2005 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx Lt Hatchback 4-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Nissan Leaf is now the best-selling plug-in vehicle of all time in US

Numbers don't lie. And in some instances, you can see their truth from miles away. As everyone expected, the Nissan Leaf is now officially the best-selling plug-in vehicle in the US. While the two vehicles aren't direct competitors (one's a pure EV and the other is a plug-in hybrid), they certainly dominate the plug-in vehicle sales charts. When we do a little math on those charts, we see that since the two vehicles went on sale at the end of 2010, the Volt has sold 75,231 units while the Leaf is now at 76,407, giving the Leaf a 1,176-vehicle lead. The Leaf trailed the Volt by just two units at the end of February. This is the first time the EV had held the overall lead since the end of February 2012, when it was ahead 10,847 to 9,623 and for a while there at the end of 2013, the Volt was up by around 12,000 units. Times have changed, though, and we don't expect the lead to switch back until the next-gen Volt goes on sale later this year, and even then nothing is certain. The Leaf sold 1,817 copies last month, a drop of 27.5 percent from last year. Year-to-date, the Leaf has sold 4,085 units, down 21.2 percent from the same time period in 2014. There were 639 Volts sold last month, a 56.8-percent sales decrease compared to March 2014. So far this year, Volt sales are down 48 percent. Green Chevrolet Nissan ev sales hybrid sales

2018 Mazda6, Porsche Panamera and Nissan Titan | Autoblog Podcast #541

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Green Editor John Beltz Snyder and Associate Editor Reese Counts. We talk about driving the updated, turbocharged 2018 Mazda6, 2018 Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo 4S Sport Turismo and the 2018 Nissan Titan S 4x4 King Cab. We also discuss aftermarket parts for the Chevy Colorado, pick our favorite 50th Anniversary Hot Wheels and, as always, help a listener buy a new car in our "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #541 Your browser does not support the audio element. Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we've been driving: Mazda6, Porsche Panamera, Nissan Titan The aftermarket takes on the Chevy Colorado 50th Anniversary Hot Wheels Spend my money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Aftermarket Podcasts Chevrolet Mazda Nissan Porsche Car Buying Truck Wagon Sedan Hot Wheels porsche panamera sport turismo

What we know, and think we know, about the 2016 Chevy Volt

With the next-gen Chevy Volt due to make an appearance at the Detroit Auto Show early next year, bits and pieces about the new car are making their way into the press. Perhaps most importantly, the new Volt is going to have better "fuel economy and efficiency," according to GM executive vice president Mark Reuss. The current Volt gets 98 MPGe and 37 miles per gallon on premium fuel. It also has a 38-mile electric-only range. We don't know how GM will improve the efficiency or to what degree, but the logical options include making the car lighter, giving it better aerodynamics and/or improving the powertrain. To that end, one of the big things we don't know for sure includes information on the new gas-powered engine. Forbes says it will be a downsized 1.0-liter, three-cylinder mill instead of the 1.4-liter, four-cylinder used in the current model, which could certainly help the car be more efficient. The new Volt is also going to have more technology, which shouldn't surprise anyone. GM is now openly talking about how it will change the way it markets the Volt, shifting away from the mass-market mentality to focus on the regions where the car is already popular. "There's a Northeast and West Coast market for Volt, and there's nothing wrong with that," Chevy chief marketing officer Tim Mahoney told Forbes. There are rumors that the new Volt will have seating for five by adding a seat in the back. This is something a lot of current Volt owners would love, but we've heard nothing official hinting that this would be the case. We expect the battery to be the new 17.1-kWh version, or maybe even have a capacity increase, so GM would have to seriously repackage the pack to eliminate the ridge that runs from between the front seats and then back to the rear two seats. If you've heard anything official, do let us know.