The new ECO-Pedal from Nissan helps you reduce fuel consumption

Nissan has just developed a new system called ECO-pedal which, while switched on, detects excessive pressure applied by the driver on the accelerator and activates a control mechanism that corrects it by pushing the pedal back, thereby saving the energy that would otherwise have been wasted.

An ECO-indicator located on the instrument cluster shows the amount of fuel being consumed in real time, and also alerts the driver when more is being used than necessary, encouraging more economical driving.

The ECO-pedal can be switched on or off at any time by the driver, and Nissan intends to launch it in 2009. Analyses of this system have shown that its use can improve fuel efficiency by between 5 and 10 percent, depending on the driving conditions.

The system calculates the relationship between fuel consumption and transmission efficiency during acceleration or at cruising speed, in order to determine the optimal acceleration and to correct excessive pressure on the accelerator by means of a controller that pushes the pedal back.

In addition, the ECO-indicator lets the driver see what level of consumption is being used while driving. When it is appropriate, it lights up green; if the accelerator is pressed harder, it starts to flash, and it turns orange when more fuel is being consumed than necessary.

With the ECO-pedal, Nissan covers one of the three areas of its Nissan Green Program 2010 aimed at reducing CO2 emissions, namely vehicle technology, driving behaviour, and traffic conditions.

Source: Nissan