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Nissan Leaf's No Charge To Charge now available in Boston

Depending on where you buy your all-electric Nissan Leaf, there's a pretty sweet deal attached. In some parts of the US – most recently, now also in Boston, MA – new Leafs come with the "No Charge To Charge" program, which allows drivers to recharge their batteries at some public charging stations for free. Today's announcement that Boston will join the program brings the total number to 17 area, and Nissan has said it will eventually expand No Charge To Charge to at least 25 markets in the US by the end of the year. As Nissan representatives explained when the program was first announced at the 2014 New York Auto Show, there are limits on the program. Without paying, you can plug your new Leaf into a public CHAdeMO DC fast charger for a maximum of 30 minutes and just one hour at Level 2 stations. You can find a list of No Charge stations from companies like ChargePoint, Blink, AeroVironment, and NRG eVgo here. Related Video: CALLING ALL BOSTONIANS: NISSAN'S "NO CHARGE TO CHARGE" PROGRAM ARRIVES IN BEAN TOWN BOSTON (July 6, 2015) – Nissan is launching its "No Charge to Charge" promotion for Boston-area Nissan LEAF buyers, providing two years complimentary public charging with the purchase of the all-electric car from LEAF-certified dealers in the Boston market. "Nissan LEAF is an attractive option for Boston car buyers because it is fun to drive and offers significantly lower operating costs when compared to a gas-powered car," said Andrew Speaker, director, Electric Vehicle (EV) Sales & Marketing, Nissan. "EV charging infrastructure continues to grow in Boston, and access to free public charging for new LEAF buyers helps make owning an all-electric vehicle even more cost-effective and convenient." "No Charge to Charge" launches at Nissan LEAF dealers in the Boston market on July 1. The promotion includes access to fast chargers that can charge a LEAF battery pack from empty to 80 percent in about 30 minutes, as well as level 2 (240V) chargers spread throughout the Boston area. Nissan now offers "No Charge to Charge" in 17 U.S. markets, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Fresno, Seattle, Portland (Oregon), Chicago, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Nashville, Phoenix, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Denver and Washington, D.C. Nissan plans to offer the "No Charge to Charge" program at LEAF dealers in a total of at least 25 U.S. markets later this year.

Infiniti brand will finally make its debut in Japan, but not the name

Nissan left the automotive media scratching its collective head when it announced that its Infiniti luxury brand would be renaming all of its vehicles, with cars wearing the Q designation and CUVs/SUVs wearing the QX badge. So the G Sedan became the Q50, and the G Coupe became the Q60. The QX56, meanwhile, became the QX80, and the FX crossover became the QX70. It is still thoroughly confusing nearly a year later.
Not content to confuse its US customers alone, Nissan will be fiddling with the name of one of its most revered Japanese-market models - the Skyline. Rebadged for the US as the Q50, and before that as the G Sedan/Coupe, the new Skyline will wear an Infiniti badge. What makes this truly confusing, though, is that the car won't be called the Infiniti Skyline, despite its badging. It won't even be called the Nissan Skyline, anymore. It's now just the Skyline. Apparently, Nissan thinks it can capitalize on the Skyline's link to the Japanese royal family (the Skyline was originally a product of Prince Motors, which provided vehicles for the Emperor and his family), by ditching any brand names and referring to it as its own model, according to Automotive News.
Now, confusion aside, there are things about Infiniti badging in Japan that make sense. Badging all the Nissans that eventually become Infinitis as Infinitis in the first place goes a long way to make the brand seem separate and distinct from its parent company. Speaking to AN, Infiniti's executive vice president of global product planning, Andy Palmer, puts it this way, "We have to treat Infiniti, if you will, in the same [way] that Volkswagen treats Audi. It's not a Nissan-plus. Infiniti has to stand head-to-head with any of those German competitors."

Ford and Lincoln design honcho leaves to head Nissan North America design

Last Friday, David Woodhouse suddenly resigned from his dual positions as Ford's director of global strategic design and director of Lincoln design. In a post not long after leaving, he praised the efforts of his former team over the past six years he headed design at Lincoln. Among other products, that crew gave us the redesigned Navigator, the Continental concept and production sedan, and the Aviator concept and production crossover. Car Design News reports Woodhouse traded Michigan for California, taking the role of VP at Nissan Design America in San Diego. He officially assumes the position July 1, and will also serve on the Japanese automaker's Global Nissan Design Management Committee. Woodhouse has spent more than 25 years in the design department, starting with BMW and work on the Mini and Range Rover brands, followed by a brief stint with Cadillac of Europe. For the past 20 years he's been with Ford, coming on board with the Ford's former luxury arm known as the Premier Automotive Group — Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, Volvo and Lincoln. He became Lincoln's design director in 2013, introducing the world to the design language labeled "quiet flight." He described the language's details as "anti-wedge body gestures, S-curves wherever possible, and an emphasis on horizontal lines at every opportunity to create leaner, longer, wider emphasis on the exteriors, and create equilibrium, balance, and calmness on the interiors." A much shorter way to describe it is: revitalized Lincolns. The U.S. luxury maker's new and overhauled products have been praised for their lines by critics and by paying customers. The brand's done so well it's hard to remember when the MKC concept was a revelation, and that goes on Woodhouse's resume, too. That's some special juju to take to Nissan, where Woodhouse will lead both Nissan and Infiniti design focused on the North American region. Nissan has a solid if uninspiring lineup that sells well here, while Infiniti, as the luxury brand, is the bigger issue. Infiniti sedans glide on the contrails of a design language more than 10 years old. The money-making crossovers and SUVs haven't made a splash in about the same time, since the long-ago FX45. Nissan's plan to update 70 percent of its lineup over the next few years and Infiniti's transition to an all-electric brand makes right now the perfect time to break into riveting designs for the street. Woodhouse replaces Taro Ueda, who moves into a global role with Nissan.