Tag: Nissan

Carmakers partner up with Microsoft

Vintage & Classic Car Salvage Yards and Wrecks (11)While hardware and software makers are fighting their way into smartcars, it appears that the software king of the world Microsoft is already on-board thanks to its pretty complex partner strategy.

Microsoft’s executive vice president of global business development at Microsoft Peggy Johnson claims that now that carmakers see their cars as technology platforms, and they are choosing Microsoft as their partner.

Volvo, Nissan, Harman and IAV announced new details about their partnerships with Microsoft to enhance their connected car strategies and they joined Toyota, Ford, Qoros, Delphi, and other companies already working with Microsoft, Johnson said.

Johnson said that the big idea is to bring their cars into the mobile-first, cloud-first world. Soon apparently your car will be connected to the Internet, as well as to other cars, your mobile phone and your home computer.

At CES, Volvo showcased new concepts that integrate Microsoft Band 2 with a Windows 10 smartphone and the Volvo on Call Universal App, creating new ways for customers to interact with their vehicles. From the new Microsoft Band, a Volvo owner can press and hold the action button and say, “Volvo, start the heater of my car,” among many other options.

Harman has integrated Microsoft Office 365 productivity suite capabilities into Harman infotainment systems. Drivers will be able to access Office 365 services and interact with them through intelligent personal assistant software to schedule meetings, hear and respond to important emails, and make Skype calls when in park, or when on the road in autonomous vehicles.

IAV will use Windows 10 Continuum to stream Windows 10 via a mobile device directly to a car’s dashboard, giving drivers access to Windows 10 features and apps such as Cortana, Skype for Business, Calendar, Outlook and Groove Music while the vehicle is in autonomous driving mode or parked. This integration allows drivers to use the devices they already own. Microsoft and IAV will also demo how to use Cortana Analytics and data from a vehicle’s surroundings to improve safety by anticipating and mitigating potential vehicle and pedestrian accidents.

Nissan and Vole will announce that all Nissan LEAF and Infiniti models in Europe will have Connect Telematics Systems (CTS) powered by Microsoft Azure.

Johnson claimed Automakers are choosing Vole as their connected car partner to help them transform the consumer experience with a platform for intelligent cars that complements their own strategies and ambitions.

“With this partner focus, we’re able to leverage our cloud-based intelligence technologies, productivity services and tools, and even personal assistant technologies like Cortana in a neutral manner,” she said.

“We’re able to strike the right balance between using data to create both intelligent and personal experiences, while helping maintain privacy and security. We’re able to create more natural, human computing interfaces. And, we’re able to develop and deploy secure platforms and infrastructure to enable innovation on top of existing systems,” Johnson said.

UK presses ahead on driverless cars

Screen Shot 2015-02-11 at 10.41.23The Department for Transport said that it had given the green light to test driverless cars on public roads.

Transport minister Claire Perry said she believes “driverless cars are the future. I want Britain to be at the forefront of this exciting new development to embrace a technology that could transform our roads and open up a brand new route for global investment”.

The coalition government launched a competition to research and develop driverless cars with pilots in Greenwich, Bristol, Milton Keynes and Coventry.

Business secretary Vince Cable said he believed that the industry will be worth as much as £900 billion in 10 years time.

Perry and Cable are visiting the Greenwich project, which is following up research conducted by Oxford University and Nissan.

They will unveil a driverless pod that will be tested in Milton Keynes (pictured).

The government will introduce a code of practice to give industry a framework to trial cars, to be published this spring.

Nissan recalls 841,000 cars

nissan-qashqai-steeringNissan said that it is planning to recall 841,000 vehicles worldwide due to a faulty steering wheel. The recall will affect thousands of Micras, Qashqais and Cubes. But Nissan is trying to downplay the problem, but then again it would, wouldn’t it?

Although a faulty steering wheel does sound a bit alarming in case you’ve grown overly attached to your limbs, the company claims there is no danger of sudden failure. It seems that the culprit was a simple bolt used to secure the steering wheel and it can be sorted out with a bit of elbow grease, or quick replacement of the entire unit. In any case Nissan says the fix should take less than 20 minutes and the recall is voluntary, which means most cars will be sorted out during routine inspection.

None of the affected cars have been involved in crashes due to faulty steering and Nissan claims drivers should notice if their steering wheel starts to go loose. It will not fail catastrophically, or at least that’s what Nissan is betting on.

Although it doesn’t sound too scary, it is more bad PR for the company, as Nissan was already forced to recall 500,000 vehicles earlier this year due to an airbag defect.

Nissan turns over a new Leaf

nissanleaf2gNissan has revamped the Leaf for the UK market, and the updates aren’t just skin deep. The new Leaf boasts more than 100 improvements over the first generation, including spiced up trim levels, new battery warranty programme and perhaps most importantly, the option of leasing a battery.

The battery pack is the single most expensive component in any fully electric car, and concerns about battery life and the cost of a replacement battery have plagued electric cars since their inception. However, by simply leasing the battery for £70 to £109 per month, Nissan is practically eliminating the risk altogether.

Leafs with leased batteries will bear the “Flex” moniker and they will end up cheaper than previous models. The cheapest Flex model with the Visia trim level starts at £15,990, which is pretty competitive for an all-electric car. Then again, buyers will have to spend at least £840 per year on the battery lease.

Consumers who opt for the more traditional approach and buy their own battery stand to benefit from Nissan’s new warranty protection. Nissan is now covering capacity loss under its 5-year warranty. A battery that loses 25 percent of its capacity over the first five years of 60,000 miles will be eligible for repair or replacement, which should put some minds at ease. The cheapest Leaf with a battery starts at £20,990.

In addition to cosmetic improvements, ranging from new alloys to LED headlamps and a Bose audio system, the new Leaf also promises to deliver a bit more range. Nissan claims the car’s range has been extended from 109 miles to 124 miles and the battery is now capable of recharging in about half the time of the first-gen Leaf, provided a 32 amp charger is used.

Nissan takes Note of affordable safety tech, new engines

nissanote330pxNissan’s new Note mini MPV is out and it features a generous dose of high tech safety equipment and a new range of frugal power plants.

The original Note launched in 2004 and it practically managed to carve out a new niche in Europe, offering the roominess of a hatch with the footprint of a supermini.