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Convocation of eagles takes over bed of Nissan pickup

Let this be a lesson to those of you who plan to visit Unalaska, Alaska (yes, it's a real city on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands): If you park at Safeway with a garbage bag full of fish fillets in your pickup's bed, the eagles will find you. That's what happened above when an unidentified man parked his Nissan and returned to find a convocation of bald eagles feasting on his fish.
Neither the man nor those parked near his truck could get to their cars for fear of getting a beatdown from The 'Murica Bird, and police were called to break it up, which they did with neither beast nor fowl injured in the process.
Other than being awesome watching, other things we can take away from this video are the question who comes up with bird gathering names (a "murmuration" of herons and an "unkindness" of ravens?), and the bounty of this comment left by user "Abraham" at the KUCB news report: "It's just that the luxury edition has so much more eagle, it saddens me to think of you missing out." See what caused it all in the video below.

Recharge Wrap-up: Nissan, Tesla report CO2 savings, rare earth metal recycling simplified

A new process simplifies the recycling of rare earth metals. While the strong magnetic properties of metals like neodymium and dysprosium make them useful in electric vehicles traction motors, there are concerns about their availability and the environmental costs of mining them. Researchers at University of Pennsylvania have developed an easier method to recycle those metals that is less energy intensive and more cost effective. "We have designed a way to separate the two metals by selectively dissolving the neodymium in a solution and leaving behind the dysprosium as a solid," says Justin Bogart, a graduate student working on the project. "This quick and easy method has allowed us to separate equal mixtures of the metals into samples that are 95 percent pure." Now the team is working to improve that level of purity. Read more from University of Pennsylvania. Nissan Leaf drivers in Europe have saved over 55,000 tons of CO2 emissions. Worldwide, the 178,074 Leafs sold account for the prevention of over 293,000 tons of CO2 emissions so far. That equates that to the neutralizing effect of 19 million trees. Besides the positive effects on environmental and noise pollution that switching to electric mobility provides, Nissan also points out that it's good business, too. EVs like the Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 cost about 40 percent less than combustion vehicles to maintain, and the cost of electricity is substantially lower than that of fossil fuels. Additionally, Nissan has published a video of the Leaf touring Bristol to celebrate the greening of European cities with the help of electric vehicles. See the video, and read more from Nissan. Tesla customers have driven a cumulative 1 billion miles. Together, nearly 75,000 Model S drivers have prevented more than 570,000 tons of CO2 emissions worldwide. To put that in perspective, a billion miles is the equivalent of 4,186 trips to the moon, and almost 40,000 trips around the Earth. In the UK, where the Model S is celebrating its one-year anniversary, drivers have already accumulated 6.6 million miles. Tesla is celebrating its milestone with the Next Billion Miles Tour, hosting hands-on events and test drives in 80 cities across North America, Europe and Asia. See the video from Tesla above, visit the One Billion Miles microsite and read more in the press release below.

Why a Renault-FCA merger could be good news for Nissan, Mitsubishi

TOKYO — Nissan's advanced technologies including platforms and electric powertrains could give it leverage in a merger involving Renault and Fiat Chrysler, thanks to a royalty system it has with the former, two people with knowledge of the matter said. A merged Renault-Fiat Chrysler could face an extra hurdle each time it uses technology developed by Nissan or Mitsubishi Motors, while the two Japanese automakers stand to gain a client in Fiat Chrysler (FCA), one of the people said. Both sources declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. Nissan's technology, particularly in electrification and emissions reduction, could give it some sway in the $35 billion potential tie-up between Renault and FCA, even as its stake in the newly formed company would be diluted. Currently Renault SA pays less for technology developed by Nissan than the Japanese automaker pays for French technology, a third person said. This has long been a sticking point for Nissan, and an area where Nissan could seek more favorable terms. "Whenever Nissan transfers platform, powertrain or other technology to Renault, there is a margin or royalty which Renault has to pay for use of that tech," one of the people said. "In that sense, FCA, if everything went well, would become another 'client' of ours and that's good. More business for us." A Nissan spokesman declined to comment on its royalty system. The potential Renault-FCA deal has complicated the Japanese automaker's already uneasy alliance with Renault. A further deal with Fiat Chrysler looks likely at least in the near term to weaken Nissan's influence in the 20-year-old partnership. Renault owns a 43.4% stake in Nissan and is its top shareholder. Nissan holds a 15% non-voting stake in Renault and would see that diluted to 7.5% after the FCA deal, albeit with voting rights. The imbalance between the two has long rankled Nissan, which is by far the larger company. Alliance imbalance Renault had previously angled for a merger with Nissan but has been rebuffed by CEO Hiroto Saikawa. Securing benefits from the merger deal will be important for Saikawa, who is grappling with poor financial performance while he struggles to right the company after the ouster of former chairman Carlos Ghosn last year.