For drivers who like to step on the petrol but don’t want a higher fuel bill, Nissan Motor on Monday unveiled an accelerator pedal that pushes back to help motorists get more mileage.
Nissan’s “Eco Pedal” system is the latest salvo in the fight between automakers to woo customers with technology that reduce fuel consumption.
The pedal automatically pushes back on the foot when the system detects too much pressure on the accelerator, informing the driver that he or she is using more fuel than required, Nissan said.
An eco-driving indicator fitted into the instrument panel shows real-time fuel consumption levels and indicates the optimal level for fuel-efficient driving, changing colour when the driver surpasses it.
Nissan said its research had shown that drivers can improve fuel efficiency by up to 10 percent with the system, which can also be turned off.
Japan’s third-largest automaker aims to introduce the pedal in its cars next year.
Nissan’s pedal is one step ahead of Toyota’s “Eco Drive” panel, introduced in 2006, which tells the driver if a vehicle is being driven in a fuel-efficient manner.
Below is the details of press release by Nissan:
Japanese car maker Nissan has unveiled the ECO Pedal, an innovative new technology designed to assist drivers to become more fuel-efficient by utilising a counter push-back control mechanism to monitor excess pressure when and if a driver is stepping too hard on the throttle thus informing drivers that they could be using more fuel than required.
An eco-driving indicator integrated into the instrument panel feeds drivers with real-time fuel consumption levels to help improve driving behaviour while the ECO Pedal system itself can be turned on or off by the driver.
Research conducted by Nissan has shown that by using the ECO Pedal drive system, drivers can improve fuel efficiency by 5-10%, depending on driving conditions.
The ECO Pedal system is fed data on the rate of fuel consumption and transmission efficiency during acceleration and cruising, and then calculates the optimum acceleration rate. When the driver exerts excess pressure on the accelerator, the system counteracts with the pedal push-back control mechanism.
At the same time, the eco-driving indicator incorporated on the instrument panel indicates the optimal level for fuel-efficient driving. Driving within the optimal fuel consumption range, the indicator is green. It begins to flash when it detects increased acceleration before reaching the fuel consumption threshold and finally turns amber to advise the driver of their driving behaviour.
Jom komen!