On new technologies in the pipeline…
“We announced about 9 or 10 months ago that we’re working to find a 15-percent weight reduction on all of our new programs. Only a few systems make up most of the weight of the vehicle, and ‘body in white’ is not one of them. The platform-chassis and powertrain make up 60-70 percent of the weight of the vehicle, and that’s where we’re working very hard.
“On the Infiniti side, we introduced safety shield technology, like lane-departure warning, and blind-spot intervention. We would love to roll those technologies, at a lower price point, through the Nissan channel.
“We’re also working on telematics, and synergies with on and off-board technologies. Lots of noise in the marketplace right now. What is onboard what is not… What does Sync mean versus something else… Who is teaming up with Microsoft… So what’s critical for us is flexibility, to have an operating system that works with apps for Apple or Android, just like we need to have our own embedded applications. The goal is to make the vehicle easier to use, easier to communicate, easier to understand.”
On hybrids…
“We just rolled out the propriety hybrid system for rear drive (on the Infiniti M35 Hybrid)… We are in the process of developing in-house our own propriety front-drive system… You’ll see it before too long… We certainly don't want to be incumbent on buying HEVG systems from Toyota in the future. To meet the proposed CAFE standards in the U.S., the percentage of electrification in the U.S. will have to increase. You will reach a technological wall with internal combustion.”
On meeting new CAFE standards…
“U.S. consumers don’t recognize CAFE. They recognize how many dollars it takes to fill up their tank… I get this debate in Japan all the time. In Europe, they place a much higher value on CO2 savings (because of taxes on CO2 output)… Frustrating for the engineers… They can give us fuel economy at this cost… But I can’t convince the consumer to pay $1,000 more for 3 mpg. They’ll never see a payback at $3 (a gallon) gas. At $5, the equation starts to become more practical. As oil prices go up, it's easier to sell the fuel economy story to consumers.”
On the CrossCabriolet coming to Canada…
“If the Murano Cross Cabriolet takes off in the U.S., then we could have this discussion again. Also depends if we to keep the current Murano around. If people accept the CrossCabriolet as its own distinct animal, and not a Murano, we could keep it around longer.”
On more commercial vehicles…
“Nissan is very strong in commercial vehicles, just not in North America. This is a fairly lucrative market. Domestic OEMs have owned that segment for years, with marginally poor product. The NV series answers some questions the domestics have been ignoring for years — driver comfort, NVH, utility. The NV200 segment is big outside of North America, but an infant (here). There is opportunity.”
“We announced about 9 or 10 months ago that we’re working to find a 15-percent weight reduction on all of our new programs. Only a few systems make up most of the weight of the vehicle, and ‘body in white’ is not one of them. The platform-chassis and powertrain make up 60-70 percent of the weight of the vehicle, and that’s where we’re working very hard.
“On the Infiniti side, we introduced safety shield technology, like lane-departure warning, and blind-spot intervention. We would love to roll those technologies, at a lower price point, through the Nissan channel.
“We’re also working on telematics, and synergies with on and off-board technologies. Lots of noise in the marketplace right now. What is onboard what is not… What does Sync mean versus something else… Who is teaming up with Microsoft… So what’s critical for us is flexibility, to have an operating system that works with apps for Apple or Android, just like we need to have our own embedded applications. The goal is to make the vehicle easier to use, easier to communicate, easier to understand.”
On hybrids…
“We just rolled out the propriety hybrid system for rear drive (on the Infiniti M35 Hybrid)… We are in the process of developing in-house our own propriety front-drive system… You’ll see it before too long… We certainly don't want to be incumbent on buying HEVG systems from Toyota in the future. To meet the proposed CAFE standards in the U.S., the percentage of electrification in the U.S. will have to increase. You will reach a technological wall with internal combustion.”
On meeting new CAFE standards…
“U.S. consumers don’t recognize CAFE. They recognize how many dollars it takes to fill up their tank… I get this debate in Japan all the time. In Europe, they place a much higher value on CO2 savings (because of taxes on CO2 output)… Frustrating for the engineers… They can give us fuel economy at this cost… But I can’t convince the consumer to pay $1,000 more for 3 mpg. They’ll never see a payback at $3 (a gallon) gas. At $5, the equation starts to become more practical. As oil prices go up, it's easier to sell the fuel economy story to consumers.”
On the CrossCabriolet coming to Canada…
“If the Murano Cross Cabriolet takes off in the U.S., then we could have this discussion again. Also depends if we to keep the current Murano around. If people accept the CrossCabriolet as its own distinct animal, and not a Murano, we could keep it around longer.”
On more commercial vehicles…
“Nissan is very strong in commercial vehicles, just not in North America. This is a fairly lucrative market. Domestic OEMs have owned that segment for years, with marginally poor product. The NV series answers some questions the domestics have been ignoring for years — driver comfort, NVH, utility. The NV200 segment is big outside of North America, but an infant (here). There is opportunity.”