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Total auto recalls already on record pace in 2014

If you've noticed that there have been more recalls than usual this year, you may be on to something. According to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the US market is on pace to break a record for recalls. In 2013, 22 million cars were recalled. We're only a third of the way through 2014, though, and we've already halved that figure, with 11 million units recalled. That's wild.
Considering the past few months, it shouldn't be a surprise that General Motors is leading the charge, with six million of the 11 million units recalled coming from one of the General's four brands. Between truck recalls, CUV recalls and the ignition switch recall, 2014 hasn't been a great year for GM.
Other recall leaders include Nissan (one million Sentra and Altima sedans), Honda (900,000 Odyssey minivans), Toyota (over one million units in a few recalls), Volkswagen (150,000 Passat sedans), Chrysler (644,000 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs) and most recently, Ford (434,000 units, the bulk of which were early Ford Escape CUVs). So while it's been a bad year for GM so far, its competitors aren't doing too well, either.

Nissan sees old Leaf batteries working for stationary energy

Nissan will start working with a Silicon Valley-based company to further explore creating a market in which old Leaf electric-vehicle batteries can be reused for stationary energy storage. In fact, the Japanese automaker will deploy its first network of old Leaf batteries for electricity storage at one lucky Nissan facility this summer. No, we don't know where that facility is either. The Santa Clara, CA-based Green Charge Networks will be a partner in the project. The concept of the "second-life" lithium-ion battery program involves finding ways to reuse batteries that have outserved their usefulness providing power to Leaf EVs. In this project's case, "multiple" Leaf batteries will be linked to provide power during mid-day peak energy demand, when electricity is at its most expensive. Nissan's done these kind of things before, although, as is the case here, they've always been pilot projects. In fact, the Nissan 4R ("Reuse, Resell, Refabricate and Recycle") team that's working with Green Charge Network is actually a joint-venture Nissan formed with Sumitomo Corp. in 2010. Since then, Nissan has sold more than 178,000 Leaf EVs, giving the company a solid inventory of older lithium-ion batteries to work with in the coming years. Take a look at Nissan's press release below. Nissan and 4R Energy partner with Green Charge Networks for commercial energy storage featuring second-life electric vehicle batteries Partnership enables commercial use of second-life lithium-ion vehicle batteries SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Nissan Motor Company and Green Charge Networks, the largest provider of commercial energy storage, have joined forces to deploy second-life lithium-ion vehicle batteries for stationary commercial energy storage in the U.S. and international markets. With more than 178,000 sales since its launch in late 2010, Nissan LEAF is the world's top-selling electric vehicle. As part of the company's commitment to sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Nissan has conducted multiple research projects in Japan, the U.S. and Europe to use LEAF batteries outside the vehicle through 4R Energy, a joint-venture with Sumitomo Corp. formed in 2010. In a new stationary storage application powered by Green Charge's intelligent software and Power Efficiency Agreement™, the second-life energy storage unit has a cost advantage over traditional units, opening up new markets where incentive programs are currently not offered.

Weekly Recap: Ferrari, Ford and Porsche power up for Geneva

Monday was Groundhog Day. Tuesday, apparently, was Sports Car Day. The Ferrari 488 GTB, the Ford Focus RS and the Porsche Cayman GT4 all debuted within hours of each other ahead of their rollouts at the Geneva Motor Show. Three sporty machines, three vastly different approaches – and a lot of implications for enthusiasts. That's a day worth repeating. It also illustrates the opportunities automakers see in the performance market, which is expected to grow in the coming years. Ford estimates the segment has expanded 14 percent in Europe and surged 70 percent in North America since 2009. The Detroit Auto Show was evidence of this, and performance cars of every stripe debuted, including the Acura NSX, Ford GT, Alfa Romeo 4C Spider and several others. This isn't a fad. Performance cars aren't going away. The question is why? Stricter CAFE standards are looming in the United States, as are tighter emissions regulations in Europe. And no one expects gas prices to remain low in America. None of this matters for sports cars, and automakers are increasingly using them to elevate their images. That's why Dodge rolled out two 707-horsepower Hellcats last year. It's why Ford has decided to resurrect the GT for road and track. It's why in the depths of bankruptcy, General Motors continued work on the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, not to mention the Z06. "Great brands are made one car at a time," Ford of Europe president Jim Farley said at the reveal of the Focus RS. Still, companies make those cars for different reasons. View 5 Photos Mainstream brands like Ford and Dodge want to build cars that get people talking, excite their bases and drive more potential customers into the showroom. They probably don't buy a Focus RS or a Hellcat, but suddenly the regular Focus hatch looks a bit hotter, and that V6 Charger seems to be just a touch more muscular. The halo of performance is alive and well in the eyes of automakers and their customers. "It's one of the most effective catalysts for ingenuity and innovation," said Joe Bakaj, vice president of product development for Ford of Europe. That also leads to a trickle-down effect. Some of the technologies inevitably make their way to other products. It's hard to think the new all-wheel-drive system in the Focus RS that distributes torque front to rear and side to side won't be used in other vehicles. It's different for Ferrari and Porsche.