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Chevy Volt has worst sales month since August 2011, Nissan Leaf also down

January is traditionally a time when new car shoppers take a break. For the last few years, if we isolate our focus to just the first two major plug-in cars in the US market, we see that the first month of the year was lower – often dramatically lower – than the 11 that followed. So, when you see the Chevy Volt dropped and Nissan Leaf sales figures for January 2015, don't be too surprised. The Volt sold only 542 units last month, that model's lowest since August 2011. That also represents a 41 percent drop from January 2014, and it reinforces the thought that if anyone out there is interested in a new Volt, they're going to be waiting for the new model to drop later this year. While we do expect sales to climb in February and into spring, we won't be surprised if the general Volt trend remains quiet until the second-generation arrives. On the Leaf side of the ledger, January's low sales numbers were still about twice as high as the Volt's – the Leaf sold 1,070 units last month, the lowest since February 2013 – but it did break a streak for the Japanese automaker. Usually, each month represents at least an increase over the same month a year ago, but that wasn't the case this time. In January 2014, Nissan sold 1,252 Leafs. Still, Brendan Jones, Nissan's director of electric vehicle sales and infrastructure, issued an upbeat statement: "We saw a significant increase in demand in December from Nissan Leaf customers looking to take advantage of federal and state incentives at the end of the tax year, which pulled some sales ahead. We're confident that EV sales will continue to rise over time due to increasing emission regulations and other reasons for purchase of EVs such as lower operating costs, reducing dependence on foreign energy sources, environmental concerns and a great driving experience." The numbers will tell us soon enough. News Source: General Motors, Nissan Green Chevrolet Nissan Electric Hybrid ev sales brendan jones

Toyota tops Kelley Blue Book's Resale Value Awards

Kelley Blue Book announced its annual Best Resale Value Award winners, and we weren't too surprised to see the list dominated by Japanese automakers - mainly Toyota and Honda. KBB hands out the awards based on the projected residual value of mostly all 2013 model year vehicles, and Toyota skated home with a number of awards including 10 of the 22 overall categories and having five of its products in the top 10 for models with best resale value. KBB's Best Resale Value Awards were announced in the same week as the ALG Residual Value Awards, and there were many similarities between both lists, especially when it came to Toyota.
To come up with its winners, KBB measures depreciation over the first five years of ownership, and looks for the cars it expects to hold its value the best after this time; on average, the report says the 2013 model year vehicles will lose 61.8 percent of its value in five years. Of the 22 categories, 15 slots were filled by Toyota, Honda and Nissan products, while the Camaro and Porsche (Cayenne and Panamera) each took home a pair of awards. If Toyota has anything to be upset about in this list of cars, it's that categories for Hybrid/Alternative Energy Car and Electric Vehicle went to the Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Volt, respectively.
The overall top 10 models for the best resale value in 2013 are, in alphabetical order:

New recall issued in 2019 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra brake software saga

General Motors (GM) has issued a new recall for select 2019 Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 pickup trucks that aims to resolve a faulty fix for a previous recall. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) campaign No. 20V055000, a software update for the Electronic Brake Control Module (EBCM) could cause the electronic brake assist to be disabled.  The NHTSA first launched a recall for 463,995 Silverados, Sierras, and Cadillac CT6es on December 12, 2019 due to a software issue in the electronic brake control module (EBCM) that could disable the electronic stability control (ESC) and anti-lock braking system (ABS). As a response and resolution to that recall, GM began to reprogram the software in affected vehicles. GM later learned that the fix was creating a different problem. The installed software had its own error that was disabling the electronic brake assist. If customers see “Service Brake Assist” or “Service ECS" diagnostic warnings, they should park the vehicle and have it towed to a dealership, GM warns. While GM was going through the process of testing, pinpointing the issue, determining action and working with the NHTSA, safety experts have criticized Chevrolet and GMC for not reacting promptly and appropriately.  According to the recall, 148,055 are now affected, all of which do not meet the standards of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, "Electronic Stability Control" and 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems." To fix the braking issue, GM will once again reprogram the software. GM began notifying owners of the recall on February 10, 2020. Related Video: