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 issan North America, Inc., announced last month that
a version of the all-new 2000 Nissan Sentra sedan was certified
by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as the only gasoline-fueled
vehicle in the world to attain the agency's most stringent tailpipe
emission levels and zero evaporative emissions, while fulfilling
all On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) II requirements. By doing so, Nissan
becomes eligible to earn zero emission vehicle credits in California,
since the vehicle meets CARB's Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle
tailpipe standards, attains zero evaporative emissions levels
and meets all OBD II requirements.
 CARB
said testing verified that a Sentra equipped with a 1.8-liter
engine and new environmental technology met its most-stringent
requirements for a gasoline-fueled vehicle in three critical
areas:
- Significantly reduced tailpipe emissions
to one-fourth of the unburned hydrocarbon (HC) and one-tenth
of the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions of the cleanest gasoline-powered
car sold now in California. In other words, the average concentration
of tailpipe emissions is nearly the same or cleaner than that
of the surrounding air in big cities.
- OBD II (On-Board Diagnostic II) standards
enable cars to detect minute changes in emissions, and to notify
the driver when service may be needed to keep the engine running
in its cleanest possible state.
- Zero evaporative emissions, or elimination
of fuel vapors escaping from fuel systems even while a vehicle
is standing still.
According
to CARB, "The Nissan (Sentra CA) alone qualifies for partial
zero emission credits because it also has zero fuel evaporative
emissions and has adopted CARB's optional 150,000 mile durability
and warranty standards on emission control parts."
"This
shows that modern technology can move even gasoline-powered vehicles
toward our ultimate goal of a zero-emission vehicle fleet,"
said CARB Chairman Dr. Alan Lloyd. "Tailpipe emissions from
these vehicles are eight times cleaner than an ultra low emission
vehicle (ULEV), the cleanest gasoline-powered automobile currently
being sold in California."
The 2000 Sentra
CA (for "Cleaner Air") will be offered for sale early
next year in California because only California mandates the
sale of low-sulfur gasoline. Fuel in all other parts of the United
States has higher levels of sulfur, which makes attainment of
super clean emission levels impossible even with the high technology
system in the Sentra CA.
"Being
able to meet SULEV tailpipe levels, OBD II requirements and,
especially, zero evaporative emissions was a very difficult task
to accomplish," said Jason Vines, NNA vice president for
external affairs. "But we did it, and this is just the start.
"We are
working to expand the availability of this technology into new
vehicles beyond the Sentra CA," Vines said. "We also
want to market them in other states, but first, low-sulfur fuel
must be made available elsewhere in the United States. Until
that happens, the Sentra CA will be offered for sale only in
California."
The most significant
feature of the Sentra CA is zero evaporative emissions, a feat
thought extremely difficult, if not impossible, to attain just
a few years ago. Fuel vapors, which contain gases that are potentially
harmful to the environment, seep from fuel systems constantly,
whether a vehicle is being operated or whether it is parked.
Some of these gases react with sunlight to create smog, which
has been linked to a range of health problems related to breathing,
including chest pain, coughing, and shortness of breath. The
Sentra CA eliminates all of those vapors.
"In other
words, a Sentra CA that is driven 10 miles to work in the morning
and 10 miles home in the afternoon would emit fewer harmful vapors
than a typical new car sitting in a driveway all day with its
engine turned off," said Rob Strassburger, director of government
and technical affairs for NNA in Washington, D.C. "The Sentra
CA shows you don't have to sacrifice utility, performance or
the 'fun factor' for low emissions. This car does it all."
In addition,
the Sentra CA will include a technology that actually helps eliminate
harmful ground-level ozone, which is the main component of smog.
The radiator of all Sentra CAs will be coated with Engelhard
Corp.'s PremAir®. As ozone-laden air passes over the radiator,
the PremAir® coating will convert ozone molecules into oxygen.
In effect, the air the Sentra CA leaves in its wake should be
cleaner than the air in front of the vehicle.
Nissan plans
to begin selling the Sentra CA equipped with SULEV technologies
in California in February. The nationwide debut of the all-new
Sentra for the 2000 model year will occur in January at the North
American International Auto Show in Detroit.
In North America,
Nissan's operations include styling, engineering, consumer and
corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing.
Nissan in North America, which includes employees and facilities
in the United States, Canada and Mexico, generates more than
90,000 jobs, approximately 20,000 directly and over 71,000 through
approximately 1,500 Nissan and Infiniti retailers across the
continent. 
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