34 — Friday, April 17, 1992 - North Shore News

I STILL remember saying
to myself, ‘‘This is a phe-

®

nomenal car!,’’ as i stepped
out of the all-new Nissan
300ZX about three years
ago.

David

OVERDRIVE

Nissan had reached a new level
of excellence against which ail
other automakers would be
measured. Starting in the 1989
model year with the sleek 240SX
and the ‘‘sports sedan,’’ Maxima
Nissan bombarded the market
with cars that weren’t just reliable
and dependable, but also exciting
to drive.

Cars like Infiniti’s new J30 and
Nissan’s Maxima deviate from the
usual soft and ‘‘cuddly’’ feel so
common in today’s sedan seg-
ment, and instead offer a sporty
character that won't bore you on
your way to the grocery store.

It’s not suprising, then, that
Nissan has taken a somewhat
sportier approach to the engineer-
ing of environmentally-friendly
cars as well. For example, Nissan
has picked the sporty NX 2 + 2
coupe to test its flexible fuel vehi-
cles in California. The prototype
NX coupe is designed to run on
either gasoline or M85, a blend of
85% methano! and 15% unleaded
gasoline.

Methanol is considered to be a
*‘cleaner’’ fuel, since an engine
running on this fuel produces less
of the hydrocarbons that con-
tribute to the smog. Because
methanol is derived from abun-
dant natural gas, it may help us
from becoming over-dependent on
oil for energy as well. A total of

Vis otored you the best and you've responded
Tha bast selection

The best quality

‘The best backed warranties

and definitaly the best prices in town.
And now we're

‘AUTOMOTIVE
A sportier approach to alternative fuels .

photo submitted

NISSAN TRI!-X concept car is a touring coupe with a capability to run on either gasoline or a methanol/gasoline mixture. It is designed
to harmonize the relationships among man, automobile, society, and the environment.

16 Nissan NXs were donated to
the California Energy Commission
(CEC), where further research will
be conducted to explore the ad-
vantages of using methanol over
gasoline.

Nissan has been putting its ef-
fort into developing energies for
vehicle use since the late 1960s.
Nissan’s ‘‘think-tank’’ engineering
centres are working on vehicles
that are powered not only by
methanol, but also by electricity,
hydrogen, solar power, and ce-
ramic gas turbines. And _ they
didn’t choose a plain vanilla-
payors car for the hydrogen pro-

» either — they picked the
3002 sports car. Developed by
Tokyo-based Musashi Institute of
Technology in conjunction with
Nissan, the car is capable of cor-
nering and performing like no
other alternative-fueled vehicle. If

See Future page 35

Ing the best prices on ‘Larado’

van & light truck tres Limited quantities. 235 75 15 From

AND HERE’ Si MORE GOOD NEWS FOR TIRE BUYERS

Fuel injected, bucket seats
Rear defroster and much more.

92 TOYOTA
CELICA GT.
Coupe, auto, s/roof
Only 7500km.

Autonatic
low mileage.

5 speed, leather,
targa top, fully loaded.

90 SUZUKI
SIDEKICK
Hard top, soft top,

“LSX”", AM/FM cassette, tilt/cruise,
interior wipers and much more.

= TOYOTA |’89 TOYOTA j

4-RUNNER

Auto, fully equipped, moon
root, air, piwindélocks.

LE VAN
Auto, fully equip. with
sfroofs, air & more,

85 TOYOTA
TERCEL H/B
5 dr, 5 speed, runs
great, low km.

"91 TOYOTA
PREVIA

Auto, fully equipped
incl. touring group.