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Plug In America asks Georgia to not reverse EV incentives

Like Ray Charles, Plug In America's Michael Thwaite has Georgia on his mind. Thwaite is putting out the call on behalf of the electric-vehicle advocacy group to get people to stop the state's plug-in vehicle incentives from going the way of Atlanta Flames. And he's using math that may or may not be funny. Thwaite's public enemy Number One is Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta), who's pushing legislation (specifically, House Bill 122) to wipe out the $5,000 tax credit (one of the highest among US states). Martin is also said to have more than 60 state legislators backing him up. Thwaite says that the money is well spent, since each electric vehicle keeps more than $2,200 from being spent outside the state by getting folks to charge up through local utilities instead of paying for gas imported from those darned oil-rich nations. Last year, Martin proposed a bill (HB 257) that would cap incentive-generating EVs in the state at about 2,000 units a year, but state legislators ran out of time before taking a vote on it, so the issue got tabled for another year. And that year is almost up. The issue is far from academic, since Atlanta remains a city that generates some of the highest Nissan Leaf sales in the country – largely because of those state incentives. Check out Mr. Thwaite's note below. Don't Let Georgia State Incentives for Electric Vehicles Disappear The state of Georgia has enjoyed tremendous support for electric vehicle adoption from its legislators, but that is at risk. Georgia legislators need to hear your voice in favor of electric car incentives. Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta) is introducing legislation (House Bill 122) to eliminate the state electric vehicle tax credits of $5,000. He has already amassed more that 60 legislators to support the bill. We need you to let them know that the public supports EVs! Georgia has become a beacon for electric vehicle sales. The tax credit has helped make Georgia the national leader in Nissan LEAF sales, an electric car built here in the US. Please take a moment to complete the action below to ensure that your representative hears your voice to maintain the EV incentives and defeat this bill. Georgia's Public Service Commission member Tim Echols argued passionately for keeping the credits. Aside from the environmental benefits and the positive message sent to millennials about the importance of moving away from polluting fossil fuels, he makes a powerful economic argument.

Nissan to present Vision Gran Turismo concept at Goodwood?

Power up your PlayStation and pop in any edition of Gran Turismo and you'll have hundreds of cars to choose from. But arguably few have managed to bridge the gap between that virtual world and reality than Nissan.
The Japanese automaker is the one responsible for putting the best gamers behind the wheel of actual race cars with its GT Academy, co-sponsored by Nissan and Gran Turismo. Yet while the likes of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and Mitsubishi have already revealed their Vision Gran Turismo concepts specifically designed for the game, Nissan has been left behind. And as it is apt to point out in its latest infographic, that's not a position to which it's accustomed.
The graphic outlines all 148 Nissan vehicles you can drive in Gran Turismo, but leaves the last one under wraps, identified only by the date June 10, 2014. That's this Tuesday, when Nissan is hotly anticipated (thanks in no small part to the Tweet below from Nissan VP Andy Palmer) to reveal its own Vision Gran Turismo concept at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Nissan Note getting a little louder with Nismo versions this fall

Nissan's Nismo performance division has been getting more chances to shine recently with tuned models like the Juke Nismo RS and GT-R Nismo. But its latest creation moves closer to the bottom of the Japanese brand's lineup to make a hot hatch out of the (Versa) Note. At least in Japan, the new model is due this fall, and Nismo is keeping a lot of the details about its latest creation a secret for now. What we do know is that it'll be available in two trims – the Note Nismo and the sportier Nismo S. "The development concept of this model was to build a car that makes you want to keep driving, no matter where your destination may be," said the division's chief product specialist, Hiroshi Tamura, in the company's announcement. Aesthetically, the Note Nismo looks the way a tuned Nissan should, with the division's signature red trim outlining the car. It also wears a new, mesh grille, lower air dam, red side sills and rear spoiler. Inside, the S gets standard sport seats with full Recaro buckets as an option. Nissan didn't release technical specs for either version, but it promises that the S also gets a tuned engine with a five-speed manual. But now, allow us to burst your bubble. Autoblog spoke to Nissan North America Product Communications Director Dan Bedore about the hot Note, and he told us, "There are no plans currently for a Nismo Versa Note in the US." That's too bad; if the specs turn out to be competitive, it could be an interesting rival for the Ford Fiesta ST. Scroll down to read the official announcement. NISSAN UNVEILS THE NOTE NISMO, SCHEDULED TO GO ON SALE IN FALL 2014 YOKOHAMA, Japan (July 23, 2014) – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. has taken the veils off the latest and sportiest iteration of the popular Note, called Note Nismo, which will reach dealer showrooms in the fall of 2014. Nissan also announced that the Fairlady Nismo will receive a minor model change, while a new Nismo RS grade will be added to the Juke Nismo in the fall of 2014. Ever since the release of the Juke Nismo in February 2013, the lineup of Nissan's specialty division, Nismo, has steadily grown. Soon after the launch of the Juke Nismo, the March Nismo, Fairlady Nismo and Nissan GT-R Nismo were added to the stable; thus allowing Nismo to offer a broad range of road-going cars to the public-from compacts to SUVs to sports cars-all armed with the sporty DNA derived from Nismo's motorsports activities. And now you can add one more to the list, the Note Nismo.