Nissan’s ECO Pedal Pushes Back When Driving’s Inefficient

Nissan has developed a vehicle feature to give drivers visual and physical feedback on their fuel consumption.

The company’s recently-announced ECO Pedal system determines the vehicle’s ideal acceleration rate based on fuel use and transmission efficiency. It detects when the driver accelerates, and when the speed passes the optimum level, it pushes back on the driver’s foot.

An indicator light also glows green when driving in the best range, flashes when accelerating and turns yellow when past the ideal limit.

The feedback system can be turned off, and Nissan plans to have the ECO Pedal in vehicles in 2009. The company says its internal research show using the system can improve fuel efficiency by 5-10 percent.

The company also recently announced it developed a prototype electric vehicles with batteries two times more powerful than current options.

The vehicle’s 80 kilowatt motor uses lithium-ion batteries instead of nickel-metal batteries. The company plans to release electric vehicles in the United States and Japan in 2010 and elsewhere in the world in 2012.