If Nissan's dream comes true its vehicles will soon be using a fraction of the petroleum that they require today.
Within the next few years Nissan will introduce plug-in hybrids, models that run on 100 percent ethanol, a fuel cell vehicle, and a car that can get up to 80 miles per gallon. The Nissan "Green Program 2010" will also feature an electric vehicle for the Japanese market, according to the Detroit News.
Nissan is nearly a decade behind its two Japanese rivals, Honda and Toyota, in developing the hybrid vehicles that have proven popular, and its first hybrid, the 2007 Altima Hybrid, will use parts from Toyota. But now the company sees alternative drive trains as the key to expansion and is trying every option available.
Simultaneously developing fuel cell and hybrid technology as well as a lithium ion battery in a short time period will be expensive and demanding on researchers. But by working on every alternative technology, the company could integrate the technologies into a plug-in hybrid (which won't hurt the grid) that runs on ethanol.
This begs a question yet to be answered -- what non-gasoline vehicle can be produced at the least expense while requiring the least emissions in its production and use -- a fuel cell vehicle, EV, or ethanol-powered plug-in hybrid?
