2006 Nissan Murano Sl Awd_56k_navi_moon_back-up Cmra_htd Seats_bose_no Reserve on 2040-cars

Auto blog

California has sold 102,440 EVs since Volt, Leaf went on sale in 2010

Last July, Plug In America declared that a Mitsubishi i-MiEV in Alabama was the 100,000th electric vehicle sold in the US. Today, the California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative announced that that many EVs have now been sold in California alone. To celebrate the milestone – which was actually 102,440 EVs sold in the Golden State between when the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf were introduced in late 2010 and the end of August 2014 – we spoke with some of the key players in moving the battery-powered metal off of the dealer lots and into driver's driveways. CARB's Mary Nichols drives a Honda Fit EV, and said that in LA, it's no longer "a weird thing." The chairman of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Mary Nichols, took a broad overview. Nichols herself drives a Honda Fit EV, and said that in her home of Los Angeles, that's no longer "a weird thing." She told AutoblogGreen that, "The industry people that we work with are very clear about this, they think the electric cars sell themselves, in terms of their driveability and attractiveness, if you can get a person into one," she said. "The best way to get a person into one is for them to see it somewhere, and that's really what we're celebrating here. As you get to critical mass, and I think 100,000 vehicles is getting to that point, people start looking at these as an option as opposed to something that they walked into the dealership already wanting to get." Given CARB's support of hydrogen vehicles as well as EVs, we had to ask Nichols when she thought H2 would hit the 100,000-vehicle milestone. She declined to answer that question, but did say that, "Hydrogen vehicles are just beginning to be available in the market. They are just being very selectively and even more cautiously introduced than plug-in vehicles because of concerns that customers will have a good experience, and a good experience means that there has to be an adequate supply of fueling stations," she said. "There has been a lot of expression of interest and support and vision in this direction but we are just at the beginning stages, where we were with plug-in vehicles a few years ago. It's going to take a while." If you ask Nissan's Brendan Jones how a state can support a new technology like plug-in vehicles, he will point to how EVs were rolled out in California. Turns out, the company has learned a lot from selling so many Leafs there.

2016 Nissan Maxima launches production in Tennessee

The 2016 Nissan Maxima saw its big debut at the end of the brand's 90-second Super Bowl commercial this year. However, we didn't get the full details about the latest generation of the model marketed as the four-door sports car until the recent New York Auto Show. Now just a few weeks later, the sedans are rolling down the assembly line in Smyrna, TN, and they should hit the road this summer. "Today's launch of the all-new Maxima is the beginning of an exciting year for Nissan's US lineup, with new versions of the Altima, Sentra and Titan due later this year," John Martin, Nissan's senior vice president for manufacturing, supply chain management and purchasing, said in the production announcement. The sedan's revised 3.5-liter V6 is also made in Tennessee at Nissan's Decherd Powertrain Plant. The 2016 Maxima certainly looks different than other mainstream sedans with its prominent V-shaped grille, slashing headlights and floating roof. Prices start at $32,410, plus $825 for destination. For that, customers get a 300-horsepower V6 that's connected to what Nissan claims is a "performance-oriented" CVT. The latest model is also estimated to get 30 miles per gallon on the highway. NISSAN BEGINS PRODUCTION OF EIGHTH-GENERATION MAXIMA "4-DOOR SPORTS CAR" IN TENNESSEE NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Nissan's Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant continues its reign as the top-producing automotive plant in North America, as Gov. Bill Haslam, U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander and Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd joined plant employees to celebrate the start of production for the all-new 2016 Nissan Maxima. "When Nissan came to Tennessee more than 30 years ago, there were almost no auto jobs in the state," said Alexander. "Three decades later, about one-third of our manufacturing jobs are auto related, auto suppliers have located in 80 counties, and our family incomes are higher. I want to thank Nissan for providing opportunities for thousands of talented Tennesseans." The first U.S.-assembled Maxima rolled off the assembly line in Smyrna in January 2003. Since then, Nissan has produced nearly 800,000 Maxima sedans at the plant, with more than 60,000 shipped to markets worldwide. Maxima is one of six models currently built at the Smyrna plant and is assembled on the same line as the Altima midsize sedan and all-electric Nissan LEAF. Maxima's new 3.5-liter, VQ-series V6 engine is also assembled in Tennessee at Nissan's Decherd Powertrain Plant.

This is what happens when you drive your Nissan Leaf beyond empty

If you see an AAA truck bringing someone a can of extra gas, it's rarely a big deal, but when an EV driver runs out of charge, people pay attention. Whether its a writer for The New York Times or hardcore Tesla fans, people are curious about this newfangled technology and the things that could go wrong. "I don't know what the opposite of range anxiety is. Range annoyance?" – Robert Llewellyn Well, few people have more fun with their EV than Robert Llewellyn, the actor (best known for Red Dwarf) and star of his own pro-EV show Fully Charged. And he's good at educating people on the EVs as well. In the latest episode, he tries something in his first-gen Leaf that he's never done before: drive until the battery is completely empty. When the car just keeps on going well beyond the official range estimate, Llewellyn gets frustrated. "I don't know what the opposite of range anxiety is," he says. "Range annoyance?" After 91 miles, he finally comes to a stop. Watch the video below. In the end, all Llewellyn needed to do to get up and running again was to get towed home and plug in. A few hours later, he was ready to go, this time with his range estimate at 93 miles. Compare that with the dangers to your gas engine if you run out of gas and you might wonder why so many people worry about an EVs range. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.