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Nissan Leaf's No Charge To Charge now available in Boston

Depending on where you buy your all-electric Nissan Leaf, there's a pretty sweet deal attached. In some parts of the US – most recently, now also in Boston, MA – new Leafs come with the "No Charge To Charge" program, which allows drivers to recharge their batteries at some public charging stations for free. Today's announcement that Boston will join the program brings the total number to 17 area, and Nissan has said it will eventually expand No Charge To Charge to at least 25 markets in the US by the end of the year. As Nissan representatives explained when the program was first announced at the 2014 New York Auto Show, there are limits on the program. Without paying, you can plug your new Leaf into a public CHAdeMO DC fast charger for a maximum of 30 minutes and just one hour at Level 2 stations. You can find a list of No Charge stations from companies like ChargePoint, Blink, AeroVironment, and NRG eVgo here. Related Video: CALLING ALL BOSTONIANS: NISSAN'S "NO CHARGE TO CHARGE" PROGRAM ARRIVES IN BEAN TOWN BOSTON (July 6, 2015) – Nissan is launching its "No Charge to Charge" promotion for Boston-area Nissan LEAF buyers, providing two years complimentary public charging with the purchase of the all-electric car from LEAF-certified dealers in the Boston market. "Nissan LEAF is an attractive option for Boston car buyers because it is fun to drive and offers significantly lower operating costs when compared to a gas-powered car," said Andrew Speaker, director, Electric Vehicle (EV) Sales & Marketing, Nissan. "EV charging infrastructure continues to grow in Boston, and access to free public charging for new LEAF buyers helps make owning an all-electric vehicle even more cost-effective and convenient." "No Charge to Charge" launches at Nissan LEAF dealers in the Boston market on July 1. The promotion includes access to fast chargers that can charge a LEAF battery pack from empty to 80 percent in about 30 minutes, as well as level 2 (240V) chargers spread throughout the Boston area. Nissan now offers "No Charge to Charge" in 17 U.S. markets, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Fresno, Seattle, Portland (Oregon), Chicago, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Nashville, Phoenix, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Denver and Washington, D.C. Nissan plans to offer the "No Charge to Charge" program at LEAF dealers in a total of at least 25 U.S. markets later this year.

Even Ferrari swept up in latest Takata recall expansion

The scope of Takata's deadly airbag problems continues to widen. Eight manufacturers announced recalls Friday that affect more than 12 million vehicles, according to documents filed with federal regulators. The automakers include Honda, which is recalling 4.5 million units, Fiat Chrysler with 4.3 million, Toyota with 1.65 million, and Subaru, which is recalling almost 400,000. Some of these cars include the Saab 9-2x and Pontiac Vibe that Toyota and Subaru made for General Motors. Mazda will recall 730,000 vehicles and Nissan has 400,000 affected units. The smallest numbers were posted by Mitsubishi, with 38,000 Lancers manufactured from 2006 to 2007, and as a noteworthy high-end manufacturer, Ferrari is calling back 2,800 vehicles. These are all US-market cars. Beyond America, the Japanese Transport Ministry has announced seven million additional vehicles will be recalled, which means 19.6 million vehicles across the globe are affected by recalls announced. The defects have been traced to an insufficiently manufactured airbag inflator, which lacks a drying agent that would prevent the inflators from deteriorating over time. Thirteen deaths have been linked to the faulty airbags, which have become unstable and are prone to exploding and showering vehicle occupants with lethal amounts of metal shrapnel. A private equity firm, KKR & Co., has been named in a possible buyout of the struggling Takata. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Shutterstock Government/Legal Recalls Ferrari Honda Mazda Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Pontiac Subaru Toyota Saab Safety

Nissan, Mahindra may bond over EVs

Like Lloyd in Dumb & Dumber rejoicing that he's got a "one out of a million" chance with Mary Swanson, electric-vehicle advocates in India can do the same. That's because both local automaker Mahindra and Japan-based Nissan say they would consider working together to promote EVs in that country. Executives with Nissan and Mahindra, which makes the Reva e2o EV, independently told Autocar Professional that they would consider collaborating with the other company in order to speed up plug-in vehicle adoption in India. Nissan, which already works with companies such as Honda, Mitsubishi and Toyota to various degrees, said this collaboration would most likely revolve around electric-vehicle charging infrastructure advancements, a move that obviously helps all plug-in vehicles. Of course, nothing official has been announced. Last March, the Mahindra Reva e2o, which costs the equivalent of about $11,000, went on sale in India, with the company estimating at the time that it could manufacture 30,000 of the electric vehicles each year. In February, Mahindra debuted two electric cars at the New Delhi Auto Show, including the Mahindra Reva Halo EV concept sports car and the Mahindra Racing Formula E electric race car. The following month, India's Financial Express reported that Mahindra was targeting Sri Lanka and Norway for e2o sales. That car has a 62-mile single-charge range and a top speed of about 60 miles per hour. Featured Gallery Mahindra Reva E2O News Source: Autocar Professional via Cartrade.comImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Gisli Gislason Green Nissan Electric mahindra collaboration