Engineers over at Nissan have developed a new Dual Injector system that improves fuel efficiency, reduces emissions, and minimizes raw materials used by small-displacement engines.

The technology uses a fuel injector in each port rather than one injector per cylinder as in regular small engines. Each cylinder in a standard engine houses twin ports. So in essence, the Nissan Dual Injector system doubles the injectors per cylinder.

But wait. Doesn't that increase fuel flow and therefore increase fuel usage? Not necessarily. Nissan says the system's key is in its fuel delivery method. It sprays fuel very efficiently and therefore reduces the amount of unburned fuel in the system. It also cuts hydrocarbon emissions and speeds up the vaporization of fuel. As a result, power is said to always be on tap and no excess fuel is lost.

The whole process is similar to direct injection, but according to Nissan, current systems aren't suitable for the smaller engines that are gaining popularity. Say, for example, an automaker wants to implement direct injection into one of its city cars. They'll have to install a high-pressure pump that Nissan says complicates the overall design and makes the entire car more expensive to produce. The Dual Injector system is estimated to undercut standard direct-injection systems by 60%.

Physically, it's smaller too, and as such is comprised of lower amounts of precious raw materials.

Officials will begin to implement the Dual Injector system on all Nissan small cars beginning fiscal year 2010. We can't wait to try out the technology in a real-world test.

New, 2009 Versa Sedan 1.6 Features $,9,990 MSRP, Excellent Fuel Economy, Design, Quality and Reliability; Available at Dealers November 18
Nashville, Tenn. -
Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today announced a new 2009 Nissan Versa Sedan 1.6 model, which features a starting Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP)* of $9,990* (excluding Destination and Handling). The new Versa focuses squarely on value and fuel economy, with its standard 107-horsepower DOHC 16-valve 1.6-liter inline 4-cylinder engine delivering responsive performance and a 34 mpg highway fuel economy rating (with the 5-speed manual transmission).
 
The Versa Sedan 1.6 goes on sale at Nissan dealers nationwide beginning November 18, 2008.
 
“Starting under $10,000, this new Versa Sedan 1.6 has the lowest new-car MSRP in the United States,” said Brian Carolin, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing, NNA. “It combines the low price of a used car with the dependability, high quality and full factory warranty of every new Nissan. It’s our way of saying that in tough economic times, Nissan is here to help.”
 
Since its introduction in 2006, Nissan Versa has enjoyed strong appeal in the marketplace among buyers seeking fuel efficiency without sacrificing performance or roominess. Versa offers one of the highest standard horsepower/torque ratings and the largest interior in the entry-level segment – along with excellent quality, reliability and durability.
 
The new high-value Versa Sedan 1.6 model features a smaller displacement 1.6-liter engine (versus the standard 1.8-liter), standard 5-speed manual transmission and simplified content. It is also available with a 4-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy is rated at 26 mpg city/34 mpg highway with the 5-speed manual and 26 mpg city/33 mpg highway with the 4-speed automatic.


”The new Versa Sedan 1.6 is another way in which Nissan is taking a leadership role in reassuring consumers that now is a great time to consider a new car,” said Carolin.
 
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010, whose key priorities are reducing CO2 emissions, cutting other emissions and increasing recycling. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.comwww.infiniti.com. and
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* Based on Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $9,990 for the new, 2009 model year Versa 1.6 Sedan. Claim based on competitive MSRP’s in the Lower-Small segment for new, model year 2009 vehicles. MSRP excludes applicable tax, title and license fees.  Dealer sets actual price. Prices and specs are subject to change without notice. Destination and Handling $695.

Seeking a Symbiosis of People, Vehicles and Nature

Nissan's philosophy towards the environment, "Seeking a symbiosis of people, vehicles and nature," decribes our idea for a sustainable mobile society, now and in the future.  To contribute to the creation of a sustainable mobile society, Nissan continues to seek new ways to address environmental challenges.  Our primary focus at the moment is a reduction in CO2 emissions. We are taking action not just for the present generation, but for future ones as well, striving to preserve our global environment.

 

Nissan is aiming to become a "sincere eco-innovator."

 

For our planet's present and future generations:

• Sincere: To pro-actively address the environmental challenges and reduce the load on the environment
• Eco-innovator: To develop a sustainable mobile society, we will provide customers with innovative technology in our products

To learn more about the Nissan Green Program, including their initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions, please visit www.nissanusa.com/about/green-program/index.html

First look at the Nissan GT-R. Nissan unveiled the GT-R at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show to much fanfa By James R. Healey, USA TODAY TOKYO — Nissan finally quit teasing and showed the production version of its super-high-performance GT-R sports coupe, unveiling it at the big auto show near here Wednesday as a car designed to give Nissan the kind of halo that the Corvette gives to Chevrolet. GT-R will go on sale here in December and in the USA — to the cheers of long-suffering auto enthusiasts — in June or July 2008. U.S. auto buffs have been clamoring for the car for more than a decade. Nissan hasn't sold previous versions of the road rocket in the USA, deeming it too small for American tastes and too hard to re-engineer to meet U.S. safety and anti-pollution regulations. The new one, though, was developed with the USA in mind. The car will start at 7.77 million yen here, equivalent to about $68,000 at recent exchange rates. Nissan hasn't announced the U.S. price, which could be higher if the U.S. model is equipped differently. The bottom line: GT-R is supposed to be quicker than the $124,000 Porsche turbo but little more than half its price. In fact, if the U.S. price is roughly equivalent to the Japanese price, GT-R will be several thousand dollars less than the least-expensive Porsche 911 sold in the USA. Still, the price is lofty by Nissan's mainstream standards, and a potential challenge — at least in the USA — to the car company's marketing skill. Despite the huge advance buzz surrounding the car, it's uncertain if buyers easily will part with $70,000 or $80,000 in a showroom that also sells $15,000 economy cars and $30,000 SUVs. Nissan is confident, pointing out how easily Chevy dealers sell Corvettes with plain-Jane work trucks and Korean-built Chevy economy cars. Nissan believes the GT-R's performance numbers — and touches such as silver paint that's hand rubbed in the factory for an extraordinary sheen — should wipe out buyer resistance. GT-R has a twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6 engine rated 473 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and 434 pounds-feet of torque starting at 3,200 rpm. All-wheel drive is standard, spreading the power among four tires instead of between just two to help keep the car stable during hard acceleration. Nissan expects it to go 0 to 60 mph in less than four seconds, as quick as some motorcycles. GT-R is a small coupe, measuring 183.2 inches long, 74.6 inches wide and 53.9 inches tall, riding on a 109.4-inch wheelbase. It's designed to seat four, but rear-seat dimensions are tight. Total passenger space is 79.4 cubic feet — about the same as some subcompact sedans. The trunk, though, is a relatively generous 8.8 cubic feet. Nissan will manufacture just 12,000 GT-Rs a year. The U.S. allotment hasn't been set.

Nissan Sentra EXPEDITION EXCEEDS 10,000 KM
 

Since its departure, in Mexico, Sentra 3 America's project car has already crossed five countries, covering 8,200 km in only seven days

 

Brazilian journalist Paulo Rollo and the photographer Jeanne Look have just completed 30 days of their expedition, covering more than 10,000 km and five Latin-American countries. They departed from Aguascalientes, Mexico, in front of the plant where the Nissan Sentra is produced and exported to several countries, including Brazil. In only seven days, the journalist and photographer crossed 8,200 km.

 

Next, they entered the Yucatan Peninsula and passed through Uxmal, Chichén Itzá, Coba and the Mayan Ruins of Tulum, areas many describe as paradise. They drove along the beautiful Mexican Caribbean Coast, in the region of Cancun. They crossed the Mexican border to Guatemala and visited the Atitlán Lake, La Antigua Guatemala and Guatemala City. They both took the opportunity to scale the Ipala Volcano. The following destinations were El Salvador, Honduras and, lastly, Nicaragua, the fifth country visited.

 

Paulo is giving press conferences to the local media and is regularly updating his car performance reports on weekly bulletins available on www.sentra3americas.com. The journalist is amazed by the vehicle's performance and low fuel consumption. "Traveling at the speed of 100 km/h on a highway, it was amazing to see that our Sentra does 15.2 km to the liter. I have never had such a cost-effective 2-liter sedan in my hands. Taking all our luggage and equipment for a four-month expedition into account, the total weight is equivalent to four passengers", says Paulo Rollo.

 

For this expedition, Nissan offered a Nissan Sentra SL with an XTRONIC® CVT transmission and the same specs of the models sold at the Brazilian dealerships. The Sentra 3 Americas Project will traverse 30,000 km, in approximately 100 days, crossing 17 Latin-American countries: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay and, to finish, Brazil.

 

Below, please find a statement from Paulo Rollo about the first 30 days of this expedition:

 

“Traveling by car is one of best experiences in life. Now, just think about starting this 30,000 km expedition at the beautiful and magical Mexico. Prior to shipping the Nissan Sentra from Santos to the Mexican Port of Altamira, we drove it for about 5,000 km in Brazil, so that we could check its performance before experiencing this challenging expedition. The Nissan Sentra is showing an impressive performance, which did not surprise us, but strengthened our confidence in the success of the project.

 

At the historical site of Aguascalientes, the Mexican city where all Sentras are produced, we headed towards the first and pleasant destination of this long and unprecedented journey across 17 countries: the Yucatan Peninsula. We visited impressive Mayan ruins at Uxmal, Chichén Itzá, Coba and Tulum.

 

We traveled with our Sentra along the beautiful Caribbean Sea, where the photographer of the expedition, Jeanne Look, could dive and interact with dolphins, at the extraordinary Xel-há Park, to the South of Cancun.

 

 

Consumption of a small car

 

In Mexico, the "Magna" unleaded fuel with an 88 octane content costs 7.05 pesos a liter, equivalent to 1.34 Brazilian reais. Traveling at the speed of 100 km/h on a highway, Sentra is showing an excellent performance, doing an average of 15.2 km to the liter. I have never had such a cost-effective 2-liter sedan in my hands. We must point out that our entire luggage and equipment for a 4-month journey is equivalent to the weight of four passengers.

In two-way roads, traveling at an average speed of 80 km/h, crossing urban areas and numerous speed bumps, Sentra does the excellent average of 12.1 Km/l. This is partly provided by the perfect synchrony between the engine and the CVT transmission. A couple of months ago, I have had the opportunity of driving a Sentra equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission and, comparing it to the model equipped with the CVT, I noticed that in speeds superior to 90 km/h, it works with an average of less 500 rpm. At 120 km/h, for example, the manual transmission, in the sixth gear, was at 3,000 rpm, while the CVT was at only 2,500 rpm. This low consumption is twice as valuable: it is economical and environmental friendly.

The excellent cargo capacity was another surprise. All our stuff could be freely accommodated in its wide trunk. Up to now, our Sentra is impeccable, just as the day when we received it, which confirms our initial positive expectations. This demonstrates the meticulous attention that the project team dedicated to each detail. However, it will still face many challenges until our arrival in Brazil.

 

 

We left the North-American Continent through the Mexican border with Guatemala, where I was amazed at the welcoming lack of bureaucracy. Six years before, I experienced huge formalities imposed by border officials. At this time, they simply did not examine the car! During one week, we visited beautiful places, such as the Atitlán Lake, La Antigua Guatemala and Guatemala City. We also took the opportunity to scale the Ipala volcano.

The next destination was El Salvador. I was worried because the last time I visited the country, in 1988, there was danger and destruction, owing to the guerillas warfare and hurricanes. Fortunately, everything is fine now. Moreover, the Salvadoran highways deserve my highest score up to now. As it is a small country and the rain could not stop, our visit was limited to a short trip and we soon followed to Honduras, where we found a different reality in terms of bureaucracy and roads. Not only the road signage is unsatisfactory, but also there are many potholes, dangerous bends, sheer drops and numerous irresponsible drivers, making unthinkable overtakes. On the other hand, the country is beautiful and the people are very friendly.

The first stop on Honduran soil was at the impressive Ruins of Copan. Then we headed to the capital, Tegucigalpa. Under heavy rain, on the third day, we decided to lead to the next country of our expedition: Nicaragua. Check out the continuation of our adventure here and on www.sentra3americas.com.”