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Nissan dealer: 2016 Leaf will have 110-mile battery option

Leave it to a local dealer in Indiana to spill the beans about the beans about the changes to the upcoming 2016 Nissan Leaf. Maybe. There's a dealer near Indianapolis called Andy Mohr Avon Nissan near Indianapolis and its website says that the new Leaf will come with two battery packs. The dealer says that the 2016 Leaf will come with two different battery trim levels. You can choose a car with the same pack as the 2015 Leaf has (and, thus, still get 84 miles of official range) or you can opt for the higher trim level, which will give you, "as much as 25 percent increased capacity, delivering a driving range of as much as 110 miles." Now, let's take all of this with some grains of salt and combine it with previous rumors. First, this does not seem to be any sort of information about a second-gen Leaf. We've heard plenty of rumors that the 2016 Leaf will have a 30-kWh battery pack that can go over 100 miles, but this is sort of a version 1.5 Leaf, since this longer range will be available in an updated current model and not yet the next-gen model. Nissan's Paige Presley, from Nissan's EV and technology communications, said simply that she, "can't comment on future products." We spoke with Joe Kline, the internet manager at Andy Mohr Avon Nissan, and he said that it was likely that the information about the two battery packs came directly from Nissan but he wasn't 100 percent sure. Kline said that the Andy Morh Avon Nissan dealership probably sold around 10 Leafs in the past year, mostly because the infrastructure isn't as built out as it could be in central Indiana. "They're not quite up to par with the charging stations around here," he said. With the longer-range version, the dealership's website says, "the new Leaf can find a home in even more garages." Related Video: Featured Gallery 2015 Nissan Leaf View 12 Photos News Source: Andy Mohr Avon Nissan via Green Car Reports Green Rumormill Nissan Electric

Japanese automakers ramping production for renewed American sales

The 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan took quite the toll on the automotive industry in that nation. Not content to lean on that tragedy as excuse for slagging sales, the Japanese automakers are planning on a major production expansion in North America. The aim is to reclaim the market share lost from the Tsunami-based dip, and overcome a dollar/yen exchange rate that makes exporting to America unprofitable.
Following the Tsunami, Japanese automakers ramped up production in their North American facilities to compensate, but according to Automotive News, Nissan, Honda and others have all reported plans for still-further increased production in the year ahead. As part of this ramp-up, Mazda will open a facility in Salamnca, Mexico before March of 2014. Part of that increase in output is 50,000 units of a Toyota-badged compact car, which Mazda will produce.
Other Mexican production facilities opening include a Honda plant, which will open in Spring 2014 in Celaya, and a Nissan plant, set to open later this year in Aguascalientes. Nissan also said that it will need another plant in North America within the next five years. According to Nissan Boss Carlos Ghosn, the company aims to raise its stake in the US market from 8 percent to 10, and adding production will help achieve that goal. Even Mitsubishi is aiming to boost production at its Normal, Illinois plant. Production of the Outlander Sport is currently at 50,000, which Mitsubishi wants to raise to 70,000.

IIHS: High numbers of drivers treat partially automated cars as fully self-driving

WASHINGTON — Drivers using advanced driver assistance systems like Tesla Autopilot or General Motors Super Cruise often treat their vehicles as fully self-driving despite warnings, a new study has found. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), an industry funded group that prods automakers to make safer vehicles, said on Tuesday a survey found regular users of Super Cruise, Nissan/Infiniti ProPILOT Assist and Tesla Autopilot "said they were more likely to perform non-driving-related activities like eating or texting while using their partial automation systems than while driving unassisted." The IIHS study of 600 active users found 53% of Super Cruise, 42% of Autopilot and 12% of ProPILOT Assist owners "said that they were comfortable treating their vehicles as fully self-driving." About 40% of users of Autopilot and Super Cruise — two systems with lockout features for failing to pay attention — reported systems had at some point switched off while they were driving and would not reactivate. "The big-picture message here is that the early adopters of these systems still have a poor understanding of the technologyÂ’s limits," said IIHS President David Harkey. The study comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is scrutinizing Autopilot crashes. Since 2016, the NHTSA has opened 37 special investigations involving 18 deaths in crashes involving Tesla vehicles and where systems like Autopilot were suspected of use. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. Tesla says Autopilot does not make vehicles autonomous and is intended for use with a fully attentive driver who is prepared to take over. GM, which in August said owners could use Super Cruise on 400,000 miles (643,740 km) of North American roads and plans to offer Super Cruise on 22 models by the end of 2023, did not immediately comment. IIHS said advertisements for Super Cruise focus on hands-free capabilities while Autopilot evokes the name used in passenger airplanes and "implies TeslaÂ’s system is more capable than it really is." IIHS in contrast noted ProPILOT Assist "suggests that itÂ’s an assistance feature, rather than a replacement for the driver." NHTSA and automakers say none of the systems make vehicles autonomous. Nissan said its name "is clearly communicating ProPILOT Assist as a system to aid the driver, and it requires hands-on operation.