Best of 2012 – People

Dec. 28 – Yokohama - From Usain Bolt, the World’s Fastest Man, to Yuki Morimoto, our Chief Executive Officer’s translator, we have featured a host of amazing individuals in 2012.
We’re inspired by their enthusiasm and professionalism, and it’s easy to see why. Take a look at how they have left their mark in these stories from this year.

Usain Bolt, Nissan’s Director of Excitement

The World’s Fastest Man took on a new title for Nissan during his recent visit to the global headquarters in Yokohama: Director of Excitement.
The pairing of the gold-medallist Olympian and a specially customized gold Nissan GT-R supercar was a match made in heaven and a welcome boost for Bolt’s charity foundation.

Yuki Morimoto, CEO Interpreter

Our feature on Yuki Morimoto, Nissan’s Chief Executive Officer’s translator, was a hit with international journalists who have often seen her in action alongside CEO Carlos Ghosn.
Morimoto joined the Global Media Center for a one-on-one exclusive interview to share with us some of her most memorable experiences during 12 years as a translator and gave us some tips on her trade.

Jay Leno, US Comedian

Comedian Jay Leno, well-known for his nightly television program in the United States, is an avid car collector and automotive enthusiast.
Leno paid a visit to Japan in September this year and was given special access to some of Nissan’s top secret concept cars as well as the Zama Heritage Garage.

Sebastian Vettel, Three-time Formula 1 Champion

Infiniti ambassador Sebastian Vettel won his third world championship title for Formula 1 this year, the youngest ever driver to achieve the feat.
Vettel was in Japan in October and he paid a visit to Nissan’s Tochigi plant, where the first Infiniti FX Vettel Edition will be made. More to come in the new year, as the premium automotive brand becomes title sponsor for the Infiniti Red Bull Racing Team.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, Composer and Academy Award Winner

World famous composer and actor, Ryuichi Sakamoto, became the first driver of the Nissan LEAF in Manhattan, New York, back in April this year.
The EV ambassador took us on a journey through the streets of Manhattan in his electric ride while getting quite a bit of reaction from New Yorkers.

Best of 2012 – Technology & Design

Dec. 27 – Yokohama – Technological expertise and innovation is part of Nissan’s DNA.
Over the last 12 months we’ve covered a wealth of fascinating stories about technology and design – everything from easy-to-fill tires to choosing the perfect taxi yellow to engineering wizardry in the iconoclastic Nissan DeltaWing.
Here are a few videos for you to enjoy:

A Geneva Show Walk Around

Nissan’s deputy division general manager for product strategy and planning, the inimitable Francois Bancon, took the Global Media Center for a walk around the stands at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.
Check out some of his bon mots on the show highlights, including the Ford B-Max, Peugeot 208, Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Fiat 500L, and the Audi A3.

Taking the Wheel of Intelligent Transport

Back in October the Global Media Center’s Roland Buerk tried out two of Nissan’s most unusual and advanced technologies – a LEAF fitted to automatically steer around pedestrians that step into the road, and a Infiniti G37S with a next generation steering system that uses ingenious electronics to smooth out even the bumpiest road.

Easy Fill Tire Alert

Here we covered another application of technology to improvement safety.
A study in the US showed that underinflated tires triple the risk of an accident. That is one reason why Nissan recently introduced an “Easy Fill Tire Alert” system on its 2013 Altima, a way to help motorists maintain optimum tire pressure.
It has been named a finalist for the 2012 Automotive Technology of the Year Award by AOL Autos, and the Grand Prize winner will be announced in January at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

The Perfect Yellow

You might think that yellow taxis are just yellow. Not so for Nissan designers in San Diego California working on the 2014 Nissan NV200 Taxi of Tomorrow. They spent a whole year investigating different pigments before coming up with the perfect shade.
More photos of the New York City Taxi of Tomorrow here.

In the Winner’s Circle

In this video from Le Mans, Jerry Hardcastle, Nissan’s Global Chief Marketability Engineer, explains some of the technology in three very special cars indeed: the Nissan Juke-R, Nissan DeltaWing, and the all- electric Nissan Leaf NISMO RC.

Best of 2012 – Sustainability

Dec. 26 – Yokohama – Many of the stories we’ve told this year reflect the strong emphasis Nissan places on creating a zero-emission society, attaining leading fuel efficiency and introducing core green technologies.
Here are some of highlights from 2012, showcasing some of the active steps we are taking towards a sustainable mobile society.

Nissan LEAF Snow Test

More than 60 auto journalists braved the freezing temperatures of Shibetsu, Hokkaido, to put the Nissan LEAF through its paces on three different powdery test courses.
Watch the video to see how the electric vehicle performed.

New Eco-Carrier Rides Waves of Sustainability

Nissan launched its first energy-efficient coastal car carrier, the Nichioh Maru early this year. The 167-meter diesel-run ship employs solar panels to provide power for the LED lights in the crew quarters and also has a low-friction coating on its hull for a smoother sail.

TAXI-E in Amsterdam

TAXI-E, a pioneering private taxi company in Amsterdam is helping the European capital steer its way to becoming a sustainable mobile society, with the help of a fleet of Nissan LEAFs.

New Mobility Concept

What’s zippy, compact and emits zero-emissions? Not just the LEAF, but also Nissan’s New Mobility Concept car that’s now being trialled on the streets of Yokohama.
The media center’s Roland Buerk took the vehicle out for a spin.

Excitement for EV-eryone

Over 200 LEAF owners from Japan and overseas helped to celebrate the electric vehicle’s second birthday during a special event in Oppama, Japan.
Here’s one of the owners and his experiences at the event.

Best of 2012 – Motorsports

Dec. 24 – Yokohama – 2012 has been a fantastic year for Nissan Motorsports, and we can promise you a lot more excitement to come in 2013.
But first – in a series of Global Media Center Best Of selections this holiday season – here are some highlights from the racetrack.

REMIX: Nissan at Le Mans 24h Overall Summary

The Nissan DeltaWing made its debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours. The ground-breaking racing car gave a strong start but an accident pushed it into a wall and it was forced to retire, despite a valiant team effort to get the car running again.
DeltaWing became a firm fan favourite and the biggest story of Le Mans 2012, thanks to its outlandish, dart-shaped design and efficiency-driven technology. Witness the debut race of the innovative car in the video below.

REMIX: Super GT Rd.7 (Autopolis) Digest

The MOLA #1 S Road REITO MOLA GT-R driven by Masataka Yanagida and Ronnie Quintarelli were crowned champions for the second consecutive year in the GT 500 class in the Super GT race. This was the deciding round at Autopolis, also the GT-R’s 2nd consecutive win at this race track.
The winning team also set the record for being the first in the history of the series that the same driver pairing has won two championships in a row.

Shotaro’s pit-stop – Life in the Pit Lane

Have you ever thought about what it takes to be under the pressure of having to work in an environment where seconds count?
Well, the Nissan Global Media Center’s Shotaro Ogawa has been finding out and will be sharing his experiences in the pit lane with you through the year via a series of videos.
Here’s an interesting one from this year. Watch as he learns to lift and change a Super GT race car wheel that is much heavier than it looks.

V8 Supercar on Melbourne Track

Back in November, just three days after its official unveiling, the 2013 Nissan Altima V8 Supercar was rolled-out at Calder Park Raceway in Australia for the first part of aerodynamic testing.
Despite being sidelined after a recent shoulder reconstruction – team owner and driver Todd Kelly was given the first honors of taking the wheel of the car. Impressively, he took the car round the track using just one hand.
More to come in 2013, as the team plans to place four Altimas on the grid at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.

Driving Lightning – Michael Krumm & Usain Bolt

A few months ago, Nissan’s GranDrive played host to two experts in speed: Nismo race driver Michael Krumm and Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world. Bolt had just been named Nissan’s Director of Excitement and he showed a fair bit of excitement himself when Krumm took him around the course in the Nissan GTR.
Krumm summed up the experience in our interview: “It’s not so easy to drive in a small place like this and show him the limit. So I showed him that you can drive on the limit, and he really enjoyed that a lot. He was screaming and shouting a lot in the car. ”

Nissan Funds Battle to Save Evergreens in Tennessee

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (Dec. 21, 2012) – Environmental experts say there is a hidden killer that could harm the very air we breathe.  The killer is microscopic and often goes unnoticed, but in time, non-native forest pests are deadly.

“The main problem is that they are not native, so we don’t have native predators that can keep those populations in check and keep those insects from causing harm,” said Trish Johnson with The Nature Conservancy’s Tennessee chapter.
The pests are taking down trees across the United States. One particular pest called the Wooley Adelgid has spread to Hemlock trees in 17 states so far.
“Over $2 billion in expenditures have been put forth because of forest pests and pathogens, and that’s an annual number,” said Johnson.
Nissan is now working with The Nature Conservancy to stop the spread of these pests.  The company recently donated $50,000 to help keep Tennessee, a state where Nissan employs thousands of people, green.
“Nissan has a strong environmental commitment,” said Russell Vare with Nissan Corporate Planning.   “Zero emission leadership, improving the fuel economy of our entire fleet, reducing our corporate carbon footprint, and increasing the amount of recycled materials in our vehicles is our focus, and we’re making good progress.”
The Nature Conservancy is using Nissan’s donation to treat trees from the ground up with a special chemical meant to kill pests while protecting the trees.  In some parts of the country, like in Tennessee, volunteer climbers are even angling to treat trees.
“We’re going to be one of the main user groups that gets hurt the most when the trees are gone,” said Rick Bost with East Tennessee Climbers Coalition.
Local climbers are on board because they need trees like Hemlocks to keep going to new heights.
“If the hemlocks are gone then that means the tall trees are gone and the next trees are going to go and it is just going to be very arid and not very comfortable.  Climbers seek out the comfortable climbing areas so we like it in the shade,” said Bost.
Nissan’s donation is also being used to help educate the public about a problem they said should resonate with everyone.
“It has an economic impact, and it also has an aesthetic impact, and it really relates to our health because the trees help clean our air,” said Johnson.
The biggest ways individuals can help are to point out predators both on private and public land, so they can be eradicated. People are asked to also not move firewood from one site to the next. Forest pests like Wooley Adelgid often hide in wood.  When campers take logs from one site to another, they spread the predator.
“When you really look at what the environment means at the local level we think it is important to have a focus where you can actually see it. You can see the difference that’s being made with The Nature Conservancy with this program,” said Vare.