Nissan Motors Co.’s upscale Infiniti arm unveiled its new flagship M sedan this week. The automaker previously has released a series of computer-generated teaser images.

Sales of the third-generation high-performance model are due to start next spring in the U.S. and eventually expand to all 32 markets in which Infiniti has a presence. The car will compete against the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class.

The new sedan is built on Nissan’s FM (front-midship) rear-drive platform, in which the engine sits behind the front axle. The car uses a monocoque steel structure with aluminum doors, hood and trunk lid. The exterior features a low front end and deeply sculpted fenders inspired by the Infiniti Essence concept car. Nissan says the car’s 114-inch wheelbase is longer than that of most of its rivals.

The M56 will be powered by a direct-injection 5.6-liter V-8 that makes 420 hp and 417 lb-ft of torque-up 29% and 24%, respectively, over the outgoing M45’s 4.5-liter V-8. The M37’s 3.7 V-6 (also available in the G37) makes 330 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque, which is 9% and 3%, respectively, over the 3.5-liter V-6 offered in the current M35. Fuel economy also will be improved, according to Nissan.

A diesel engine will be available in Europe, and Nissan has said that it will soon add a hybrid-electric variant.

All M cars get a seven-speed automatic with standard steering wheel paddles on rear-drive models. All-wheel drive is optional. The gearbox features downshift rev matching and adaptive shift control, which Nissans says allows for sportier shifts.

Drivers also can alternate between four engine and transmission modes (Standard, Eco, Sport and Snow), each with its own throttle sensitivity and transmission mapping. The “Eco” mode also provides haptic feedback to prompt the driver to ease off the accelerator to reduce fuel consumption. The device can boost fuel economy by 5% to 10%, according to preliminary tests.

The M is fitted with a double wishbone suspension at the front and a multi-link rear axle. Speed-sensitive, four-wheel steering will be an option on certain models.

A number of other advanced technologies also are offered. A lane-keeping system alerts drivers if another vehicle is detected in an adjacent lane or if they start to stray from their current lane without activating the blinker. In such cases, steering wheel response will be used to nudge motorists back into the proper lane.

Ford Motor Co. took the wraps off the North American version of its Fiesta small car yesterday at the Los Angeles auto show. The vehicle, which has been on sale in Europe and Asia for about a year, will arrive next summer in the U.S. and Canada. These models will be built at Ford’s plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico.

The new Fiesta will be positioned below the Focus in the U.S. to compete against the Honda Fit and Toyota Corolla and Yaris.

About 40% of the vehicle was changed to meet U.S. standards and American tastes. Visual changes include a new grille and LED fog lamps. The car also gets an acoustic laminate windshield, hood blanket and headliner to reduce interior noise.

Built on Mazda Motors Corp.’s Mazda2 platform, the redesigned Fiesta will be available as a sedan and five-door hatchback in the U.S. A three-door model also is available in Europe. Additional body styles are the works, but Ford hasn’t said where or when they will be introduced. Ford expects the architecture to eventually generate sales of more than 1 million vehicles per year-about twice its current pace.

Some 55% of the Fiesta’s welded frame and substructure is made from high-strength steel. This includes the use of more boron steel than any Ford product.

The U.S. Fiesta will have seven airbags, including a segment-exclusive knee bag. The interior features seats with more bolstering and redesigned dash.

Only one engine is available in the American Fiesta: a 1.6-liter four-cylinder that makes 119 hp and 109 lb-ft of torque. The four-banger features twin independent variable camshaft timing, which Ford says continuously optimizes camshaft phasing for improved throttle response, performance and flexibility.

The engine can be mated to a five-speed manual gearbox or six-speed dual-clutch automatic. The fuel economy of the manual is expected to be 29 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway. With the automatic, the highway projection is the same but the city increases 1 mpg. An economy package boosts highway mileage to 40 mpg.

Other features include electric power steering, specially tuned front struts, bushings, dampers, stabilizer bars and a rear twist-beam axle. A grade assist system helps maintain low gearing for more responsive throttle under acceleration and reduces the need for braking when descending a hill.

Toyota Motor Corp. says it will begin evaluating 350 plug-in versions of its Prius hybrid sedan later this month with 150 in European and 200 in Japanese fleets. Another 150 cars will begin testing early next year in the U.S. Toyota hopes to commercialize Prius plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) in 2012.

The year-long demonstration programs are designed to gather real-world feedback to better understand customer expectations for plug-in technology. Toyota also hopes the test will encourage the development of a recharging infrastructure. The company will track the performance of new lithium-ion batteries over a variety of operating parameters.

Yesterday Toyota showed a prototype of the PHV, which is based on the third-generation Prius, at the Los Angeles auto show. The lithium-ion battery pack replaces the nickel-metal-hydride system used in the conventional Prius, which is recharged on the fly but can’t drive as far or as fast as in pure electric mode.

When fully charged, the Prius PHV has an estimated electric-only range of about 13 miles and will be capable of achieving highway speeds as high as 60 mph. Otherwise, the vehicle operates like a regular Prius, powered by a mix from the hybrid drivetrain-including short distances in all-electric mode at speeds up to 15-20 mph-and conventional 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle engine.

The U.S. test program will place the PHVs with select organizations in California, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. All vehicles will be equipped with data retrieval devices that will monitor activities such as how often and when the vehicle is charged, whether the batteries are depleted or being topped off during charging, trip duration, all-EV driving range and combined mpg.

The only partnership announced to date is with Xcel Energy’s SmartGridCity program in Boulder, Colo. That program will place 10 PHVs with city residents who will participate in a research project coordinated by the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute joint venture between the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the University of Colorado at Boulder. The locale also will allow Toyota to test the batteries under a combination of high altitude and cold climate conditions.

Toyota, through its Panasonic Electric Vehicle Energy joint venture in Japan, began producing lithium-ion batteries for the PHV demonstration fleet. Earlier versions of the battery have logged more than 1 million miles of testing in conventional Prius hybrids.

France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen SA may buy a stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corp., The Nikkei reports. Earlier today an unnamed Mitsubishi official told the newspaper that the two companies are talking about a range of possible collaborations, including an equity tie-up.

The Japanese newspaper says PSA is likely to buy as much as $3.4 billion in newly issued MMC stock that would give the French carmaker a 30%-50% stake. The two companies agreed in March to collaborate on EV development. In September PSA said it will begin selling EVs in Europe next year that are variants of MMC’s new i-MiEV electric city car. PSA displayed a prototype of its car, called the iOn, at the Frankfurt auto show in September.

Sanyo Electric Co. has snared two customers for its new automotive lithium-ion batteries. Mitsuru Honma, who heads the company’s rechargeable-battery unit, tells Bloomberg News that Sanyo will start supplying the batteries to unnamed Japanese and foreign OEMs in about two years.

The electronics maker, which is in the process of being acquired by Panasonic Corp., forecasts that annual global sales of hybrid/electric vehicles using lithium-ion batteries will reach 2.3 million units by 2015 and 10.2 million by 2020. Sanyo aims to make up to 400,000 lithium-ion cells per month when it starts production in 2011 at a new plant in western Japan.

Previous reports have identified Toyota Motor Corp. as a future customer for use in its upcoming Prius plug-in hybrid model. The automaker already has a joint venture with Panasonic to produce lithium-ion batteries.

Sanyo currently supplies nickel-metal-hydride batteries for hybrid vehicles made by Ford and Honda, and it will start supplying them to PSA Peugeot Citroen next decade. Sanyo also has a development deal with Volkswagen covering nickel-metal and lithium-ion batteries.

It’s no surprise that Jim Mazuchowski, who now heads Ford Motor Co.’s V-6 engine program, has spent most of his career working at the automaker’s engine operations. His father was a draftsman in Ford’s engine division for 33 years, and his brother worked there for several years too.

The younger Mazuchowski credits the hands-on experience he spent as a child in the family garage working on cars with his father as a key influence on his career. His dad had retired before Jim joined Ford in 1988.

A lot has changed between generations. While his father did most of his work on a drafting board, almost everything now is designed, developed, engineered and tested via CAD/CAM modeling.

The engines also are dramatically more advanced. Mazuchowski and his team are responsible for all the new gasoline V-6 engines under development at Ford, including direct-injection EcoBoost systems and flex-fuel engines.

After being appointed to his new position in early 2007, Mazuchowski took over the development of the 3.7-liter V-6 engine for the upcoming 2011 Mustang. The initial variant of the engine already is available in several front-wheel-drive vehicles, which required only relatively minor changes to the wiring harness, exhaust manifold and other external parts.

More extensive changes were needed to modify the V-6 for the Mustang’s rear-drive layout. The engine also received several enhancements, including twin independent variable camshaft timing that optimizes the valvetrain across the rev range, yielding a 3% boost in fuel economy and 10% more power.

Other advanced features include a die-cast aluminum, deep-sump oil pan that enables 10,000-mile oil change intervals, a cold-air induction system and dual exhausts. The composite upper and lower intake manifolds are tuned for efficient air delivery and lighter weight.

In addition to his current job, Mazuchowski lists three other highlights from his 21 years at Ford: helping to launch a series of V-8 engines, running manufacturing operations at the company’s Cleveland casting plant and participating in a joint project with purchasing to change intake manifolds from aluminum to a composite material that saved weight and costs.

Over the years, Mazuchowski has owned many Ford vehicles, starting with a 1972 Maverick-a hand-me-down from his siblings that he inherited in the late 1970s. But he’s never had a Mustang. That will soon change.