Carwings system combines driving tips with recommendations on nearby restaurants, cheap gas Drivers of some Nissan cars in Japan from Monday will begin tracking the fuel efficiency of their vehicles on the Web thanks to a new system that ties in with the car’s existing navigation system.The new service is being offered through Nissan Motor Co.’s Carwings, which is a service-oriented component of factory-installed navigation systems in Nissan cars.Carwings supplements the basic navigation system by offering real-time traffic data and information useful to drivers, such as upcoming attractions and cheap gas nearby. The additional data is supplied via a cell phone data connection. Carwings, which is free for the first three years and then ¥5,250 ($43) per year thereafter, also offers a live operator who can remotely program the navigation system or offer recommendations on things such as nearby restaurants. The fuel-efficiency system has two parts. Inside the car the current fuel efficiency can be displayed on the navigation screen and is constantly updated as each journey progresses. Then each time the navigation system accesses the Carwings server the data is relayed back and can then be checked via a password-protected page on the Internet. The Web page can also provide historical data allowing drivers to check the efficiency of their vehicles over a period of time.Nissan said the service is part of its goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles through better cars and better driving.Car owners are encouraged to improve their own driving efficiency through tips and a ranking system that awards them a bronze, silver, gold or platinum rating based on the data. Drivers will also be able to compare their fuel efficiency score against the average of other drivers with the same car. The service is being introduced Monday through factory-installed DVD Carwings navigation systems in nine Nissan models available in Japan (Fuga, Tiida, Latio, Serena, Lafesta, Wingroad, Note, Sylphy and late-model Presage from May 2006). It will be available in hard-disk based factory-installed systems from the middle of this year.Carwings has yet to be introduced in vehicles outside of Japan. Nissan said a wider launch is under consideration. Technology IndustrySoftware DevelopmentSmall and Medium Business