2014 Nissan Versa Note Sv Hatchback Cvt Only 1024 Miles on 2040-cars

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Nissan will expand free* charging incentive to 25 Leaf markets

Nissan has proof that giving away a bit of electricity makes buying a new Leaf all the more enticing. Thanks to a deal that offers free charging to some Leaf owners in Texas, one dealer there claims his Leaf sales have tripled. We don't see national sales climbing quite that high starting July 1 2014, but an announcement made today at the New York Auto Show will likely give the EV a boost. New Leaf buyers will get to charge for free at public chargers for two years. Within limits: a max of 30 minutes at CHAdeMO and an hour at Level 2 stations. Nissan will expand its "No Charge to Charge" promotion to at least 25 markets across the US. The deal means that new Leaf buyers will get to charge for free at public chargers that accept the new EZ-Charge card, within limits. That means a maximum of 30 minutes at CHAdeMO DC fast chargers and just one hour at Level 2 stations, Brendan Jones, director of Nissan EV infrastructure strategy and development, told AutoblogGreen. This should be plenty of time, Jones said, since the average Leaf driver comes to a CHAdeMO station with 35-40 percent state-of-charge on the battery and the average time they stay is around 16-17 minutes. A half hour is fine at a fast charger, since the battery will get to 80 percent full within that time, but we're less impressed with the one-hour limit at a Level 2 station, since that will only put maybe 20 miles into the battery. The EZ-Charge card is compatible with four of "the leading EV charging networks," which here means ChargePoint, Blink, AeroVironment and NRG eVgo. Nissan says the 25 markets make up over 80 percent of all the US Leaf sales. Anyone who buys a new Leaf in one of the specified markets - or bought one on or after April 1 of this year - will get the free-to-use EZ-Charge card (others can still get the card, which means only carrying one charger company fob instead of four). The promotion starts July 1 in 10 markets (San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Nashville, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Washington, DC) and then expands to the next 15 by the end of June, 2015. Nissan would not specify which markets these will be, but they will be where the Leaf is selling well and there are DC fast chargers. That means, we suspect, places like Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia and Atlanta.

2015 Nissan Murano: Introduction [w/video]

Right as winter turned to spring, a 2015 Nissan Murano was added to the Autoblog long-term test fleet. And while we'd like to report that it's been nothing but smooth sailing, the truth is, as we wrote this, the Murano was undergoing its second stint in the service bay at Suburban Nissan in Troy, MI. It only had 2,400 miles on the odometer. In fact, that's part of the reason why it's taken us so long to introduce this new member of the long-term fleet. After driving the new, third-generation Murano late last year, where we learned that Nissan thinks of its stylish crossover as the flagship for the brand, we decided to order one for a full year's worth of testing at Autoblog HQ. Right from the start, our Murano had problems. At 227 miles, the Check Engine Light illuminated. With no warning messages displayed in the car's onboard infotainment system, we took the Murano to the dealer, where a diagnostic check revealed a faulty O2 sensor. A new part was ordered and we were sent on our way. The Murano went back to the dealer, and now, that issue has been resolved. About 100 miles after the O2 sensor failed, the small storage cover on the center console broke. We aren't really sure how, since this small cubby hasn't had a whole lot of use. Rather than explain it in words, see what's going on in the video below. That's not the only issue we've had with the interior, either. We sort of expected the light, almost white leather to show signs of age during the year-long test, but even after just 2,400 miles, the seats are starting to look worn, with obvious discoloration showing on the driver's seat. What's interesting is, we never had this problem with the light-colored leather on our long-term 2013 Pathfinder. Beyond that, parts of the Murano's interior generally feel poorly put together. The door panels pull away upon light tugging (while closing the door, for example), some of the plastics creak, and we've noticed a few small rattles. Some of this is pretty alarming, especially considering the low mileage of our test car. But it stands to reason that these problems could've been baked in from the start. We're told our car had a couple of issues prior to delivery, and we've heard rumblings from other journalists that their test Muranos haven't been up to snuff. Our early impressions of the Murano were generally positive.

Takata air bag recall list

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed yesterday that 33.8 million vehicles with Takata airbags are going to be recalled. It's the largest recall in automotive history. The already record-breaking rate of automotive recalls this year shows no signs of slowing down, especially since millions of cars with defective airbags made by global supplier Takata are under ongoing scrutiny. The federal government is warning owners that inflator mechanisms in the air bags can rupture, causing metal fragments to fly out when the bags are deployed. The faulty air bags have already been blamed for multiple deaths. How do you know if your vehicle is safe? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released an updated list of vehicles under recall. Sometimes however, the government's website will crash and the list may not be complete. Check your VIN at the NHTSA website to make sure. The list of cars affected by the recall has not been released, but seem to span multiple models over the years for many of the automakers.