2012 Nissan 370z Nismo Coupe 2-door 3.7l on 2040-cars

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Tesla Model S drivers put way more miles on their cars than Nissan Leaf owners do (we think)

Just a few weeks ago, Nissan announced that its customers have driven over a billion electric kilometers in the four years that the world's best-selling EV has been on the road. That heady milestone means, Nissan says, that the Leaf has saved 180 million kilograms of CO2 emissions around the world. The billion kilometers have been split among the 147,000 Leaf vehicles that Nissan has sold. Well, not really, since the billion kilometer total only counts Leaf EVs registered with CarWings, which Nissan says is 54 percent of the total sales. That's 79,380 cars and results in an average – and it's only a rough average, but what're you gonna do? – of 12,597 miles per car. Let's keep that number in mind for a minute. Today, despite going on sale a year and a half after the Leaf (June 2012 versus late 2010), Tesla Motors Tweeted today that Model S drivers have hit the same numerical milestone. Tesla didn't say how many of its vehicles were involved in its count, but we think that Tesla has sold at least 50,000 Model S electric vehicles globally (about 2,650 in 2012, 22,450 in 2013, 21,821 for 2014 through the end of September), so we'll estimate a rough average for each Model S of 20,000 miles. So, in case anyone ever needs numeric proof that a Model S is more fun to drive than a Leaf – that's the only possible thing this could mean, right? *ahem, longer range* – now you've got the data. {C} This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Nissan says "thanks a billion" to LEAF owners Nissan LEAF drivers registered on CarWings telematics have collectively driven ONE BILLION KILOMETERS worldwide* Globally, Nissan LEAF drivers have saved more than 180 MILLION kilograms of CO2 emissions* Over 147,000 Nissan LEAF vehicles have been sold globally to date ROLLE, Switzerland – Nissan has revealed that owners of the LEAF, its 100% electric car, have collectively recorded an impressive one billion kilometers on the CarWings telematics system worldwide – saving over 180 million kilograms of CO2 emissions* in the process. This incredible achievement comes almost four years since the LEAF was launched in 2010 as one of the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicles. It is now the best-selling electric vehicle in history, with over 147,000 LEAF vehicles sold globally to date, 31,000 of which have been sold in Europe.

Formula Drift kicks off 11th season on Streets of Long Beach

The 2014 Formula Drift series kicked off last weekend in Long Beach, and saw Chris Forsberg, who you'll recall went mad and drifted around a warehouse in an Infiniti M, take the title behind the wheel of his Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z (shown above).
Forsberg really ran away with the first round of competition, outscoring his closest opponent, second-place finisher Kenneth Moen and his Bridges Racing Nissan 240SX, by 20 points. Third place was 2013 championship winner Michael Essa and his Yokohama BMW M3, 30.5 points behind Forsberg.
In the manufacturers' title, Nissan took an early lead with 122 points, which isn't a huge surprise considering five of the top ten drifters were piloting either a Z or a product of the brand's S platform. Ford, which had two drivers (Justin Pawlak and Vaughn Gittin, Jr.) in the top ten, took home second place, while BMW is currently third in the manufacturers' standings.

Nissan tests 'self-cleaning' paint on Leaf models in Europe

Once upon a time, self-cleaning ovens were all the rage. Now, Nissan thinks the concept may apply to its vehicles. And the Japanese vehicle maker is testing it out on some of its Leaf battery-electric vehicles Europe, no less. Nissan says its trying out what's called a "superhydrophobic and oleophobic" paint on Leaf battery-electric vehicles for testing and demonstration purposes. The paint, produced by UltraTech International Inc., is designed to repel splats of liquid such as oil or standing water away from the car's surface. The paint, called Ultra-Ever Dry, does this by creating what Nissan says is a layer of air around the vehicle surface. We imagine there's a detailed chemical explanation for this phenomenon that would better explain this process, but that's the best way we can explain it. Right now, Nissan is pitching the product testing as a way to further the Leaf's reputation as what the automaker calls "the world's cleanest car." That said, the paint hasn't been tested in North America, and no plans have been made to add the feature as either a standard or optional goodie for the battery-electric vehicle. Still, go ahead and check out Nissan's press release on the magic paint below. Nissan Creates "World's Cleanest Car" – a Zero Emissions Nissan LEAF with Self-Cleaning Nano-Paint Technology For LEAF owners who never qualify for gas stations' "Free Car Wash with Purchase" offers, this technical study might be the perfect solution July 09, 2014 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--What do you get when you combine the world's best-selling zero emission vehicle with innovative paint technology that repels mud, rain and everyday dirt? Answer: A very special Nissan LEAF electric vehicle that might just be the "world's cleanest car." "No matter what the road throws at this LEAF, its Ultra-Ever Dry® exterior coating will throw right back" Created to demonstrate its potential use in future production vehicles, this Nissan LEAF's exterior was treated with a specially engineered superhydrophobic and oleophobic paint that is designed to repel water and oils. The "self-cleaning" paint, called Ultra-Ever Dry®, creates a protective layer of air between the paint and environment, effectively stopping standing water and road spray from creating dirty marks on the LEAF's surface. Nissan is one of the first carmakers to apply this technology to a vehicle.