Nissan Latest Electric Car Prototype

It’s quiet and produces less pollution than typical cars. This is the latest prototype of Nissan’s electric vehicle. Based on the same platform that will be used in the company’s production of electric car that’s coming next year, it was unveiled on Monday just outside of Tokyo. The prototype is based on the TDAP which is called the verse on North America and the latier in Southeast Asia and has a top speed of just over 140 kilometers per hour, that’s about 85 miles per hour. It’s powered by a bank of lithium ion batteries that give it a range in excess of 160 kilometers or over 100 miles. That covers the typical daily distance driven by 98 percent of Japanese and British motorists, 95 percent of German drivers, and about 80 percent of those in the US and China. Perhaps the greatest compliment that can be paid to the car is that it drives and handles just like you expect from a car of its class. So let’s see how the car accelerates. Coming out of the corner and I put my foot down and we’re up to a hundred in no time. The car gets its power from these lithium ion batteries which are placed under the floor between the front and back seats. The cells has flash and tin laminated types and four of them are packaged in each battery. They run much cooler than conventional cylindrical cells of the type used in laptops. And this one has spent much of its research on insuring they won't overheat especially during an accident. The batteries are connected via an inverted to an 80 kilowatt electric motor. A full charge will take about 16 hours on a standard Japanese 100 revolt home supply. A quick charge station like this one runs at a higher power and can replenish the batteries in about 30 minutes. Nissan invisegesis will be built around town as part of the infrastructure to support electric vehicles. The company is also experimenting with the contact less charging system that uses induction between a charging plate on the streets and one on the bottom of the car. If these plates were installed in parking base, cars can be recharged while parked and the electricity cost covered by the parking fee. Also under development is an iPhone application that allows owners to check on the battery and recharging status of their cars. The system could come in handy, for example, when cars are parked in public charging stations and always don’t want to return until the batteries are fully charged. The same application can also be used for remote control of the air conditioner or heater. Both systems use a lot of electricity especially when first hand on and that reduces the car’s range. By switching the air conditioner on five minutes before you reach the car, you can make use of the charging stations energy for that initial blast. Nissan’s production electric car will be unveiled this Sunday and will go on sale in Japan and North America in 2010 and in Europe in 2012. In Yukoski, Japan, this is Martyn Williams, IDG News Service.

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