Subaru has announced that the second generation of its EyeSight suite of safety technologies, as well as a trio of other new safety systems, will debut in the U.S. for the 2015 model year.

Like the original EyeSight system that hit the market in 2012, the new setup will rely on a pair of upper windshield-mounted cameras to monitor the road ahead and provide forward collision alert with pre-collision braking, lane-departure warning and adaptive cruise control functions.

What sets the new system apart is upgraded cameras with color recognition technology that increases Eyesight’s viewing angle and distance by 40 percent.

Those improvements allow the forward collision warning system’s automatic pre-collision braking feature to operate at up to 31 mph, while pre-collision brake assist – it primes the brake system to respond quickly to the driver – functions from velocities as high as 43 mph. Both figures represent increases of 12 mph over the original EyeSight system.

The second-gen EyeSight’s other advantages – both of which could help to pave the way for autonomous Subaru models in the future – are its ability to recognize vehicle brake lights and red traffic lights and automatically brake accordingly, as well as its Lane Keep Assist system’s to gently steer back into the correct lane.

As with the current system, the new iteration of EyeSight will be offered on the Legacy, Outback and Forester. Pricing will be announced closer to the one-sale date this summer.

Subaru will also use the 2015 model to introduce blind spot warning, lane-change assist and rear cross traffic alert systems to its U.S. lineup. Availability for these new safety technologies has not yet been detailed.

The Federal Trade Commission has announced that Nissan and its ad agency, TBWA Worldwide, have an agreed to a settlement over allegations that a Frontier pickup commercial deceived consumers.

Entitled “Hill Climb,” the YouTube-style spot depicted a Frontier coming to the aid of a stuck dune buggy and pushing it up a steep sand dune.

The FTC’s problem with the advertisement: the Frontier isn’t capable of performing that feat in real life. In fact, both the pickup and dune buggy were towed up the dune by cables, and an extreme camera angle was used to make the hill look steeper than it actually is.

“Special effects in ads can be entertaining, but advertisers can’t use them to misrepresent what a product can do,” Jessica Rich, the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. “This ad made the Nissan Frontier appear capable of doing something it can’t do.”

The settlement will prevent Nissan and TBWA from employing potentially misleading demonstrations in future pickup commercials, but neither will be required to pay fines.

The ad in question is viewable below.

In an unusually frank assessment, Volkswagen’s labor boss has characterized the brand’s U.S. performance as “catastrophic.”

“The U.S. is a case of disaster” for Volkswagen, said Bernd Osterloh, the company’s works council chief, at a press conference in Wolfsburg, Germany.

Volkswagen’s U.S. sales tumbled 7 percent in 2013, despite overall industry growth of eight percent. The year was capped by the abrupt departure of Volkswagen of America CEO Jonathon Browning.

Osterloh called for Volkswagen to move quickly in bringing new models to turn around its flagging operations, but noted that he doesn’t expect the situation to improve until 2016, when the production version of the CrossBlue concept arrives.

The CrossBlue, a three-row crossover, will follow in the U.S.-market Jetta and Passat’s tiremarks in its mission as a volume-selling model aimed the heart of the American market, in marked contrast to the premium-priced, niche-oriented Tiguan and Touareg models.

Osterloh voiced concern over Volkswagen’s continued indecision regarding whether it will build the long-delayed CrossBlue at its Pueblo, Mexico, facility or its plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is currently moving towards unionization.

Intriguingly, Osterloh also suggested that Volkswagen’s U.S. lineup would benefit from the addition of a pickup. Volkswagen executives have shown little interest in entering the domestic-dominated full-size pickup arena in the past, but the company could conceivably import the Amarok if it saw an opportunity in the midsize market.

A Honda dealership in New Jersey has become the first-ever to achieve an “Electric Grid Neutral” status, meaning the franchise produces as much as or more energy than it consumes from the grid.

Honda announced on Thursday that Rossi Honda of Vineland, New Jersey, is the first of approximately 17,500 car dealers in the United States to achieve an Electric Grid Neutral status.

Spurred by Honda’s “Green Dealer” initiative, Rossi Honda installed a 223kW solar PV system in 2012 that was able to fulfill 90 percent of the dealership’s energy needs. Looking to push the green needle even farther, Rossi replaced its metal halide parking lot lights with LED units in the spring of 2013, allowing the dealership to rely on solar power for 100 percent of its energy needs.

The move to all solar power has reduce Rossi’s annual grid electricity consumption by approximately 321,000 kWh and annual CO2 output by approximately 341,000 lbs.

“Rossi Honda has pioneered a new era for automobile dealers in which they too can be environmental leaders,” said Steven Center, vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., in charge of the company’s Environmental Business Development Office. “By virtually eliminating CO2 from the consumption of electricity and saving money in the process, Rossi has created a path that other dealers can follow.”

Honda launched its “Green Dealer” program in 2012 and now has 200 participants. Of those dealers, 28 have managed to reduce their electricity consumption by at least 10 percent.

Jeep’s upcoming sub-compact model has been spotted for the first time testing in Europe. The so-called “baby Jeep” is likely to hit the market as the Latitude, although the Jeepster nameplate is also being thrown around.

Although still covered in heavy camouflage, this is the first time we’ve seen the Latitude wearing its production-intent sheet metal. Previous iterations of the baby Jeep were clad in Fiat 500 bodywork.

Still, a few design cues can be peering out from beneath its cover. The Latitude will sport Jeep’s iconic seven-slat grille, with the compact’s round headlights mimicking those found on the Wrangler. Though difficult to discern, it looks as though the Latitude will have an overall boxy look like the Patriot instead of the more streamlined look of the Compass. The Latitude will eventually replace both of those models in Jeep’s lineup.

The Latitude will reportedly make its global debut at the Geneva Motor Show this March. Following its unveiling, look for Jeep’s smallest model to arrive in dealer showrooms during the fall.