Coming soon to the Nissan Altima Hybrid is the first hybrid system developed exclusively by Nissan. It's a one-motor, two-clutch system that allows the engine to decouple during deceleration so the vehicle can enter an all-electric mode. This saves energy, and enables the 302-hp, 3.5L, V6 engine to achieve an EPA-estimated 24 mpg city/32 mpg highway. Not bad for such a powerful engine, eh?

That's certainly what so many Japanese engineers are thinking. Since the engine's debut in the Infiniti M hybrid, it's won no fewer than four awards from major organizations in Japan. The most recent (for a grand total of five) comes from the New Technology Development Foundation, which awarded Nissan their Contribution Prize in their Ichimura Prizes in Industry, now in its 44th year of recognizing the most innovative technology intended to better humanity.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, you might be thinking - wait a minute, the Altima Hybrid has been around for a few years now, why hasn't it featured this engine before? Well, quite frankly, Nissan was so busy working on their EV technology; they didn't have time to develop their own hybrid system. So when the first generation Altima Hybrid launched, they licensed proven hybrid technology from another Japanese automaker.

And while that system has exceeded fuel-economy and performance expectations, we look forward to the day that the award-winning two-clutch, one-motor hybrid from Nissan rolls into the New City Nissan showroom at 2295 North King St. Honolulu, Hawaii.

That said, be sure to stay tuned with us for continued updates on this and other green news from Nissan. Or, stop by to chat with us in person, and take the industry-leading Nissan LEAF or any of the other fuel-efficient new Nissan models for a spin.

 [INFO] http://www.hybridcars.com/news/nissan-wins-japanese-industry-prize-hybrid-technology-43666.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infiniti_M#M35h_.28Hybrid_version.29_.282012.2B.29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Altima#Hybrid