BizAims

Nissan wants to talk about more than a way to drive at its soon-to-be-finished Americas headquarters. The Japanese automaker is showing off "green" features of the $100 million project as a kind of image signpost for car and truck buyers increasingly focused on environmental concerns.

The 10-story, S-shaped, headquarters opens in July, eventually for about 1,500 employees. Nissan North America, which increased annual sales by 4.5 percent to more than 1 million vehicles and a market share of 6.6 percent in 2007, is moving about 20 miles from a Nashville high-rise to a 50-acre campus with a restored wetland.

After relocating to the South from Southern California, Nissan's own facilities engineers developed the headquarters with features aimed at showing a concern for the environment beyond stretching miles per gallon and cutting exhaust emissions.

A sci-fi sounding "light harvesting system" automatically dims or turns off interior lights in the 460,000 square feet of offices. Sun shades outside — sort of like reflective visors — with computer-designed blades direct sunlight to reduce glare and heat in the Southern summer.

Air conditioning and heat are controlled through outlets at each work station.