Not surprisingly, the new Cube did not keep its square appearance to make way for bigger interior space. The A-pillars stayed a bit far out with a wide track and a steep rake, with the tall dimensions making the Cube stay true to its form.

As for the interiors, the rear sliding bench seats are set higher than the front – which is similar to the style of seats you see in theaters. The curve-themed interior also includes a customizable dashboard shelf unit, a floating instrument cluster, and a Magic Rubber Bands door armrest system that can be used to secure small items.

The Cube uses a 122-hp, 1.8-liter, inline-four engined shared with the Versa. It can be combined with either six-speed manual transmission or a CVT. When used with the CVT, Nissan says that the Cube’s highway fuel economy will be more than 30 mpg.

Other standard equipment included in the model are electronic brake distribution, anti-lock brakes, traction control, brake assist, dynamic control, and six airbags. Other features of the new-gen Cube include Bluetooth technology, satellite radio, iPod interface, Intelligent Key with push-button ignition, and optional rear sonar system. Nissan’s third-gen Cube is expected to sell for around $20,000.

More Nissan Car News on the Nissan Car Talk weblog!

Nature has gifted us with an abundance of sources like wind, water and sunshine, which can be easily harnessed to give us the power we need to drive our cars. While alternative fuels are already being tested and used, more and more car manufacturers are also looking towards solar energy as an alternative to drive cars. Such cars contain a panel of solar cells on their top that uses the light energy of the sun and converts that to electricity that is used to drive the cars.

These solar panels also change the battery of the car and at night when there is no sunlight available, the solar powered cars run on the energy stored in the battery. As long as there is adequate sunshine, the cars run by the solar panels will keep on providing what can easily be said, a free supply of power. It is high time that one checked out on these alternative means of powering their cars.

Another source of energy experimented for sometime is burning of hydrogen. It produces only water and hydrogen can be regenerated from water. On the other hand the fossil fuel produces very harmful gases like carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. If this trial is successful we can have a never ending source of energy.

At the moment hydrogen required for the fuel cells is mainly produced by splitting hydrocarbons like fossil fuels and coal with the help steam. But this causes the release of carbon dioxide as a byproduct. So the best choice left is to split water using electricity produced by wind power or hydro power and use the resultant hydrogen in the fuel cells to run automobiles and other machines. It is cost effective in the sense hydrogen and fuel cells can be transported, while power produced in other ways are to be stored in time consuming battery charging.

(In the photo — a hydrogen Honda and its designer!)

Cars that have diesel engines and even trucks that run on diesel will also run on biodiesel car fuel. There are other alternatives too like converting you car so that it runs directly on vegetable oil.

If you are wondering what biodiesel car fuel is, the answer is that it is not a fuel that is made from petroleum and is manufactured from vegetable oil. When the oil is being refined, alterations are made to the vegetable oil to ensure that it also works as a proper fuel source.

In order to make this possible the manufacturers have to remove the glycerin from the fuel. In normal fuel that one uses every day, glycerin is used to increase the viscosity of the fuel. Unless this glycerin is removed and the viscosity of the fuel not reduced, your car or truck will not be able to make proper use of it. Now that you know about biodiesel car fuel, when are you converting over to it?

Mercedes A-Class Hybrid Car

The technology behind hybrid cars are that they are designed to run on alternative fuels like solar cells or hydrogen gas without emitting any toxic gases in the atmosphere. There are people who ask if these hybrid cars perform as well as their fuel counterparts? If one looks under the bonnet of a hybrid car, they will notice that it has two engines instead of one. One of them runs using electricity and the other uses diesel or petrol. Both these engines work in tandem and give you both better performance and higher mileage at a cheaper cost. You will never be stuck if the fuel finishes. The electric engine will ensure that you reach home.

To answer some of these questions, we must first define the meaning of “alternative fuels”. Simply put, it is the search for fuels other than gas, kerosene and diesel. And while the most altruistic reason for discovering or manufacturing new fuels is the reduction of pollution and smog, and cleaning up our environment, there are many other excellent reasons to change fuels.

• Politically, countries are far better off when they produce their own commodities. In the wake of many wars and political leverage, it does not make sense that most of the world depends on the gas supply of one or two nations. Domestically produced alternative fuels would give countries the opportunity to support themselves and not rely solely on other nations.
• Cheaper pricing is a big reason to forward the agenda of alternative fuels. Gasoline is at an all time high and many families are struggling to make ends meet. The summer has seen a major drop in tourism due to the high gas prices and winter is on the way, which will lead to more hardship when families cannot afford to heat their homes.
• Alternative fuels may provide more fuel efficient vehicles.

Whatever the reason for finding alternate fuels, research and development should be top priority.