New Nissan Skyline boasts pedestrian protection

Nissan Motor Co. on Tuesday took the wraps off an all-new Skyline Coupe featuring a "pop-up engine hood" that in the event of a collision lessens the impact to a pedestrian, especially the head.

Nissan Motor Co. Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga shows off the new Skyline coupe in Tokyo on Tuesday. AP PHOTO

The car has sensors on its front bumper to detect an impact with a pedestrian and helps its computer determine if the hood needs to be instantly raised, Nissan said.

The computer activates a "pyrotechnic actuator" that raises the rear edge of the hood, creating a larger protective "buffer space between the hood and hard engine components underneath," helping cushion the impact to a pedestrian's head if hit by the hood.

The coupe, introduced by Nissan Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga at a showroom in Tokyo's Ginza area, features a 3.7-liter, 333-horsepower V-6 engine.

Nissan is looking to sell 200 a month. The car goes for ¥3.70 million to ¥4.47 million.

YOKOHAMA (AP) Mazda Motor Corp. unveiled a new kind of hybrid vehicle Tuesday that runs on hydrogen fuel powering an electric motor. The automaker said it will be available for leasing in Japan next year.

The Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid, shown to reporters ahead of its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month, operates on a rotary engine, which has a reputation for being quiet because it doesn't have pistons like standard engines.

The vehicle is powered by energy produced when hydrogen combines with oxygen in the air to emit only clean water. A conventional rotary engine runs on gasoline, but the one in the new hybrid runs on hydrogen stored in a tank, although it can switch to gas when hydrogen runs out.

Like other global automakers, Mazda has been working on hydrogen vehicles.

Mazda officials said the latest hydrogen hybrid is an improvement over its previous hydrogen vehicle, leased since 2006, extending its run on a full tank of hydrogen from 100 km to 200 km.

The new vehicle also has a lithium-ion battery that drives the motor and recharges itself using energy from braking, further conserving electricity. Mazda refused to say what supplier was providing the battery.

The leasing fee will be similar to the predecessor at about ¥400,000 a month, according to Mazda.