News: Dublin taxi driver saves €6,500 by going electric

Using an electric taxi has saved taxi driver, Padraig Daly, approximately €6,500 over the last 18 months. The 100% electric Nissan LEAF which has been part of a trial between ESB ecars and National Radio Cabs (NRC) and has clocked up over 55,000km. The trial, to evaluate electric vehicles as part of the taxi industry, has been deemed so successful that it will be extended for another year.

News: Fuel cells a step closer to reality?

Generally, the accepted wisdom on useable fuel cell vehicles is that they are always 15 years away. It has been that way for almost as long as anyone can remember, and while the zero-emissions technology is certainly alluring, the investment and technology needed to make it palatable to customers always seems to be just out of reach.

That could be about to change though, following an alliance between Renault-Nissan, Mercedes and Ford to jointly share development of future fuel cell systems. Mercedes has already committed to having fuel cell cars on sale to the public by 2015 and last year, a trio of fuel-cell powered B-Classes managed a complete round-the-world trip to prove the reliability of the technology.

A fuel cell is a relatively simple thing, and they've been around for more than a century. By chemically combining hydrogen and oxygen to produce water, they generate an electrical current and the only emission at the tailpipe is water vapour. Simple and brilliant, but making them work in a car has proven difficult, and the arguments over creating a hydrogen refueling infrastructure still rage.

“Fuel cell electric vehicles are the obvious next step to complement today's battery electric vehicles as our industry embraces more sustainable transportation,” said Mitsuhiko Yamashita, Member of the Board of Directors and Executive Vice President of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., supervising Research and Development. “We look forward to a future where we can answer many customer needs by adding FCEVs on top of battery EVs within the zero-emission lineup.

“We are convinced that fuel cell vehicles will play a central role for zero-emission mobility in the future. Thanks to the high commitment of all three partners we can put fuel cell e-mobility on a broader basis. This means with this cooperation we will make this technology available for many customers around the globe,” said Prof. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development.

“Working together will significantly help speed this technology to market at a more affordable cost to our customers,” said Raj Nair, group vice president, Global Product Development, Ford Motor Company. “We will all benefit from this relationship as the resulting solution will be better than any one company working alone.”

Engineering work on both the fuel cell stack and the fuel cell system will be done jointly by the three companies at several locations around the world. The partners are also studying the joint development of other FCEV components to generate even further synergies.

Features: Nissan's Big Day Out

You could be forgiven for thinking, lately, that Nissan has become a one-car manufacturer. The Qashqai, so beloved of aspirational families, givein them a hint of SUV styling but keeping the hatchback running costs, has been a runaway success for Nissan, and is currently the no.2 selling car in Ireland. The only problem is that its success does tend to obscure the fact that Nissan makes other cars, and some damned exciting ones at that...

Take this GT-R, for instance. Jet black, in Spec-V form, so it gets 545bhp and is around 60kg lighter than standard. Four wheel drive that could outfox a tax accountant, paddle-shift gearbox that’s faster than an Uzi and a glowering, menacing mien. Looking for all the world like Darth Vader’s company car. This is not a mere vehicle, this is practically weaponised, a stealth bomber with wheels. And oh look, someone’s left the keys in it...

We’re down at Mondello Park and it’s lashing rain, a weather report that would normally have us huddling in the pits, trying to keep dry. But today it’s well worth the sloshy stride across to the waiting cars, because the chance to drive a GT-R is one thing, the chance to drive a GT-R when it’s wet enough to really explore the capabilities of that remarkable 4wd system is something else again.

Sit in and thumb the red starter button and the GT-R 3.8-litre V6 twin-turbo engine kicks into a smooth, gently menacing idle. In spite of its high performance credentials, it’s no harder to slide yourself aboard and acquaint yourself with the cockpit than it would be in a rental Micra. Nissan has kept things simple and user-friendly in here, and comfort levels are remarkably good. You could happily spend the day in those seats.

Tug the stubby selector for the twin-clutch transmission back to A for automatic mode. You can of course take full manual control with the column-mounted paddle shifters, but today I’m going to leave it in auto so that I can concentrate harder on not crashing. The transmission clunks into first and with no fuss at all, we trundle down the soaking pitlane.

Up till this point it’s all been drama free, but as soon as we’re past the marshaling post and under the spectator bridge, the GT-R comes to life. A quick stab of the throttle annihilates the short chute between the pits and the first corner and it’s time to get turned in. A nudge of understeer is the first sensation as the GT-R’s not insubstantial bulk tries to push straight on. It’s a fleeting sensation and the nose soon turns obediently towards the apex of the hairpin corner, the GT-R still feeling pussy-cat-ish at these sighting lap speeds.

I up the ante through the second corner and instantly the GT-R’s chassis shows its mettlre. Even a delicate squeeze of the throttle has the rear tyres skittering out in a fast arcing motion, but even before I apply opposite lock, the computer that controls the car’s motions has figured out, adjusted the brakes, traction control, stability control and 4wd split and stopped me spinning embarrassingly off. And it does the same at the next corner, and the next, and the next. 


That sounds like it might be a recipe for having a smothering nanny computer on board when you’re trying to have fun, but oddly, it isn’t. The GT-R is just so capable, so easy to drive, even when driving very fast indeed, that you soon start to develop a rhythm and rapport with both the mechanical car and the electronic one. It soon becomes second nature to kick the back end out to ludicrous angles, dabbing on opposite lock all the time, confident that your own excesses and lack of skill will be safely mopped up.

And of course, there’s the sheer, nutter power of the thing. Fast enough to flatten your eyeballs and bend your ribs out of shape, the GT-R is, in spite of its astonishingly friendly nature, a true Porsche hunter, a sleek mechanical panther stalking its skittish German prey. How does 0-100kmh in a hair over 3.0secs sound, and a top speed above the magic 300kmh barrier? Nissan might even put the Spec V’s back seats back in if you ask nicely.

After all that, a 370Z, even in race-track spec with a trick diff, should seem so pedestrian, but it just doesn’t. After a hairy first lap with a lot of sliding and not a lot of throttle (just the rear-wheels driven, then) the 370Z starts to come to life, and you learn to trust the very stiff diff to plant the back end in place (and the fabulous steering to correct when it doesn’t) and suddenly the 370Z feels like its old self again. A hairy-arsed, old-fashioned rear-drive drift machine with a warbling V6 engine and a meaty, muscular gearchange. Although not as capable as the GT-R, obviously, it was if anything probably slightly more fun on a soaking Mondello International circuit.

And the Juke R? Ah, well, that’s another thing again. It looks more or less like a standard Juke, bar some crazily over-extended wheelarches and an oddly bisected roof spoiler, but underneath it’s basically a GT-R, complete with the full-fat 545bhp (not the 480bhp that the original Juke R concept had), 4wd and paddle-shift gearbox. It’s nuts, of course, but it is a real car, and you can, sort of, buy one. Assuming you have €400,000 to spare. Plus local taxes.

Is it as quick as a GT-R? Well, it was damned near impossible to catch in a straight line on the track, even if the lower, leaner GT-R would probably do it over through the corners. If Nissan would consider putting the back seats back into the Juke R, it could be the ultimate school run vehicle.

All of this was, of course, a demonstration, a reminder that Nissan, while it’s busy turning out Qashqais, Mircras and the all-electric Leaf, is still a sporty car company at heart. If the GT-R, Juke R and 370Z weren’t sufficient proof, then don’t forget the Nissan-backed DeltaWing race car that stunned the crowds at Le Mans this year and is set to have its own one-make racing series in the future. Nissan Ireland will be ramming the point home early in the new year when it introduces the Nismo sporting sub-brand to our market, starting with a hot 1.6 turbo version of the Juke, which you'll be able to bodykit-up to look like a reasonable facsimile of the Juke R.

Consider us reminded. 542bhp reminded.

News: Usain Bolt Nissan Gold GT-R to be sold for charity

Yup, that's a gold Nissan GT-R and yup, that's Usain Bolt's name on the numberplate.

The incredible Mr Bolt has had a tie-up with Nissan for some time now, and while this isn't actually his personal car, it has been designed with his input and, obviously, the gold wrapped paint job and some of the (actual) gold interior fittings are in tribute to both his iconic running shoes and his Olympic triumphs.

This one-off GT-R will be auctioned on eBay later this month to raise funds for Usain Bolt's charity foundation that works with underprivileged children on his home island of Jamaica. But, there will be a limited edition run of Bolt-branded GT-Rs that will go on sale across the world later this year.

It's part of Nissan's attempt to plug into the Olympic spirit, including appointing Bolt as Nissan's "Director of Excitement." Seriously.
  
 "Racing is my inspiration, and I want to help Nissan become an even more exciting brand for everyone" Bolt said in a press release.
 
Toshiyuki Shiga, Nissan's Chief Operating Officer, said: "Nissan shares the spirit of excitement that captivated worldwide audiences at the Olympics. There is no-one better qualified than Usain Bolt to help us translate that spirit into great experiences."