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Nissan Expanding Installation Of Side Impact Air Bags

24 August 1998

Nissan Expanding Installation Of Side Impact Air Bags

              Standard on all Infiniti brand vehicles in January

    CARSON, Calif., Aug. 24 -- Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A.
(NMC) is expanding the installation of front-seat supplemental side impact air
bags on Nissan and Infiniti brand vehicles for the 1999 model year and beyond.
    Beginning with the January 1999 production of the QX4, all new Infiniti
vehicles will have front-seat supplemental side impact air bags as standard
equipment.  The QX4 joins the Q45 and the I30 which have had this device for
the last two years.  The recently introduced all-new 1999 G20 features a new
kind of front-seat side impact air bag which helps protect the head and chest
areas of drivers and front-seat passengers in certain side impact collisions.
This new air bag technology, which is also used on the 1999 Q45 and the
upcoming change to the 1999 QX4, will be phased in for use in all Nissan and
Infiniti vehicles.
    Among Nissan Division vehicles, the Maxima has had front-seat supplemental
side impact air bags as optional equipment since the 1997 model year.  The
company plans to phase in availability in the remaining passenger car models
by early 2000.  Beginning next year, optional front-seat side impact air bags
will be phased in on Nissan light-duty trucks and vans over a two-year period.
    Side impact air bags add to an impressive list of standard or optional
safety equipment available on Nissan and Infiniti vehicles.  Depending on the
model, safety equipment available on Nissan and Infiniti vehicles includes:
driver and passenger supplemental front air bags, anti-lock brakes, front seat
belts with pre-tensioners and upper adjustable seat belt anchors, pipe-style
steel side-door guard beams, child-safety rear door locks, and front and rear
crumple zones.
    "Nissan and Infiniti Divisions focus on customer wants and desires not
only in safety equipment, but also in the performance, durability, quality and
reliability aspects of every vehicle," said NMC President Minoru Nakamura.
    In North America, Nissan's operations include styling, engineering,
manufacturing, sales, consumer and corporate financing, and industrial and
textile equipment.  Nissan in North America employs more than 20,000 people in
the United States, Canada and Mexico, and generates more than 70,000 jobs
through more than 1,500 Nissan and Infiniti dealerships across the continent.
More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan
and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at http://www.nissan-na.com.