Nissan Video: Fossil Fuel is for Fossils

Burney Simpson

Nissan believes our auto future is an all electric, autonomous, and sustainable-powered vehicle - no fossil fuel here -  that generates enough energy to power its owner’s home, according to this new video from the auto OEM.

The vehicles will garner their power from solar/wind/what-have-you sustainable sources.

They will communicate with each other to schedule alternating visits to the Vehicle-to-Infrastructure wireless recharging stations that have been implanted in the streets.

The car will be emission free, so it can drive INTO your office, then take itself to the closest recharging station. That’s apparently right down the hall from the kitchen so you can watch Nessy get a charge up while you get your coffee.

The video makes it look effortless. I expected to see butterflies floating through the model city here that has replaced its parking lots with parks. (By the by, what happens to all the lovely gas stations we enjoy today?)

It’s fascinating that a major auto OEM — revenues of $104 billion in fiscal 2014 —  is working to end the use of fossil fuels to power vehicles. (At least that’s what they say).

And it let’s potential buyers know of one of the major side-benefits of electric vehicles. That is, buy a Nissan Leaf  and get both an economical car and a power source for when the lights go out.

The video by Nissan Europe and Foster + Partners was released at the Geneva Motor Show.

However, the video doesn’t address some of the other radical changes that driverless technology may bring to firms like Nissan.

For instance, by 2030 Mary Consumer will opt for a car-share service instead of buying a car. That means GM’s $500 million investment in Lyft will prove to be farsighted when it evolves into Transport MegaCorp X, and supplies Metropolis Y with 500,00 vehicles that its 10 million residents share.

So it’s possible that Nissan will stop selling cars to consumers. Perhaps by 2030 it will have morphed into an energy company that markets its batteries. Naah, I don’t see that either. But it could become Transport MegaCorp N.

Anyway, check out the ‘Fuel Station of the Future’ video. It’s well made and offers much to think about.