The Nissan LEAF was center-stage in a display of Japanese Electric Vehicles that captured the attention and imagination of approximately 300 V.I.P. guests in Oregon’s political, business, high-tech, clean-tech and – of course – Japanese-American communities during a recent Japanese Consulate event.  As part of their remarks, the electric vehicle display was praised from the podium by Consul General Okabe, Oregon Governor Kitzhaber and Portland Mayor Adams.

Joel Fowler, from Tonkin Wilsonville Nissan, brought a beautifully detailed Nissan LEAF to the event.  Joel answered questions from dozens of individuals.

Below are a few photos from the event.

Wilsonville Nissan is the highest rated Portland Nissan dealership serving customers all over the Portland metro area with New Nissan sales.

As the technology industry continues to evolve by leaps and bounds, automobiles are increasingly being brought into the fold and integrated with things like smart-phones, digital music players and even new implementations and uses of GPS.  The top high-tech accessories for your car generally fall into three broad groups, each with their own impressive gadgets and advancements.

Mobile and Media Integration

What started with the iPhone has only continued to expand with the advent of Android phones and BlackBerry devices: the smartphone craze has arrived.  These phones do more than just make phone calls or send text messages: they play music, come loaded with applications, and have built in GPS and internet connectivity.

One of the most unique, and most helpful, uses of this new phone feature set is the Viper SmartState vehicle location system.  SmartStart is built into a car’s security system and communicates with GPS satellites to help users locate their misplaced car — and in a big parking lot, that can make all the difference.  But it goes even further, allowing users to unlock the trunk, lock or unlock the doors, and even remotely start the car so that it’s pre-heated or pre-cooled upon arrival.

Then there’s the Parrot Asteroid Car Receiver, which allows drivers to play their favorite tunesover a car’s stereo without a CD or even FM Radio.  The receiver can play songs from USB flashdrives, SD or microSD cars, and iPods or iPhones.  Additionally, it can sync contacts from a connected phone and allow the driver to voice dial contacts while on the road, doing double duty as a hands free system.

And finally, for the text messaging addict or Facebook magnate, there are voice-activated systems that will read text messages to the driver, and allow the driver to speak a text message into the phone and reply to their contacts.  It’s even compatible with Facebook, allowing for speech-to-text status updates on the fly.

High-Tech Security

Sure, cars come with security systems, locks, and keys.  But in a high-tech world full of new products and innovations, it’s the fingerprint that’s being introduced to keep cars safe and secure.  The Fingerprint Car Security System can recognize multiple fingerprints, allowing or disallowing each person the ability to open the doors or turn on the engine.  Permissions can be changed per fingerprint at any time, giving people different permission levels based on a driver’s level of trust — and liability insurance.

Maintenance Improvements

Cars have long had on-board computers that measured things like engine temperature and whether or not it’s time for an oil change.  Now, a high-tech device called CarMD can connect to those on-board computers, download data from the car’s computers, and print out easy-to-read reports on a laptop or desktop computer about the state of the car’s maintenance and the potential need for any repairs or checkups.

In a world where mechanics are thought of as less-than-trustworthy until proven otherwise, CarMD is an important asset for the driver who doesn’t want to be overcharged for parts they don’t need, or convinced their car needs a special kind of maintenance that, in reality, it does not.

Technology is rapidly changing the way everyone lives their lives — practically every daily task is now pocket-sized.  Cars have been late to go fully mobile, but these accessories are a bold step in the right direction toward all-encompassing mobile integration.

Nicole Rodgers has been blogging for three years; she is also contributing to auto insurance blogs and in her free time she enjoys helping teens prepare for their DMV test.

The FIAT 500 has been named the ’2011 Coolest New Car’ under $18000 by Kelley Blue Book. See KBB.com for details or read more about this great honor in Chrysler’s press release.

Image courtesy of insurance2004

Car insurance is an expense that looms large in most everybody’s budget.  Though you wait anxiously for your car to age enough to see significant reductions in your premium rates, you might be shocked to see them eventually creep upward instead.  But there is hope, especially for those folks who pay their premiums in monthly installments.  Use the Internet to get car insurance quotes and look for the more reasonable rates in Portland, Oregon.  You can save up to 20% when you comparison-shop for your car insurance.  It’s not hard to get a quote; often, it is simply a matter of entering some key information into one or more online insurance rate search applications to obtain quotes from a range of provider companies.

Customers who choose to pay the whole of their premium in a single annual transaction only have one chance each year to compare premium rates among companies and to switch when they find a better deal.  People who decide to pay a monthly premium have a better situation.  This is because they are allowed to discontinue their insurance at any time in the policy year as long as they give their present company the required notice.

But before you jump on this opportunity, check with your current agent to make sure there isn’t a deal-breaking fee involved in being cut loose early.  Some providers include a “short-rate” adjustment factor in their policies.  This means you will pay a higher final premium when you cancel before the end of the policy period.  In most cases, you will be expected to give the provider advance notice, but this is not difficult.  When you do give notice of premature discontinuance of their policy, be sure you correlate your final date on your old policy to the first covered day of your new policy.  Check your policy or ask your agent about the length of the notice period required.  Do not fail to include your name, address, and policy number in your notice letter.

Some of us, once we get into our rate shopping, will discover that we can not only pay less for our coverage, but that we can upgrade that coverage in the new policy.  Resist the temptation to decrease the level of your deductibles and increase your liability coverage instead.  If you have an accident and it causes injuries to someone in the other car(s), you may find yourself being sued for more that what you liability covers you for.  If they win the case, you will have to make up the difference.  That can be a real life-ruining bill to pay.

If you hold a checking account, choose the option (if available) to have your premium withdrawn automatically from your account.  For anything other than annual premiums, this is undoubtedly the most economical way to go for premium payment.  Most insurance companies will charge you for having a premium notice sent to your address.  In most cases, this is not the case with automatic electronic withdrawals.  This is just another way you can keep your insurance expenses to a minimum.

Should you choose to have your premium payment done through electronic withdrawal, and you decide at some point to switch providers, making the adjustment is not hard.  Just phone the company’s 800 number and ask a representative if you need to fill out a form to continue automatic payment with another company.  Then, in your notice of cancellation letter, be sure you state that you want to discontinue any such payments to your old provider.  And don’t forget to file a copy.

Kaida Emery has worked with car insurance, and the companies that offer it, for over ten years and knows just how to save consumers money on their own unique policies. From her time as an inspector to her work as an agent for one of the most well known companies on the market, she strives to provide candid information to readers around the country.

A jury of 76 international motoring journalists decided the best and finest engine today is the FIAT 500′s two-cylinder TwinAir unit, according to Motorward.com.  The journalists stated FIAT “got it spot on – the greatest thing about it is that it doesn’t sacrifice fun for economy.”  The FIAT 500 is a very economical car with only two cylinders and the engine is also turbocharged.  The small, busy little engine provides an enormous amount of driving fun.

The FIAT 500 TwinAir engine was also victorious in the “Best New Engine,” “Best Sub 1-litre” and “Best Green Engine” categories, even beating zero-emission pure electric vehicle engines like the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi in the latter category.  The Fiat Group also won as the new 570bhp, 4.5-litre V8 engine of the Ferrari 458.  The winning categories were “Best Performance Engine” and “Above 4-litre”.

Dean Slavnich, editor of Engine Technology International and co-chairman of the International Engine of the Year Awards, said “FIAT has now produced one of the all-time great engines.  Its triumph is a clear signal that less is more: people want low-emission, fuel-efficient yet powerful engines and just two cylinders certainly seems to provide a comprehensive solution.”

Feel free to experience the power of these small, busy engines for yourself at Tonkin Fiat.