Slashdot Mirror
Nissan Develops a Self-Cleaning Car
Hugh Pickens DOT Com (2995471) writes "Nicole Arce reports at Tech Times that engineers at Nissan are using a 'super-hydrophobic' and 'oleophobic' paint finish called Ultra-Ever Dry on the new Nissan Note supermini that can repel water and oils, as well as dirt, dust, mud and grit. The paint uses nanotechnology to create a thin air shield above the surface of the car that makes rain, road spray, frost, sleet and standing water roll off the car without tainting its surface at all. 'By creating a protective layer of air between the paint and environment, it effectively stops standing water and road spray from creating dirty marks on the car's surface,' says Nissan's press release. Nissan says it has no plans of making the special paint job a standard on factory models but it will consider offering the self-cleaning paint as an aftermarket option. Nissan is now attempting to determine if the material is durable for long-term use on vehicles — and if it will hold up in different weather conditions around the globe. The Japanese automaker plans to test its custom technology this summer in Europe, with researchers based in its England technical facility using a Versa Note for testing."
...for the first 10,000 miles or so. Damage will accumulate and after a while it'll work as well as an old nonstick frying pan.
Self-cleaning sounds a whole lot cooler and is a better marketing term, but it's not really self-cleaning, it just repels things. Not really the same thing.
I'm visualizing a car with sparkling clean paint and an opaque coating of dirt on all the windows...
And in reality this is a lot to do with modern paint itself. 20 years ago your car would have rusted out very fast because you never cleaned it.