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Man sells testicle to buy Nissan 370Z

We aren't entirely sure what's stranger about this story - that a man actually sold a vital piece of his manhood for a car, or that he did it for a Nissan 370Z. That's not to discredit the trusty Fairlady, a car we generally like, but that if we were to do what Mark Parisi did and sell one of his testicles to science, we'd be asking for a helluva lot more than $35,000.
But Parisi did just that, and announced live on CBS' The Doctors (we really can't make this up) that the sale of his nut would go towards the purchase of a Z. According to our friends Down Under (Australia, get your mind out of the gutter), $35K is the going rate for one slightly used testicle, so if you get nothing else from this story, gentlemen, know that you have $70,000 swinging between your legs.

Recharge Wrap-up: Comparing Nissan Leaf performance by climate, natural gas iffy for trucks

A new Carnegie Mellon University study looks at the effects of regional climate variations on the Nissan Leaf. The study shows (unsurprisingly) that the ambient temperatures of different regions have effects on battery performance and the use of climate control, both of which affect range. Efficiency and grid mix determine regional differences in emissions per mile. CMU enumerated many of the differences in performance across the US. For instance, on the coldest day of the year, maximum range can be 70 miles on the Pacific Coast, while it is less than 45 miles in the Upper Midwest. These differences in efficiency can also affect adoption patterns. Read more at Green Car Congress. Battery charger manufacturer CTEK has licensed WiTricity wireless charging technology. CTEK looks to commercialize the wireless power transfer tech for use with electric vehicle batteries, making the "plug-in" aspect of EV charging unnecessary. WiTricity's charging technology stands out for its ability for distance charging via magnetic near field. "We are excited to be on the forefront of the next generation of battery charging products for consumers and industry, and look forward to leveraging WiTricity's ground-breaking technology to bring a new level of convenience and ease of use to market," says CTEK CEO Jon Lind. Wireless charging is convenient for the public, but also especially useful for emergency vehicles, which need to be ready at a moment's notice but also keep electrical systems online while the car is parked. Read more at Green Car Congress or at the WiTricity website. Switching heavy trucking fleets from diesel to natural gas could make economic sense, but the environmental benefits aren't as certain, according to a new study from UC Davis and Rice University. Certain regions - particularly California, the Great Lakes and mid-Atlantic regions - could benefit from the switch with minimal investment. "But to have an environmental advantage for reducing greenhouse gas emissions would take significant policy intervention," says Amy Myers Jaffe, executive director for Energy and Sustainability at UC Davis. This would mean stricter efficiency standards for natural gas trucks, as well as stronger regulations for methane leakage. Read more in the press release from UC Davis below.

Nissan to make 85% of the vehicles it sells here in US

We could be in for a big push from Nissan in the manufacturing realm if Vice President of US Sales and Marketing Fred Diaz has anything to say about it. Speaking to the Automotive Press Association recently, Diaz (above) expressed a desire to build some 85 percent of the vehicles Nissan sells to Americans in the US, claiming it will happen "in the very near future." Nissan has already moved to increase exports of its US-built products, and in 2013, it built just over 76 percent of the models it sold in this market within our country's borders.
"Any issues of us taking advantage of the value of the yen, we want to dispel that," Diaz told reporters, pointing out the contentious issue of currency manipulation. There's also the obvious goal of positive PR - Americans like things made in America, and they like companies that invest in America. Diaz is quick to point out that Nissan had done just that: "While a lot of people retrenched [during the recession], instead we leaned into it and we continued investing and in fact made over $5 billion in investments, bringing a lot of production from Japan to the United States and to Mexico," Diaz said, pointing out that Nissan has helped create 8,000 jobs through its investments.
Nissan runs three factories in the US, two in Tennessee and one in Mississippi. Between the three, production is up 22 percent, while the overall exports from the facilities have increased by 100,000 units, Diaz told reporters.