Nissan is set to make the required tire pressure monitoring systems much smarter in all 2013 vehicles starting with its new Altima. The new system is called the Easy Fill Tire Alert. The new system has that dummy light on instrument cluster, but it will also tell you which specific wheel is low – a feature that’s only been available in more costly vehicles until now. The coolest part of the new system is that you don’t have to mess with the tire gauge at all.

All you have to do is connect the filling hose to the tire and the four-way running lights on the car will flash to let you know air is going into the tire. When you reach the ideal pressure, the car’s horn will beep one time. If you overfill, the tire the horn will beep three times and the running lights will flash. Once you let air out of the tire and reach normal pressure, the horn will beep again. I love features like this that seem so simple, but make such a big difference for drivers.

[via Nissan]

The main difference between these two cars is that the Infiniti LE concept is much, much better looking than the Leaf. The Infiniti and the Leaf are sort of like the Kardashian sisters with the Infiniti being Kim and the Leaf being Khloe. Similar genetics certainly doesn’t guarantee similar looks and appeal. Underneath the Infiniti’s sexy bodywork hides an upgraded version of the same electric engine the Leaf uses.

The Nissan Leaf electric engine produces 110 hp and 210 lb-ft. of torque. Infiniti tweaked their engine to produce 134 hp and 240 lb-ft. of torque. The Infiniti is estimated to have a 100-mile driving range, pretty much the same as the Leaf.

The Infiniti LE will also offer a wireless charging system for juicing up in your garage with ease.

A production version of the LE Concept is expected to hit dealer lots in about two years at an undisclosed price.

[via Wired]

The Pivo was originally unveiled back in 2007, but it has gone through a major re-design and has been enhanced with a ton of cool features in this upgraded version. Nissan revealed the Pivo 3 electric car concept as a sneak preview of what’s to come at the Tokyo Motor Show.

The doors of the Pivo look pretty cool, and they kind of look like wings from the front view. It also features all-wheel steering, which lets it turn on a dime. But the thing that I find the coolest is the Automated Valet Parking (AVP) system, which will let the driver park itself without assistance from the driver.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

What do you think?

[via DigitalTrends via Dvice]

The BlueDrone Android app connects to the car using Bluetooth from the smartphone and has a wireless range of 30-feet. The app allows the driver to use on-screen controls for the car or the phone can be tilted to drive. The car itself is a Nissan GTR in 1:20 scale, and can pair with up to eight devices at once time. The car measures 8″ x 3.2″ x 2.75″ and weighs in at a bit over half a pound.

The BlueDrone project is seeking $200,000 to cover production costs to bring it to consumers, which is one of the largest amounts I have ever seen on Kickstarter, but your pledge of just $59 will get you one of the first BlueDrone R/C cars if they do hit the goal.

If you don’t know about the Leaf, it’s supposed to be really energy efficient since it’s an electric car. It features something called CARWINGS, which will rank you regionally according to your energy efficiency level, so you can compare your driving with others.

Now that’s genius! Instead of driving fast, you are trying to drive as efficiently as possible. I remember doing something like this when I was low on gas and trying to make it to the next gas station. Now Leaf drivers can do the same, except it’s a lot further between power charging stations.

[via AutoblogGreen via Ubergizmo]

The effect is achieved using animatronics and a polyurethane elastomer fiber called ROICA, which “can stretch by 500% to 900%, and shows outstanding recovery from stretching.” The car’s face looks too stiff to me though.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

As we all know, communication between drivers on the road is limited to simple gestures, like waving or pointing, honking horns, giving each other the finger while mouthing “learn to drive a-hole!”, driving parallel to each other so that they could cuss and yell, stopping and beating each other up, and other similar signs that have ambiguous or negative connotations. In the future our cars will be able to smile and say to the other cars, “Hi there! I have the right of way, but since you’re unaware of the concept, go right on ahead and mess up the flow of traffic.” And if the other cars don’t smile back, hopefully our cars will frown before transforming and begin beating the shit out of those other cars. The future will be awesome, and it all started with this Botoxed car.

[via Diginfo]

Created by Mexico City industrial designer Alberico J. Camacho, the ROCK dons a tiny Nissan logo, and looks something like an oversize bowling ball on wheels. Or maybe the Dark Helmet that Rick Moranis wore in Spaceballs.

Yanko thinks ROCK might be some kind of interactive music player, something like the Sony Rolly. I’d rather dream big. I say it’s the first generation of vehicles for felines. I bet there are electrodes in there that plug directly into your cat’s tiny brain, which let your orange tabby become a yellow cabbie (see what I did there?). Go, Toonces!

Of course, my all my hopes and dreams of kitty traffic jams were shattered when I stumbled onto Alberico’s portfolio over on Coroflot. Turns out the ROCK isn’t a miniature car at all, but a scale model prototype for a concept car that Camacho worked up for Nissan.

Apparently, the car is designed for the Guitar Hero/Rock Band crowd, and comes complete with a trunk that appears to hold nothing but a guitar.

It’s still a pretty cool design, and I like it much better than those squared off “Cube” cars that are rolling off the assembly lines these days. But damn, what will my cat do to get around now?