Nissan Motor Co. is planning to build a hybrid vehicle to be released by 2010 said a news report by Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun. Nissan has lagged behind other Japanese automakers when it comes to hybrid technology partly because Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn remains unenthusiastic about hybrids. He argues that hybrids make little business sense because they have low profit margins despite having higher retail prices.

Meanwhile, Nissan has signed a deal with Toyota back in 2002 under which the latter will sell its hybrid system to Nissan. A product of this licensing tie is the hybrid Nissan Altima sedan due to be released in the US by next year. Ghosn has said that the hybrid Altima was merely a necessity to clear California’s average fuel economy regulations.

The Porsche Cayman topped the list of the ten most appealing vehicles in the 11th annual Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates. The APEAL study measures the owners’ delight with their new vehicles in terms of design, content, layout and performance. In simplest terms, the study tries to find out how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive. The APEAL study is based on 10 different categories namely: engine/transmission; driving dynamics; storage and space; seats; vehicle interior; heating; ventilation and cooling; vehicle exterior; audio/entertainment/navigation; visibility and driving safety; and fuel economy.

Here are the top ten most appealing vehicles for 2006

1. 2006 Porsche Cayman
2. 2006 BMW 7 Series
3. 2006 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
4. 2006 Lexus IS 250/IS 350
5. 2006 Infiniti QX56
6. 2006 Nissan Armada
7. 2006 Scion tC
8. 2006 Mini Cooper
9. 2006 Lexus GX 470
10. 2006 Infiniti M-Series

Honda Motor’s Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control System (VTEC) Engine has further evolved with the development of the Advanced VTEC engine, which offers higher performance, better fuel economy and lower emissions. This time, the new engine offers continuously variable valve lift and timing control combined with the continuously variable phase control of VTC. Within the next three years, Honda may release a production vehicle equipped with this new engine.

The next generation engine offers significant advantages including optimum control over intake valve lift and phase in response to driving conditions. This enhances the charging efficiency for a significant increase in torque for the whole range of engine speeds. Meanwhile, to further reduce pumping losses and improve fuel economy, the valves are set to low lift and early closure under low to medium load levels.

All these technology translates to a vast improvement in performance and fuel efficiency. The engine itself improves fuel economy by 13%. Emission levels is 75% lower than those required by the 2005 standards of both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency LEV2-ULEV regulations and Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport requirements for Low-Emission Vehicles. With this engine, Honda further solidifies its leadership when it comes to manufacturing vehicles with outstanding quality, performance and fuel economy.

Toyota Motors Corp. will reportedly increase production of its popular hybrid vehicle, the Prius by up to 50%, or 300,000 units by 2007, according to Japan’s business daily, the Nihon Keizai. Toyota is aiming to further dominate the hybrid car market in which it already enjoys a sizeable advantage over other hybrid car makers. Hybrid cars, which offer a combined conventional engine and an electric motor for added fuel mileage is now a main alternative to cars with internal combustion engine.

The Prius is currently the top selling hybrid vehicle today, especially in North America where concerns about the rising gasoline prices and the effect of vehicle emissions to the climate are now decisive factors when buying a new car. Last June, Toyota has announced that it will double the number of hybrid cars in its model lineup. Currently, there are seven Toyota models with the hybrid system. Toyota expects to sell a million Prius cars annually soon after 2010.

The perennial best-seller, Ford F-Series pickup, along with the other best-selling pickups like the Chevrolet Silverado and the Dodge Ram staved off the very stiff competition from smaller cars with way better gas mileage, to remain at the top of Forbes’ list of the top selling cars for 2006.

The F-Series still lords it over all the other vehicles sold in the US this year although sales have fallen 13% down from 625,047 units by August of last year to 545,963 by the end of August this year. Meanwhile, sales of the other pickups in the top ten also tumbled; the top three pickups sold a combined 1.2 million units in the first eight months of 2006, down 8% or over 110,000 units from the 1.3 million US sales registered in the first eight months of 2004.

A telling sign is the conspicuous absence of any SUV or van in the list. Ford’s Explorer SUV, once ranked sixth in 2004 is now dropped from the list, having experienced a 31% decline in sales this year despite significant upgrades in luxury and refinement.

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Two months ago, we blogged about the starring role of the up-for-production Chevrolet Camaro concept in the new Transformers film. Although, there have been objections from Transformer purists about the Camaro being cast as Bumblebee, since the Bee was originally a Volkswagen Beetle, these recent pictures might convince them otherwise. If you don’t know yet, the Bumblebee is the only Transformer that will be built for the movie, the rest of the Autobots and Decepticons will be CGI; and Bumblebee looks quite cool in these spy shots: one with the Autobot lying on its back and the other showing its full height. Check ‘em out.

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In five years, the United States government will require all new cars to have anti-rollover technology as a standard safety feature. Automakers will be mandated to include electronic stability control (ESC) devices in all their new vehicles by the model tear 2012. ESC has been widely praised by automakers, safety advocates and suppliers for its important role in decreasing the number of traffic deaths and injuries due to rollovers. The technology detects when a driver may lose control of the vehicle and automatically applies the brakes to individual wheels to help keep them stable and avoid a rollover.

Currently, about 40% of all new vehicles offer ESC as standard equipment. Studies revealed that ESC has the potential to prevent over 10,000 deaths every year if all vehicles will be equipped with it. This is almost a quarter of the over 43,000 deaths that occur on our roads every year. William Kozyra, president and CEO of Continental Automotive systems, a top supplier of stability control in North America praised ESC as “the most important automotive safety technology of our generation”.

Bridgestone, one of the largest tire manufacturers, is developing and close to releasing a device that can check the tire pressure wirelessly. This wireless tire pressure monitoring system uses sensors, planted under the tire rim, that send tire pressure and temperature information to a handheld device. When the system detects high or low tire pressure, a 1.5 second alarm goes off. However, the handheld device has a short range and the user will need to walk up to each wheel to get readings. Also, the system can only be used while the vehicle is stopped.

This handheld device will be particularly helpful in tire blowout cases that lead to almost 414 deaths and 10,275 injuries per year in the US, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Inflation records are very important in these accident cases. The handheld device can store up to 1080 tire pressure readings from almost 90 vehicles.

Three-point seatbelts, the kind we commonly see in practically all vehicles today, have been an industry standard for 32 years already. Now, Ford Motor Co. is currently developing a new design for the seat belt of the future. The new seat belt is modeled after the belts worn by race car drivers. Its design has four points, looks like suspenders, hooks on like a backpack and is more comfortable and easier to use, or so Ford claims.

The new seat belt is designed to keep the person firmly in place. During initial testing, consumers found the four-point seat belt more comfortable than current seat belt designs. It was also much easier to use because the buckle is in the front and is easier to latch on.

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When the Chevrolet Sequel Concept was introduced back in 2005 at the Detroit Auto Show, it immediately drew raves because it was the first vehicle to fully integrate a hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system with a wide range of advanced technologies. These technologies included a lightweight aluminum structure, wheel hub motors, lithium-ion batteries, steer-and brake-by-wire controls. More than these sophisticated innovations, what made the Chevrolet Sequel stand out at the auto show was its being a clean and environmentally-friendly automobile that uses only clean, renewable hydrogen as fuel and emits only water vapor.

The Chevrolet Sequel is dubbed as the most technologically advanced automobile ever built. Why, you ask? Because it basically changes everything we know about automobiles. Instead of an internal combustion engine, the Sequel is powered by fuel cell propulsion. In place of mechanical systems, this concept car has electrical systems. And most importantly, the car uses hydrogen, instead of petroleum.

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