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In his own words: Carlos Ghosn on why EVs rule

That's a nice little dig at hydrogen fuel cell technology, Mr. Ghosn. The Nissan chief, long a champion and heavy-duty investor of electric-vehicle technology, wrote an essay on his LinkedIn Influencer page on why EVs are the theoretical wave of the future. It's obviously not an unbiased opinion, but he makes his points clearly. Ghosn points out that "refueling" costs per mile for EVs are about 70 percent less than gasoline and more than 60 percent less than hybrids. He cites the rapidly growing network of plug-in vehicle charging stations that are eliminating "range anxiety" with at least some folks, and notes that the fastest growing US plug-in vehicle market is, of all places, Atlanta. Additionally, Ghosn, near the bottom of the post, says that a plug-in vehicle charging station can be deployed for as little as $2,000, while building a hydrogen station costs about $2.5 million. Pretty clever. Nissan's sales numbers appear to give Ghosn's confidence some clout. Through November, sales of the Leaf in the US surged 35 percent from a year earlier to more than 27,000 units. Globally, Nissan says the Leaf's sales are up 20 percent this year. Check out Ghosn's own words below. Zero-Emission Cars: Both Consumers and the Environment Win Last month, the Renault-Nissan Alliance sold its 200,000th zero-emission car. The Nissan LEAF, which we launched four years ago, is by far the top-selling electric vehicle worldwide. Sales are up 20 percent this year. Together with the Renault ZOE and other zero-emission vehicles in our lineup, Renault-Nissan's EVs have been driven about 4 billion kilometers – enough to circle the earth 100,000 times. They are the world's first and most successful mainstream, mass-marketed EVs. Why are more people switching to EVs? The reasons are clear: EVs are convenient: They can be refueled at home or at the office from multiple energy sources, including the increasing amount of clean energy from solar or wind power. Imagine never stopping at a gasoline service station because you wake up to a "full tank" every day. This is one of the top things EV owners enjoy about their cars. EVs are economical: Even with gasoline prices falling, Consumer Reports recently estimated operating costs of a Nissan LEAF in the United States at 3.5 cents a mile, compared with 11.9 cents for a subcompact gasoline car or 8.6 cents for a hybrid. EV owners typically save on their insurance policies, because insurers view EV drivers as a lower risk.

Pontiac Aztek enjoys rebirth thanks to Millennials

Apparently, Millennials – those between 18 and 34 – aren't afraid to look different on the road, and they like performance, too. A new study by Edmunds is discovering some surprising vehicle choices by this group. Among them, the long-derided Pontiac Aztek is getting a new day in the sun with 25.5 percent its buyers coming from this generation in the first half of 2015. For comparison, Millennials represent an average of 16.8 percent of used car purchases. The Aztek is slowly shaking its reputation as a styling abomination, which seems tied to its appearance on Breaking Bad. The show premiered in 2008, and the Pontiac has been on this list for four of the past five years, according to Edmunds. It even led the pack in 2010. A recent Retro Review from MotorWeek also showed that the crossover wasn't always so hated. While it's still a shock to see the Aztek on any popularity list, the awkward-looking crossover only ranks sixth among Millennials. The vehicle with the biggest portion of buyers from the generation is the Dodge Magnum with 27.6 percent. According to Edmunds, the bluntly styled wagon is especially popular in Detroit and Chicago. The Chrysler Pacifica comes in a close second at 27.3 percent. When it comes to used cars, value and utility appear to trump just about anything else for many Millennial buyers," Edmunds analyst Jeremy Acevedo said in the report. Young buyers aren't afraid of sporty rides, either. The Subaru WRX has 26.4 percent Millennial buyers to rank third place on the list, and the Volkswagen R32 takes fifth at 25.7 percent. Just a few points lower in seventh place is the Nissan GT-R at 25.4 percent, and the final performance machine in 10th place is the Lexus IS-F with 24.7 percent. Related Video:

Nissan details 326k-vehicle Takata recall for US and Canada

Nissan is recalling 326,000 vehicles in the US and Canada as an expansion of its Takata inflator campaign. Of those, 263,692 are in the US. Nissan's broadened campaign in the US covers 250,967 examples of the 2004-2006 Sentra and 12,725 units of the 2004 Pathfinder to replace their passenger side airbag inflators. The 2005-2006 X-Trail is also included in Canada. Customers should receive official notification of this recall by mail in June. Nissan and Toyota announced a 6.5-million vehicle global expansion of their Takata recalls recently. At that time, Nissan was still working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on the details of what models were affected. This latest release outlines those figures. Related Video: Nissan Statement "Nissan Group today notified The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Transport Canada that it will be recalling 2004 to 2006 Sentra, 2004 Pathfinder and 2005 and 2006 X-Trail vehicles throughout the United States and Canada to replace Takata SPI Passenger Air Bag inflators. This recall expansion is intended to address vehicles equipped with SPI inflators that are not already subject to previously announced recalls. More specifically, this includes vehicles located outside the high absolute humidity areas manufactured between early 2004 and end of production. Customer notification will begin in June." Vehicles Affected Approximately 326,000 in U.S. and Canada Market Model Model Year(s) Population Total USA Sentra 2004-2006 250,967 USA Pathfinder 2004 12,725