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Chevy Volt has worst sales month since August 2011, Nissan Leaf also down

January is traditionally a time when new car shoppers take a break. For the last few years, if we isolate our focus to just the first two major plug-in cars in the US market, we see that the first month of the year was lower – often dramatically lower – than the 11 that followed. So, when you see the Chevy Volt dropped and Nissan Leaf sales figures for January 2015, don't be too surprised. The Volt sold only 542 units last month, that model's lowest since August 2011. That also represents a 41 percent drop from January 2014, and it reinforces the thought that if anyone out there is interested in a new Volt, they're going to be waiting for the new model to drop later this year. While we do expect sales to climb in February and into spring, we won't be surprised if the general Volt trend remains quiet until the second-generation arrives. On the Leaf side of the ledger, January's low sales numbers were still about twice as high as the Volt's – the Leaf sold 1,070 units last month, the lowest since February 2013 – but it did break a streak for the Japanese automaker. Usually, each month represents at least an increase over the same month a year ago, but that wasn't the case this time. In January 2014, Nissan sold 1,252 Leafs. Still, Brendan Jones, Nissan's director of electric vehicle sales and infrastructure, issued an upbeat statement: "We saw a significant increase in demand in December from Nissan Leaf customers looking to take advantage of federal and state incentives at the end of the tax year, which pulled some sales ahead. We're confident that EV sales will continue to rise over time due to increasing emission regulations and other reasons for purchase of EVs such as lower operating costs, reducing dependence on foreign energy sources, environmental concerns and a great driving experience." The numbers will tell us soon enough. News Source: General Motors, Nissan Green Chevrolet Nissan Electric Hybrid ev sales brendan jones

Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato and GMC Acadia driven | Autoblog Podcast #837

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Electric, John Beltz Snyder. They're both jazzed after driving the off-road-ish and totally sublime Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato. John recently drove the new GMC Acadia, Greg spent some time in the Toyota Camry, and they also discuss Autoblog's long-term Subaru WRX. In the news, the Porsche 918 Cayman and Boxster are reportedly ending production, while it's officially the end of the road for the Nissan GT-R and Volvo S60. Fisker has officially filed for bankruptcy. Cadillac has shown off a couple cool Blackwing special editions in honor of Le Mans. Finally, we reach in the mailbag and help a listener pick a sporty convertible in this week's Spend My Money segment. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #837 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving: 2024 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato 2024 GMC Acadia 2025 Toyota Camry Long-term 2023 Subaru WRX Porsche 718 Cayman and Boxster allegedly end production in October 2025 2024 Nissan GT-R the final year for the U.S. market 2025 Volvo S60 the last model year for the sedan in the U.S. Fisker files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing 'Le Monstre' and CT4-V Blackwing Petit Pataud limited editions celebrate Le Mans Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Podcasts Cadillac Fisker GMC Lamborghini Nissan Porsche Subaru Toyota Volvo Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Hybrid Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Supercars Sedan

Nissan IDx Nismo and IDx Freeflow concepts are a bridge to the Datsun 510

We're not sure if someone from The Adjustment Bureau stopped by Nissan's PR department to explain the IDx Nismo and IDx Freeflow concepts, but the company's odd press release can't diminish our love for these two show favorites. We had been told to look out for an unnamed Datsun 510 BRE homage, and once we saw the brothers IDx, we knew we'd found them. But the press release doesn't mention anything about the Datsun 510 Brock Racing Enterprises, nor does it mention one Mr. Peter Brock, the man who won two Trans-Am championships in the Seventies for the nascent Japanese budget brand.
Instead, it declares that the cars were the result of a co-creation product development process with "digital natives," said natives being the whippersnappers born after 1990. Nissan says it worked with the young'uns to create two different expressions of "their desire for a basic, authentic configuration for a car." If that's true, it appears that what the kiddies really want are... two different homages to the Datsun 510 BRE that Peter Brock used to win two championships in the seventies for the nascent Japanese brand.
The IDx Freeflow - the "ID" is for "identification," the "x" is "the variable representing the new values and dreams born through communication" - takes the casual approach, with a light khaki exterior hue, a minimalist interior decked out in denim and a console shifter that works a continuously variable transmission. The IDx Nismo is out for blood, from its crimson interior to its five-point harness to its bolt-on flares and sidepipes. We aren't told what the digital natives requested for powerplants, but that's alright; if this is what "co-creation" looks like, we're not entirely against it except where that "CVT" is involved.