Following the lead of Chevy, Buick, and Ford—among others—Nissan tells us it is developing active aerodynamics and will employ the technology “on a car next year.” The company spokesman we spoke with gave no further details, but we can confidently guess that the fuel-saving tech will debut on the next Altima hybrid, and quite possibly on the regular 2013 Altima sedan.
The 2012 Buick LaCrosse eAssist, upcoming 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco , and 2012 Ford Edge EcoBoost all have flaps in the grille that open to provide cooling air to the engine when it’s needed and close to reduce drag and boost fuel economy when it’s not. “Active aerodynamics” can mean other things—the Ferrari 458, for example, has winglets in the nose that deflect at high speed to channel air under the car, generating more downforce—but we figure Nissan is probably going to be using grille shutters, too. After Nissan’s setup debuts next year, watch for it to appear in the company’s other future products as fuel-economy regulations demand manufacturers pull out all the stops.
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