Try to list all of the stories we've had recently about Nissan's work to bring electric cars to the masses. It's hard, because there have been a lot of them, covering the company's efforts in Japan, Israel and the U.S., to name just a few. We're not the only ones who've noticed what Nissan (and Renault) are up to; the non-profit group Plug In America (PIA) has issued a statement praising the company for the EV push. PIA president Linda Nicholes said in a statement that, "It's past time that people had the chance and the choice to get behind the wheel of an electric car. Nissan, through innovative leadership, will make that choice possible to people all over the world." PIA's laudatory release continues:

Nissan is the first manufacturer to say it will market all-electric vehicles worldwide. Its commitment to plug-in vehicles is sure to fan competition among rivals, ultimately reducing both greenhouse gas emissions and U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

The full statement is available after the jump. Now Nissan just has to deliver on these promises and we'll all have sometime to praise.

Renault and Nissan are ready to leap head-first into making electric vehicles for the many. At the very least, Renault/Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, is willing to make some Lutzian-style statements. I suppose, following this weekend's public EV demonstration in Israel, it gets easier to promise that the companies would launch "a range of electric cars" in the U.S in 2010 (Europe's time will come in 2011). We've been expecting at least one EV from Renault or Nissan to be brought to market somewhere around that time frame, but a whole range in two years? That's ambitious. Not totally unexpected, but no less ambitious. Perhaps I'm reading too much into this. A range does need to start with at least one vehicle, right? In any case, Californians will get first crack at the Renault/Nissan EV, which Ghosn described as not "a Star Wars prototype. It will be a car for sale."

Renault has been making a lot of EV moves recently. A week ago, Ghosn said that Nissan will become a global leader in affordable electric vehicles, and we've of course been following Renault's emerging partnership with Project Better Place (see demonstration link, above). A less flashy but just as vital part of the puzzle will come from the Automotive Energy Supply Corp partnership between Nissan and NEC-JV, which will start mass producing li-ion automotive batteries next year. So, everything is moving in the right direction for Renault and Nissan; now if someone would just tell Ghosn that there's at least one person (me) who would be totally in favor of an electric car that looks like it belongs in Star Wars.

[Source: Telegraph UK, Green Car Congress ]

Renault-Nissan's plans to build electric cars is looking more serious by the day. Nissan has announced its intention to build an electric car for Japan and the U.S., and said so in its presentation to the California Air Resources Board last month. Earlier this year, Renault made news signing on to Shai Agassi's Project Better Place plan to produce electric cars for Israel and, more recently, Denmark. Now, according to a Thomson Financial News report in Forbes.com, Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn said at a news conference in Portugal, 'We are negotiating to launch an electric car with a Gulf state.'

Israel's desire for electric cars is obvious. A small Middle East state with no oil reserves, it's demand for petroleum finances its enemies. A nation in the Gulf region, presumably with sizable oil deposits, would seem at first glance a less likely candidate to begin to shift toward electricity.

Lessons, perhaps, are being learned from countries as diverse as Norway and Brazil. Each has come to realize petroleum is more valuable as an export commodity than as a transportation fuel. Norway has 50 percent of Europe's oil reserves. Yet, electrics in the country are given incentives as it continues to export petroleum. The Nordic state is where Th!nk is headquartered. Brazil made investments decades ago to move automobiles off petroleum and on to locally-produced sugar cane ethanol. As petroleum has been found within its borders, rather than being burned locally it is shipped to world markets at ever climbing prices, helping mitigate the financial problems associated with petroleum imports plaguing many developing countries.

[Source: Forbes.com]

Click above to view high-res gallery of the 2009 Nissan Maxima

It's embargo-breaking time again. With previews beginning tomorrow for the New York Auto show, the star of the Nissan stand has hit the web already. The all new 2009 Maxima has popped up on Supernissans.net, which published the first half-dozen pics of the Nissan's new "four door sports car." The sedan wears design elements that first appeared on the Nissan Forum concept from the Detroit Show in January, and is slated to be the first home for Nissan's new fifty-state clean diesel in 2010. We'll have more details when Nissan does the official unveiling in New York tomorrow.


[Source: Supernissans.net, World Car Fans, Motor Authority]

To go along with the test drives that Nissan already allows in Japan, they will be allowing the use of their X-Trail hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as chauffeur-driven hired-car vehicles. According to this article, the vehicle's fuel cell, batteries and motor provide similar performance to their gasoline counterparts, minus the emissions. As all of you probably know, the fuel cell creates electricity which charges the battery, making this an electric vehicle.

The nice thing about this is that it allows consumers a chance to get a feel for the technology and performance of it themselves. There is a big difference between reading about something and actually getting to see, feel and experience it yourself. Of course, when consumers find out how much it costs, that might just scare them right back home! This could bring a new meaning to the phrase, "you break it - you bought it"!

[Source: Huliq.com]