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Nissan drives glowing Leaf on Holland's glowing highway

If you thought that applying phosphorescent paint to the Nissan Leaf made it look like something out of Tron already, brother... you don't know the half of it. Or at least you won't have until you see what the car looks like on a glow-in-the-dark highway. A glow-in-the-what-now, you ask? That's right: for about a third of a mile on the N329 in the Netherlands, running through the city of Oss, the highway glows in the dark. Not the whole roadway, of course. That'd be weird. Even for the Dutch. No, the so-called Smart Highway designed by Daan Roosegaarde (whose Dutch heritage is evident by the number of vowels in his name) uses phosphorescent stripes to obviate the need for lighting. They work just like the paint on the Leaf (or for that matter any number of toys we had as kids), absorbing sunlight during the day and emitting it at night... in this case for up to eight hours. The resulting footage and photography, though surely heavily edited, needs to be seen to be believed. That is, assuming you don't already live in a computer where users force you to play in games for their own amusement and Jeff Bridges runs amok. Related Video: BRIGHT FUTURE: NISSAN LEAF IS FIRST GLOW-IN-THE-DARK CAR TO DRIVE GLOWING HIGHWAY · All-electric Nissan LEAF is the first glow-in-the-dark car to drive on the luminous Smart Highway in Oss, Netherlands · Unique highway design saves energy by removing need for street lights · Nissan EV sales increase by 313% across the Netherlands · Watch the film at: https://youtu.be/8Dv3PxDj2ks Nissan has blazed a trail by driving its unique glow-in-the-dark zero-emission LEAF along the world's first glow-in-the-dark motorway in Oss, Netherlands. Nissan recently became the first modern passenger car manufacturer to apply glow-in-the-dark car paint to a car, to showcase how many customers of the world's best-selling electric vehicle are powering their car from solar energy generated at home. Now it has gone one step further, by driving the all-electric Nissan LEAF on the Smart Highway – the first time a phosphorescent car has been driven on the famous stretch of road. And the location of the world's only luminescent highway was fitting, as Nissan has announced an uplift in electric vehicle sales of 313 percent in the Netherlands last year. The innovative Smart Highway project was conceived by designer Daan Roosegaarde to help guide drivers in the dark, while saving energy that might otherwise be used in street lighting.

Nissan IDx 'in the plan' for production, needs support from fans [w/poll]

If there's a trend in the auto industry we can firmly get behind, it's the small, light and affordable rear-drive coupe. The positive critical reception to the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ twins has encouraged other manufacturers to look at building their own rear drivers, and even a few to show actual concept cars based on the idea. The Chevrolet Code 130R from 2012 and more recently, the Nissan IDx twins that were first shown at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show both come to mind, as does the brand-new Kia GT4 Stinger Concept.
Nissan trotted out the IDx Nismo and the IDx Freeflow for another showing in Detroit and we'll admit to being totally smitten with both cars. Again. The duo draw inspiration from the iconic Datsun 510, a lightweight, affordable rear-driver that remains a cult favorite decades after production ended.
Now, a report from our friends at AutoWeek reveals that we may, possibly, hopefully see a production IDx, provided fans make a strong enough case for it. "It's in the plan," Nissan product boss Andy Palmer told AW. According to the report, Palmer said the IDx is "into the first sage of the development process. The next stage is project validation and then looking at the business case. It's no one's intent to waste millions of the company's money, so obviously we have a good feeling about this one."

Ghosn shares 'truth about Autonomous Drive cars'

Drive our cars. No, wait, don't drive our cars. Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn is delivering a message about autonomous driving that's less mixed than it sounds on the surface. As part of his public dialogue from LinkedIn's "Influencer" series, Ghosn said in a company announcement that "hands-free" driving is part of the Japanese automaker's "near-term technology." In fact, cars that can self-drive in heavy, stop-and-go traffic, may be ready for the market by late 2016. That should please texters everywhere. 2018 may be the year cars with lane-changing, hazard-avoiding capabilities will see the light of day, while by 2020, Nissan may feature a "complete package" of autonomous-driving features, Ghosn writes. As for the proverbial driver-less car? That's at least a decade out but ultimately likely, according to Ghosn. Nissan said early last year that some autonomous versions of its vehicles may be available in the US by the end of the decade, and that it was in talks with California regulators about the idea of self-driving cars on the state's roads. Nissan has worked with institutions such as MIT, Stanford and Oxford at developing autonomous-drive concepts, and has tested self-driving versions of the Leaf electric vehicles in Japan. Check out excerpts of the Ghosn "interview" below. The truth about Autonomous Drive cars, by Carlos Ghosn The following is the latest from Carlos Ghosn's LinkedIn Influencer series. Read all of Mr. Ghosn's LinkedIn Influencer articles here. There has been a lot of talk in the media recently about "Autonomous Drive" technology and a potential future of driverless cars. No doubt, Autonomous Drive technology will change how we approach driving. I expect it to result a significant transformation in transportation. But all the talk has left many drivers a bit confused. After years of promoting "eyes on the road, hands on the wheel," the auto industry is now talking about reading your email or a book while you drive – and the prospect of maybe not even needing a driver. So it's a good time to address the questions that arise whenever this subject comes up: Q: What is Autonomous Drive? A: Autonomous Drive combines the technology of robotics, artificial intelligence, sensors and car-to-car connectivity. It is a range of technologies that will be added to our cars over the next several years.