All New Nissan Models to Feature Fuel Efficiency Gauge

[MetroMPG]

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007...mment-80276841

Way to go Nissan!!

Apparently this is coming to the North American market, unlike Toyota's JDM-only fleet-wide "Eco Drive Indicator".

Also superior to Toyota, Nissan is offering both an instant & average reading, not just a green idiot light.

Must be a bummer for Ron at Linear Logic though, whenever he hears about initiatives like this from the automakers.

Nissan Motor announced that all future new models will be equipped with a fuel efficiency gauge to give drivers more information on how their driving style directly relates to fuel economy. The fuel efficiency gauge will also be equipped in current models scheduled for minor product freshenings, including the Skyline, Lafesta and Atlas in Japan, and the Altima and Infiniti G35 in the US.

The gauge provides the driver with both instant fuel-efficiency and average efficiency readings. For example, by accelerating, the driver would instantly see an increase in fuel consumption reflected on the gauge.

Based on Nissan?s trials, drivers have tended to improve their eco-driving habits over time, prompted by the real-time fuel-efficiency readings. Driving improvements also included smoother acceleration and braking, which potentially could lead to an average 10% improvement in fuel-efficiency, based on internal testing at Nissan.

[GasSavers_StanleyD]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

...Way to go Nissan!!
Apparently this is coming to the North American market, unlike Toyota's JDM-only fleet-wide "Eco Drive Indicator".
...Also superior to Toyota, Nissan is offering both an instant & average reading, not just a green idiot light....

I dont get the criticism over Toyota. Im not taking sides, but the 2008 Scion XD (bought in US) already has a guage that tells you your current mpg as well as many other readings that can be cycled through, pretty much like the Scanguage except that you only have one display. Also know someone with 07 Lexus IS250 that gives lifetime and tank FE (I think instant also, but not sure ).

I think that Scanguage's days may be limited as more car manufacturs will prob add such features to their cars

[cfg83]

StanleyD -

Originally Posted by StanleyD

I dont get the criticism over Toyota. Im not taking sides, but the 2008 Scion XD (bought in US) already has a guage that tells you your current mpg as well as many other readings that can be cycled through, pretty much like the Scanguage except that you only have one display. Also know someone with 07 Lexus IS250 that gives lifetime and tank FE (I think instant also, but not sure ).

I think that Scanguage's days may be limited as more car manufacturs will prob add such features to their cars

If they add the features they have been promising, i.e. programmable gauges and USB data offloading, then they should do fine. There's still a lot of 1996+ cars on the road.

CarloSW2

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by StanleyD

I dont get the criticism over Toyota.

The criticism is three-fold, and keep in mind I'm only talking about their "fleet-wide" standard equipment initiative: 1) Toyota only offers it in Japan; 2) Toyota only offers it on their automatic transmission models; 3) Toyota's is an ECO idiot light, not the much more useful instant/avg figure, as Nissan is offering.

Toyota offers good instrumentation on other models as you point out, but Nissan wins in my mind for better & more thorough implementation of the idea.

I'm sure we'll see more and more manufacturers stepping up to the plate. I wouldn't be surprised to see Toyota move beyond the idiot light.

[MetroMPG]

True CarloSW2.

The only people who would opt not to buy a SG as a result of initiatives like Nissan's would be people who only wanted the instant/avg FE info. It's probably a fairly small fraction of SG buyers. The SG offers much more than that.