As fears of radiation from Japan's severely compromised Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant seemed to be growing by the minute, automakers have tried to assure car buyers that most of their products are produced far enough away from the crippled facility that fallout won't end up on their vehicles. However, Nissan USA wants to go a step further by performing a radiation inspection on all vehicles imported from Japan.

Nissan is the first Japanese automaker to monitor its vehicles for radioactivity. The additional check will continue until all threats of contamination have subsided. Nissan is following through with the inspections even though The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association announced that it has found no harmful levels of radiation in any vehicles destined for export.

I feel that vehicle contamination, if any, would be far less severe than crop contamination. However, I salute Nissan USA for taking the extra step to give consumers a peace of mind. Sales of Japanese car worldwide has already been hit by a strong Yen, hope that contamination concern will not further dampen the sales figure.