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Nissan and NASA team up on autonomous zero-emissions test fleet

Nissan and NASA have announced a collaboration on autonomous vehicles that, if we're honest, makes more sense to us than Infiniti partnering with Red Bull. The two are commencing a five-year R&D program to explore autonomous drive systems, human-machine interfaces, network-enabled applications, and software analysis and verification. What's more: the test fleet will be zero emissions and rolling around NASA's Ames Research Center by the end of this year. We will assume that means autonomous Leafs, but Nissan could be working on a new vehicle for the purpose. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said the company will begin offering autonomous features "beginning in 2016," and wants to have commercially available self-piloting vehicles that can "navigate in nearly all situations," including urban environments, by 2020. Who better to assist than the people who put a self-driving rover on a planet that never gets closer than 34 million miles away? What does NASA get out of it? Access to Nissan's materials and component developments, prototyping systems, and robotic software test beds. Sounds like everybody wins. The press release below has more information. Nissan and NASA partner to jointly develop and deploy autonomous drive vehicles by end of year SUNNYVALE, Calif. Jan. 8, 2015 - Nissan Motor Co., through its North American-based organization, and NASA today announced the formation of a five-year research and development partnership to advance autonomous vehicle systems and prepare for commercial application of the technology. Researchers from Nissan's U.S. Silicon Valley Research Center and NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., will focus on autonomous drive systems, human-machine interface solutions, network-enabled applications, and software analysis and verification, all involving sophisticated hardware and software used in road and space applications. Researchers from the two organizations will test a fleet of zero-emission autonomous vehicles at Ames to demonstrate proof-of-concept remote operation of autonomous vehicles for the transport of materials, goods, payloads and people. For NASA, these tests parallel the way it operates planetary rovers from a mission control center. The first vehicle of that fleet should be testing at the facility by the end of 2015. "The work of NASA and Nissan – with one directed to space and the other directed to earth, is connected by similar challenges," said Carlos Ghosn, president and CEO of Nissan Motor Co.

Datsun reveals new On-Do budget sedan in Russia [w/video]

When Nissan revived the Datsun brand name, it essentially hit the "undo" button on the rebranding it undertook decades ago. But this time, the Datsun name is being used solely as a budget brand for developing markets. The reborn marque launched in India this past July with its Go hatchback, returned in September with the Go+ minivan and revealed the Redi-Go concept just last month. And now it's back again with the new On-Do sedan.
Launched in Moscow by CEO Carlos Ghosn, the On-Do was designed and engineered in Japan specifically for the Russian market - Nissan's fifth largest worldwide - where it will be built at the AvtoVaz plant in Togliatti. Decidedly budget-oriented, the Datsun On-Do is a four-door, five-seat econo-box measuring 172 inches long, 67 inches wide and 60 inches tall with an 18.7 cubic-foot trunk which Datsun describes as class-leading. Punctuating an otherwise bland shape is a large front grille and lighting front and rear that looks (and very well might be) bigger than the wheels.
Not that the Datsun On-Do needs a big contact patch to transfer power to the road: motivation is provided by a 1.6-liter engine with a grand total of - wait for it... wait a little longer - 87 horsepower. Which might strike you as a reasonable amount of muscle, considering the 400,000 rubles Datsun is getting for the On-Do (but consider that translates to about $11,300). That's a couple grand more than what Nissan gets for the Micra in that other giant northern country, or about the same amount it gets for the Versa in the US (which sells in Russia for 499k in rubles) - both of which are powered by what is in all likelihood the same 1.6-liter four but producing 109 hp. Of course Russia has different tax rates than the United States or Canada, but with such little power, the Datsun would fall into Russia's lowest tax bracket.

Here are your 2016 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year finalists [w/polls]

The 2016 Detroit Auto Show will kick off with the announcement of the annual North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year awards, and the three finalists in each category have just been revealed. Following this announcement, the jury – which includes Autoblog editor-in-chief Mike Austin – will re-evaluate each candidate before casting a final vote for the winner. This year's finalists are: Car of the Year Chevrolet Malibu Honda Civic Mazda MX-5 Miata Truck/Utility of the Year Honda Pilot Nissan Titan XD Volvo XC90 The 23rd annual awards will be announced on the morning of Monday, January 11. For now, we want to know where you stand. Let us know which vehicles you think should win, by voting in the polls below. Chevrolet Honda Mazda Nissan Volvo north american car of the year NACTOY