Vladi

Consumers are idiots, that's been proven trough out the history. We buy what we are served (either by gov or corp), not what we want because most of the time we don't know what we want or need. We need someone to tell us what's good for us, that's the reason why we still have leaders and hierarchy in the this world unfortunately instead of living in synergy.

STIG

I drove the Nissan Altima rental a while ago, and it was a brand spanking new sample with 1000 mile on the clock. I could not believe it. As soon as I got in the car, I was thinking WTF happened to Nissan. The interior is very cheap and flimsy, and Sonata is miles ahead.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

the government is people, and thus consumers, too. so therefore government is dumb.

QED.

so what? that's there choice.

again, so what, gripe all they want, and consumers will then WANT more fuel efficient vehicles, so car mfrs will offer them anyway. the govt mandate approach though will force hugely expensive solutions on EVERYONE, which is highly regressive.

last i checked, it's not illegal to be an idiot, (or dumb as SLegacy99 said).

well you can't buy what isn't available. when someone wants or needs a car, they have to buy from what's available (new or used).

yes, but govt is the only entity with a monopoly on power in many spheres, which gives them giant temptation to be corrupt and abuse that power, and manipulate people into voting for junk for "the children", "the elderly", "safety", "security", etc., even if the risks are hugely exaggerated or the cost of the proposed solution vastly outweighs the beneift. a good example is public education, which is a pathetic value for money. there's also many other worthly and vastly expensive govt departments like energy, commerce, education, etc. govt bureaucracies also rarely EVER shrink, continuing to rationalize why they MUST get bigger, and of course, more expensive. eventually, a ridiculous number of people end up working for govt (like in Greece where ONE THIRD of the people there work for govt ) and then the economy crashes. we are ABSOLUTELY headed that way here.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Nissan shows us its new and improved Continuously Variable Transmission

Gallery:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/nissa...photo-4648985/

Continuously variable transmissions have been the bane of our enthusiast existence since... well... forever. An endless, droning tone coupled with the dreaded "rubber band" effect has relegated the gearboxes to rolling appliances and miserable fuel misers – save for one particular sedan.

When Nissan debuted the new Maxima and revived the "Four-Door Sports Car" name, we wanted to love it. Then we saw one glaring omission on the spec sheet: a manual gearbox. Nissan wouldn't offer the Maxima with a stick, and to add insult to injury, the reborn 4DSC would only be available with a CVT. That bitter taste in the back of our throats – disappointment.

But then we drove it. And it wasn't THAT bad. The six faux ratios were a bit of a joke, but they worked, and everything from the seating position to the chassis tuning were better than nearly anything in the segment.

Last week I had the chance to sample the Maxima again, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. Thirty hours after dropping off the Maxima at the airport I was behind the wheel of an Altima prototype with the automaker's all-new CVT. Nissan claims it boosts fuel economy another 10 percent while offering a dramatically refined driving experience. I can't speak to the new tranny's decreased fuel consumption, but I can say this: It's not just an improvement, this is the best driving CVT yet.

Now calling something "the best CVT" is like saying herpes is the best VD. Faint praise, for sure. But hear me out.

Nissan developed a thinner pulley axle and a new aluminum belt that's meticulously machined and stronger than the outgoing version, reducing flex. That, coupled with a more compact oil pump, means less pressure between the pulleys and belt, making for a more stout setup. All in, the gear ratio range is an impressive 7.0 for engines displacing anything above two liters, and when equipped with Nissan's Adaptive Shift Control, engineers can program more than 1,000 different shift patterns to span the spectrum from city driving to sport. One engineer told us that the new CVT will continue to incorporate the faux ratios of previous vehicles, but at launch, this gearbox is likely to sport eight and, "if the market demands it, we could even do 10." No, we have no idea why you'd want that, but when it comes to the average car buyer, sometimes it's all about the specs.


Fitted to an Altima and taking a few runs around Nissan's GranDrive test track in Oppama, Japan, the CVT's mannerisms were far closer – actually, nearly indiscernible – from a traditional torque-converter automatic. Laying into the throttle on the front straight, the revs climb smoothly all the way to 6,000 rpm before pausing slightly and running near the redline some 400 rpm later.

There were no fake ratios to run through, as this particular prototype wasn't fitted with a sport shift gear stalk or paddle shifters, but they weren't particularly missed. The only time I would've enjoyed some manual control was going through a right-left-right-left combination with an elevation change, but even then, the transmission held the revs consistently with steady-state throttle, responding quickly and predictably when easing on or off the gas. The programming is smooth and precise, and that awful aural sensation is gone as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdqt8...layer_embedded

Nissan took care to reduce the amount of noise, vibration and harshness entering the cabin, and their efforts are particularly noticeable when cruising at a low RPM. Whereas before, the engine would spin at 1,400 RPM and sound like a Dyson was mounted on the other side of the footwell, the new gearbox spins the engine just below 1,000 rpm and there's barely any noise intrusion. I'm talking hybrid-like quiet.

Combine all this refinement with the fact that CVTs are finally on par with the cost of a traditional six-speed automatic, and Nissan won't have a problem bringing even more CVTs to market beyond the 1.7 million it sold in 2010. And if what I drove in Japan makes it unscathed to production, CVT might not be the world's worst acronym anymore.

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/12/01/n...ariable-trans/

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

impressive!!!!!!!!!!

T0ked

iTrader: (2)

There has to be a balance. I'm not for big gov't but I think we all have seen where things can go when there is less regulation... not even no regulation, just less. Temptation and corruption is not exclusive to governments. I for one, would rather have regulations than be at the mercy of giant multinationals. Humans are selfish at best. We are all greedy. And we all lie. Sad, but true. Without EPA guidelines, we'd all be poisoned with lead and have asthma at this point. Big auto and big oil would have never moved away from leaded fuels and better emissions and lower particulates. Big rig companies still haven't and that's because there are less regulations and no incentives to have those scrubbers installed unless they become mandatory. As for public education, there are somethings that require heavy investment. The system should work better, and not fall to the lowest common denominator, however, still a necessity. i find it difficult to understand how people expect so many government agencies to shrink when our country and population continue to grow. The young population has grown since the initial drop after the baby boom generation. If people think that big business will do things that benefit their customers out of the good of their hearts... I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.

BUT, I digress. LOL. On to the Altima... I really do hope they fine tune the CVT before they decide to throw more power to it. I hated that transmission on my gf's last Altima. Poor programming, jumpy and what seemed like hunting for a gear... in a CVT. geez.

LexFather

As I've stated my wife had an 07 Altima and while more refined than the last one (which wasn't hard to to) the CVT was harsh, loud and cheap. To its credit it supplied better MPG and it worked well. Glad to see them improve it as I've grown to love CVTs.

I don't see where they say the VQ will be replaced by this new engine. Maybe its just me? I see it will be added to the Altima.

I've said this 10 years ago and I'll continue to say it. I'd rather these brands go after MPG and supply that to the masses then giving people that hate cars anyway but need one more power and worse MPG.

I8ABMR

We have a 2011 Murano LE with the CVT and its great. I wouldnt say its much louder than the CVT in the RX450h I recently had a s a loaner