AXcessNews.com tell us that Nissan lacks a hybrid, so Nissan’s president Carlos Ghosn is pushing their CVTs (Continuously Variable Transmission).
“By fiscal year 2007, we plan to sell around one million CVT-fitted models worldwide. In North America, all of our front-engine/front-wheel-drive vehicles — except Quest and some Versa models — will come with CVTs, including 100% of Sentras, Maximas, Altimas and Muranos sold with automatic transmissions. We estimate that selling one million CVTs would have the same effect in terms of reducing CO2 emissions as selling 200,000 hybrid electric vehicles.”
So, Nissan is copying American car makers spin doctoring. Given Nissan’s reluctance toward hybrids, it probably would be fruitless to suggest that a CVT is a nice platform for hybrids or how commendable it would be to produce retrofit, plug-in conversion kits for all Nissans.
Keep in mind that Nissan isn’t exclusive in the CVT game. Audi, Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Saturn and Toyota all offer models with this new type of transmission. Nissan just seems to be the carmaker at the moment that’s pimping them as green machines.
Ghosn cites improved fuel efficiency, better acceleration and increased control over emissions as key CVT benefits. All true (and even more true about their Super Motor), and all the better to combine with other leading technologies that can lower emissions and lessen fuel consumption, i.e., improved aerodynamics, lighter weight materials, and plug-in, flex-fuel hybrid power trains while perfecting a FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle).
