten tons of publicity, but that hasn't translated into booming sales.

Even with a $7,500 tax credit dangling like a tasty carrot, buyers haven't flocked to electric vehicles like the Volt and Nissan Leaf.… Read more

In the week before the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Toyota and Nissan both release videos on the Internet that show virtually nothing of the new concepts the companies will show.

Nissan previously released a photo of its dramatic (its word, not mine) new Pathfinder concept. Today, Nissan released a video on the Pathfinder micro-site. But the video shows so little it actually seems to take away some of the previous information offered up.

Over some pleasant music, Nissan's video shows a sky view through different terrains, going from day to night. I can only conclude that … Read more

CNET Tech Car of the Year for 2011

2012 Audi A7 Our choice for CNET Tech Car of the Year goes to the 2012 Audi A7, a car that shows superb technology throughout. The list of nominees this year included many very advanced cars representing an impressive leap over last year, proving that the automotive industry is on a hot streak. Improvements in power-train tech play a big role, which helped the Chevy Volt take a top spot in our reader poll, but the connected car seemed like the most relevant and broad-based trend, which is why our staff leaned … Read more

As with many previews for the upcoming Detroit auto show, Nissan made few details of its new Pathfinder concept known.

The press release merely promises a new platform and aerodynamic body. The teaser photo for the Pathfinder concept released today reveals big fenders in the update to Nissan's seven-passenger SUV.

We bumped up the brightness of the released image to bring out more detail. The fenders show a particularly strong, pontoonlike design, sticking out from a body with a heavily contoured beltline. The side windows also look quite large, but the roofline looks conventional.

Nissan says the concept will feature "thoughtful technology, comfortable seating for seven, and ample cargo room," along with four-wheel drive. The current Pathfinder has three-row seating and four-wheel drive. Mention of a new platform suggests Nissan will move the vehicle from its current truck frame to a unibody design. It is possible that the new Pathfinder will share a platform with the Infiniti JX, unveiled at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Nissan noted that the new generation of the Pathfinder will go on sale next fall, as a 2013 model year. The concept shown in Detroit must be near production-ready. … Read more

Electric cars like the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt may have gotten most of the attention this year but electric motorcycles also turned heads.

The year also brought innovations such as an electric vehicle that you can also use to power your house. SmartPlanet takes a look back at the evolution of EVs in 2011.

This video originally appeared on SmartPlanet with the headline "Electric vehicles: 2011's hottest headlines."

Related SmartPlanet links

Rather than fiddle with cables, Nissan EV drivers will have the option to park over a wireless charger.

Nissan is working on a system in which drivers park over an induction charging mat that creates a wireless connection to an electric vehicle's on-board charger. Using a dashboard display to navigate, drivers back up so the charging map is under the rear wheels. Sensors stop the car at the appropriate spot and the charging is started by operating a touch-screen display on a charge point.

The automaker released a demonstration video of induction charging with the Leaf last month in … Read more