Classic Cars Nissan

Is anybody else sick of all the snow we are getting? In the past week, New Jersey and the East Coast have received more snow than they ever cared about seeing. People are digging out their Nissan cars simply so they can get to the store and get some milk and food.

But now officials are worried about what is going to happen with the snow predicted for the upcoming week. Salt supplies have depleted to the point to where workers may not be able to get much of the snow melted for daily commutes and necessary trips. County officials are hoping a fresh delivery of salt will be able to get where it needs to be before the next foot of snow is dropped on us. Unfortunately, Mid-Atlantic Salt, the major supplier of snow-melting salt, said this winter has depleted their supply to the point that they do not know if they can keep up with the demand.

With the predicted snowfall coming this week, it appears that this will be one of the snowiest winters on record for much of Atlantic City and other parts of the East Coast.

What are you doing to cope in your Nissan cars with the massive amounts of snow that we have received in the past week? Many people are still without power and the new snow is going to cripple the area even further. Have you been staying home from work or making other lifestyle adjustments to cope with the snow? What about people who have delivery-related jobs – what are they doing to deal with this “snowmageddon” as our president referred to it? Let us know what you are doing to cope and may be you will be helping someone else get out of a bad and snowy situation.

Awhile back, the engineers at Nissan created a one-of-a-kind paint for the automaker’s vehicles that “heals” itself if it gets scratched. Now, the Japanese company has licensed its “Scratch Shield” paint to a mobile phone company, too.

The mobile phone company – NTT DoCoMo, Inc. – is going to offer the paint as an application for its phones sold in Japan. The paint was designed and created with the help of Advanced Softmaterials and the University of Tokyo in 2005.

“Scratch Shield” helps the paint restore itself from fine scratches. In most cases, it only takes a few hours to “heal” itself, but more extreme cases could take up to a week to restore the natural finish. In addition to restoring itself, the paint is more scratch-resistant than other types of paint used on some models of Nissan vehicles. Since mobile phones are susceptible to being dropped and other abuses, “Scratch Shield” is a natural fit for the product.

This isn’t the first time the Nissan company has licensed its products for non-auto companies. In the past, the automaker has licensed its infrared image sensor and its around-view monitor. Look for more breakthrough technologies from this company that continues to look for ways to improve safety and durability throughout the world.

The Philadelphia Phillies gave it their best shot at back-to-back baseball championships earlier this month. Unfortunately, the New York Yankees were just a tad bit better and took that dream away from the Phillies. But now it’s time to look forward instead of dwelling on what the team should have done. Here are some of the changes you may see in the Phillies lineup for next season.

• Officials are considering a decision on whether or not to keep Pedro Feliz – the team’s third baseman. Although he is good in the field, Feliz “does not provide the optimal offensive production out of the position,” according to an article in Bleacher Report.
• Mark DeRosa of the St. Louis Cardinals, is a viable option for the Phillies as he can play six positions and has a lifetime batting average of .272.
• If the team decides not to sign Feliz, Chone Figgins of the Anaheim Angels may become a great addition to the team. He played in the 2009 All-Star Game and he has an average of nearly .300 along with 42 stolen bases.

Of course, this is all speculation and no major decisions have been made. Whatever the team decides, you can join your Philadelphia area Nissan dealers in cheering on the Phillies in 2010!

If you have been paying attention to the texting while driving debate, you know that several states in the nation have already banned drivers from doing those two activities at the same time. Legislators in Pennsylvania have been debating the issue for some months now and The Keystone State may be the next to ban this bad habit.

The bill has already been introduced into the state’s House of Representatives and the state’s Senate. If it passes, Pennsylvania would become the 15th state to ban texting and driving because it is such a danger. “Many people accept that it is increasingly dangerous to drive a vehicle with all of the distractions,” said State College Police Department Captain Dana Leonard.

The ban would restrict all drivers in Pennsylvania from text messaging while operating their vehicle. Younger and less experienced drivers will be prohibited from using any wireless communication devices at all. In addition, the bill would also create a public education awareness program designed to reduce the number of distracted drivers throughout the state.

Are you still texting and driving behind the wheel of your Nissan cars? Is it a bad habit that you are trying to break? Let us know your thoughts abut the ban below.

Now that we are into November, the cold and frigid winter weather is just around the corner. Depending on the area of the country you live in, you may have already experienced a taste of it. Hopefully, you have already prepared your Nissan cars for winter. If you haven’t, however, here are some tips to make sure your Nissan makes it through the winter and beyond.

Look for Windshield Chips or Dings
Have you ever heard of something called “thermal stress”? It’s something that often occurs during the winter and it can destroy your windshield if it has any weakness in it at all. It starts with a small chip and the cold weather can turn it into a large crack that cannot be fixed without replacing the entire windshield. Pay a few bucks and get the small chips repaired before the cold weather arrives to avoid any further windshield damage.

Check Your Fluids
Make sure your antifreeze is 50/50, meaning half water and half concentrated antifreeze. Pure antifreeze can freeze at low temperatures which is why it is important to mix it with water. Also, check other fluids, especially your windshield wiper fluid. If you live where it snows a lot, this is going to come in very handy.

These are just a few things to keep in mind to prepare your Nissan cars for the winter weather. A couple minutes of maintenance now can save hours of repairs in the cold weather.

This is our last installment for now in honor of last week’s National Teen Driving Safety Week. Here are some final suggestions for helping your teen stay safe behind the wheel of your Nissan cars.

• Restrict anything that distracts them. This includes cell phones, earphones and MP3 players. All of these devices require the person to take their eyes off the road even if it is for a split second. If you find them breaking this rule, consider taking away driving privileges or confiscating their devices.
• Require them to wear their seat belt. This should be a habit they have already learned by watching you over the years. Unfortunately, teen drivers have the lowest rates of seat belt usage of any other driving group.
• Let others know about your rules. Talk to the parents of your teen’s friends so they know your rules, too. This way, they can keep an eye on your teen when they are around to make sure they are following your rules. They might even use some of your rules with their own teen!

Teen drivers have one of the highest rates of traffic accidents. Don’t let your teen be a statistic – do everything you can to keep them safe when they are behind the wheel and you are not around.

As we discussed on here last week, your teen is at just as much risk behind the wheel whether they are driving after school during the week or after midnight on the weekends. That’s why we would like to offer some suggestions to help them stay safe regardless of when they are behind the wheel.

• Set up some clear rules and write them down. This way, you and your teen know exactly what is expected of them and there is no misunderstanding because it is in writing. When your teen follows the rules, gradually increase the amount of driving you let them do. When they break the rules, take away a few liberties until they prove they can follow the rules that you set.
• Be a good example. Teen drivers learn most of their driving habits from watching their parents over the years. Be a responsible driver and your teen will be more likely to do the same thing.
• Don’t allow too many passengers. The risk of getting distracted and getting into an accident is increased when there are too many passengers in the car. During the first few months of driving, your teen should not have any passengers besides a parent. After that, allow them one passenger at a time for several months until they get more experience.

These are just a few suggestions offered by your Nissan dealers to help your teens stay safe behind the wheel. We’ll have just a few more suggestions next week. Don’t miss it!

Do you let your teen drive your Nissan cars to school every day? If so, they could be at a greater risk when they are driving home from school. A new study by AAA shows that there were as many young teen drivers involved in fatal accidents between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. during the week as there were between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. on Saturday nights. A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) backed that up by reporting that about 50 percent of all fatal traffic accidents involving teens occurred between 3 p.m. and midnight.

“While it’s smart for parents to be concerned about their teen driving during [late night hours], they should also be engaged in their teen’s driving activities in the time period right after school,” said Michele Mount, the director of public affairs for AAA New Jersey.

One reason for these findings is because there is a lot more traffic on the roads during the afternoon hours. Commuters are in a hurry to get home during these hours and the increased traffic and hurriedness contributes to more accidents.

With National Teen Driving Safety Week coming up, Your Nissan dealers would like to offer some tips on how to help prepare the teen drivers in your household. Be sure to come back next week for those suggestions!

Do you remember when you were a kid and people talked about cars of the future that would be able to communicate with each other? At the time, it seemed like a futuristic fantasy. But many of those things that people just talked about are becoming a reality.

Nissan engineers have been working on a piece of technology that allows cars to “communicate” with each other to avoid collisions. Using the same idea that fish use when they are in a school, the new robotic cars remove the human equation from driving in order to make safer roads and highways.

EPORO, or Episode Zero Robot, is the name given to these robotic cars. The name refers to the ability to produce absolutely zero emissions while also avoiding accidents. While it’s just a concept right now, the technology to produce the actual collision-avoiding vehicles is right around the corner. And we have fish to thank for the idea.

“We, in a motorized world, have a lot to learn from the behavior of a school of fish in terms of each fish’s degree of freedom and safety within in a school and high migration efficiency of a school itself,” explained Toshiyuki Andou, Manager of Nissan’s Mobility Laboratory and the principal engineer of this project.

Until these robotic cars are available, visit a Nissan dealer near you for a car with the latest and most innovative safety features in the industry. You owe it to yourself and your family.

One of the main criticisms of electric cars is that they are too quiet. If pedestrians cannot hear the cars coming, they may try to cross the street without even looking both ways! While this is unlikely, a car noise is safer for blind people who often cross streets by listening for oncoming cars. That’s why Nissan has announced the new noise for the 2010 Leaf model.

Nissan’s sound engineers said they are adding a “beautiful and futuristic” sound to the Leaf that will sound like they are straight out of the movie “Blade Runner.” This Ridley Scott science fiction thriller takes place in 2019 in Los Angeles. The cars in the movie are flying cars, called “spinners,” and they emit a certain buzz that Nissan has captured for the 2010 Leaf.

“We decided that if we’re going to do this, if we have to make a sound, then we’re going to make it beautiful and futuristic,” explained Toshiyuki Tabata, the noise and vibration expert for Nissan. “We wanted something a bit different, something closer to the world of art.”

Currently, Congress is considering The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2008 which would require electric cars to emit a minimum sound for the safety of pedestrians. Nissan has already responded to those concerns before the government has required it.