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Economy-car buyers increasingly get the best deal on technology

One of the great things about technology is – with the exception of Apple products – consumers get more for their money every year. For example, the first 1GB USB drive I bought in 2005 cost me $30. Today you can get 10 for that price, delivered to your door thanks to Amazon. The same goes for car tech. Features such as navigation and Bluetooth started out on high-end vehicles before trickling down to entry-level cars. Same with driver assist features ranging from rearview cameras to forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking — so now it's not only rich people who are protected in car crashes. I've found that this democratization of tech has reached a point where amenities on low-cost cars can be as good — and sometimes even better — than those on vehicles costing tens of thousands of dollars more. While attending a media event for the launch of the all-new 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback, I was impressed by the car's cool styling and go-kart performance. Equally noteworthy is the amount of standard tech on the low-cost hot hatch. (Pricing will be announced later this month, but expect it to come in a bit higher that the current Corolla iM's roughly $19,000 base.) Even the base SE CVT trim of the 2019 Corolla Hatchback comes with an 8-inch touchscreen and Toyota's Entune 3.0 infotainment system. Among other features, Entune 3.0 provides Wi-Fi capability, Amazon Alexa connectivity, the Entune App Suite for integration of smartphone apps such as Pandora and Yelp and, for the first time in a Toyota, Apple CarPlay (but no Android Auto). The 2019 Corolla Hatchback is also the first North American vehicle to get the second-generation Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) suite of driver assists that's also standard on the base model. TSS 2.0 includes Toyota's Pre-Collision System (forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking) with new daytime and low-light pedestrian detection and daytime cyclist detection features, lane keeping and lane departure alert with steering assist, auto high beams, adaptive cruise control, and road sign detection. While the 2019 Corolla Hatchback sets a new benchmark in standard tech on a budget-mobile, competing cars aren't far behind. The 2018 Honda Fit LX, for example, includes forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning and assist and adaptive cruise, while the automaker's Lane Departure Mitigation and Lane Watch camera system is added the two top trims.

Nissan plans to have 1,700 CHAdeMO chargers by April, 2016

Grab a bite, charge your Leaf. That's sort of the premise behind quick chargers that provide about 80 percent of single-charge driving range in about a half hour of charging. And Nissan says it's doing its part to expand the number of those stations to please its growing list of constituents. The first 160 quick chargers using the CHAdeMO standard were installed in the US three years ago and that number totals about 800 today. About 300 more will be added by April 1, and by April 1, 2016, the number of quick chargers could reach about 1,700. Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco are among the cities leading the way in quick-charger availability. The Japanese automaker, which started selling the Leaf in the US in late 2010, is doing other things to make it easier for Leaf owners to recharge, whether through quick chargers or standard ones. Last summer, Nissan launched its "No Charge to Charge" program that gives new Leaf buyers free charging at participating public charging stations for two years. A 34-percent jump in Leaf sales, which is what Nissan recorded in the US last year, will do that to a company. For some more specifics of the quick charging contingent, take a look at Nissan's press release below. Fact Sheet: Nissan's commitment to EV quick charging for LEAF drivers Since the launch of the Nissan LEAF in late 2010, Nissan has reinforced its commitment to zero emission mobility with investments in EV charging infrastructure to serve the needs of LEAF drivers in markets across the U.S. Nissan has a multi-pronged strategy to invest with charging partners to install quick charging for owners in the communities where they live and work, as well as at corporate workplaces and Nissan dealerships. Timeline of (CHAdeMO) quick charging rollout: - January 2013: Approximately 160 CHAdeMO chargers installed nationwide. - January 2015: More than 800 total U.S. quick chargers installed and active. - April 1, 2015: 1,100 quick chargers expected nationwide. - April 1, 2016: 1,700 quick chargers projected. "Access to quick chargers that can provide about 80 percent charge to a Nissan LEAF battery in less than 30 minutes has proved to increase our owner satisfaction and get more buyers to consider the benefits of an all-electric car," said Brendan Jones, Nissan's director of Electric Vehicle Sales and Infrastructure Deployment.

Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt sales both down in June

The best news you can slice out of today's sales reports for June 2015 is that things have to get better at some point. Most likely, sales of the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt will see a big increase once the second-generation models of both vehicles arrive (the Volt later this year and the Leaf, well, at some point after that). For now, though, the best-selling EVs in the US are both suffering compared to where the numbers were at last year. The numbers are also suffering compared to last month, which was the best of the year so far for both vehicles. Looking just at June, though, Leaf sales totaled 2,074 units, down 11.6 percent from a year ago (the EV sold 2,347 units in June 2014). The world's best-selling EV is now down 22.9 percent for the year so far (12,736 in 2014 vs. 9,816 in 2015). Things are a bit worse over at Chevy, where news about the pretty-much-better-in-all-ways second-gen Volt is coming out with great frequency. Nonetheless, people are still buying the outgoing Volt, snapping up 1,225 units in June. That's down 31.1 percent from the 1,777 sold in June 2014. So far in 2015, the Chevy has sold 5,622 Volts, a drop of 34.7 percent from the 8,615 Volts sold in the first six months of 2014. As always, we're working on our full tally of green car sales for June and will bring that to you shortly. For now, discuss the sales of these two plug-in pioneers in our Comments, below. News Source: GM, Nissan Green Chevrolet Nissan Hybrid ev sales