Not only can car washes be time-consuming and/or expensive, they are a short-term solution. Engineers at Nissan are using 'super-hydrophobic' and 'oleophobic' nanotechnology paint finish called Ultra-Ever Dry that can repel water and oils, as well as dirt, dust, mud and grit on the new Nissan Note. It works by creating a thin air shield above the surface that makes rain, road spray, frost, sleet and standing water roll off without tainting the surface at all. Nissan has no plans of making the special paint standard on factory models but will consider offering the self-cleaning paint as an aftermarket option. Nissan will now determine if the material is durable for long-term use on vehicles and for the different weather conditions around the globe. Nissan has plans to test the technology this summer in Europe, using researchers based in its England technical facility using a Versa Note for testing.
How many times do you roll that dripping, glistening car out of the car wash parking lot only to hit a muddy puddle or rainstorm within the first day or two?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by tangomargarine on Monday April 28 2014, @02:34PM
I certainly hope that they still make stick-shifts when I get my next car. And my current 2008 model doesn't have ABS (or even cruise control).
But yeah, you're probably right. "The computer can do it better than you" seems to be the logic behind ABS and presumably automatic now.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 1) by quacking duck on Monday April 28 2014, @05:06PM
For automatic it seems they're right. I got a 2008 Honda Fit manual because it had better fuel economy than the automatic, but in the latest versions of the Fit, the automatic/CVT have better fuel economy ratings.
It's not an isolated case either, more than a few automatics now sport better F/E ratings than their manual counterparts.