Aug

Nissan Puts the Meddle to the Pedal

Posted by admin Published in Nissan

We have to preface that post with a disclaimer: The Nissan ECO Pedal is not here to take absent all the fun from driving, nor is it here to be your nanny. It’s not a huge left-wing conspiracy on behalf of Nissan’s Swedish division to force drivers to slow down and vote in favor of universal health insurance. Nobody — not Al Gore, not Hugo Chavez, not the United Nations — is telling you how to drive your Nissan. The ECO Pedal is merely an option that may seem on some new Nissan cars and trucks. Even whether you purchase a car with that option, it will come with an on/off switch. Should you purchase one of these cars, you will not be expelled from the local chapter of X-Terra Owners for Ron Paul. You may, in fact, find yourself driving a little more fuel efficiently.

The ECO Pedal, for those of you who haven’t already complained about it, is a device that causes a reactive force in the gas pedal when the car senses the driver is accelerating too rapidly for optimum fuel economy. In other words, whether you push too tough, it pushes back. Nissan estimates that the Eco Pedal, coupled with the already ubiquitous instant fuel readout on the sprint, can increase fuel economy 10 to 15 percent. That’s sufficient to form your real-world mileage start looking like the numbers on the window sticker. We just wish the ECO Pedal could come with a remote control, for those times when some kid in a Maxima with a billet grille, fake Xenons, and a salvage title is riding your tail.

Nissan’s innovation isn’t the first attempt to modify drivers’ behavior in order to save fuel. We recall that early ’90s Nissan owner’s manuals had a cool cartoon of a tortoise and a hare that urged drivers to avoid abrupt starts and stops. Every ’80s econobox had a “shift light” on the sprint that encouraged drivers to

choose the best gear for the least fuel consumption. And, from the “but that one goes up to eleven” school of scale manipulation, who can forget those delightful speedometers that only went up to 85? The ECO Pedal is, however, a carmaker’s first attempt at an active behavior modification technique with the intent of saving fuel. Just like those salivating dogs in 19th century Russia, driving with the ECO Pedal on for a few months might manufacture you memorize a new, more fuel-efficient way to drive.

We think the ECO Pedal was custom-made for a assured Autopia writer’s Aunt Irene who used her redwood-size legs to pump the pedals of her ‘79 Skylark like it was a pipe organ. As a conclusion, she got three miles per gallon and new brake pads with every oil change. Irene wouldn’t think to change her driving habits, but might come around whether her new car were to start teaching her. Nissan’s trick pedal might be most useful where many drivers waste the most fuel: in stop-and-go traffic. The ECO Pedal could help anxious drivers realize that driving in the rush hour should be smooth and effortless, and not a race to the bumper of the car stopped ahead of you. We additionally propose that new GT-R owners opt for the ECO Pedal: it might be the final thing amidst you and a suspended license.

Having (barely) survived Volvo’s early attempts at an electronic throttle, our only concern is for the sensors and servos that determine how far the accelerator will go. At best a broken ECO Pedal could be a headache to repair. At worst, it could be a new excuse for when an elderly aunt plows through the front door of a Rite-Aid.

Photo by Nissan Motor Company

Original post by Keith Barry