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Deltawing takes out second ad targeting Nissan amidst design lawsuit

Don Panoz isn't a guy shy away from a fight. Since December, Panoz's Deltawing Technologies has been in a lawsuit with Nissan over alleged intellectual property violations with the design of the Zeod RC. The situation went public several weeks ago when Deltawing bought an ad in The Tennessean, a paper near Nissan's US headquarters, and the industry trade, Automotive News, aimed squarely at company CEO Carlos Ghosn.
Now, Deltawing is trying the tactic a second time with an even more scathing ad in The Tennessean on July 11 and in Automotive News on July 14 that calls the Zeod's design out directly. The bulletin puts the two racecars side by side and asks readers compare their similarities.
According to Deltawing spokesperson Gary Fong, the idea for these ads started after mediation between the company and Nissan broke down earlier this year. "We were trying to bring them to settle it amicably," he said to Autoblog. When that didn't happen, Deltawing wanted to fight the misconceptions in the public about the program and lawsuit. The strategy actually worked, too. "We've seen an opinion change," said Fong. He estimates that before the advertisements the attitude was "90 percent against Panoz," but there has been more support since them.

Nissan installs 1,000th CHAdeMO fast charger in Europe

While the European Union hasn't been very supportive of CHAdeMO stations, the fast chargers are seeing significant growth in the European electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, with Nissan installing number 1,000 at the Roadchef Clacket Lane Services in Surrey, UK recently. In the past year, the number of CHAdeMO fast chargers nearly doubled in Europe, starting from about 600 stations in early 2013, and that's helping make EVs more useful. Nissan says that installation of a CHAdeMO station along Norway's E18 highway increased EV use eightfold there in the 18-month period after that station was installed. The new CHAdeMO station in the UK is available to use for free and, like other CHAdeMO stations, can charge a Nissan Leaf or other compatible EV up to an 80-percent charge in just under 30 minutes. Japanese automakers like Nissan and Mitsubishi are dedicated to the CHAdeMO but German and US automakers continue to support a competing technology in Europe and abroad, the SAE Combo DC fast charger. Tesla Motors has covered all the bases as it rolls out its $1,000 CHAdeMO adapter for its Supercharger stations. Nissan worked with Ecotricity, a UK green energy firm considered to be a pioneer in EV charging, for the Surrey installation. Nissan says that installing it on the M25 highway south of London helps EV drivers gain easy access to Kent and onward into Europe on one of the busiest roads in Europe. That will help drivers of the Leaf and the upcoming Nissan e-NV200 electric van to quickly extend their journeys, said Jean Pierre Diernaz, Nissan's director of electric vehicles, in the press release available below. 1,000th CHAdeMO standard quick charger installed in the UK UK has 18% of Europe's electric vehicle quick chargers Charger provides free, zero carbon electricity from Ecotricity Chargers recharge electric cars from 0-80% in 30 minutes Nissan has announced 1,000 CHAdeMO quick chargers have now been installed in Europe with the commissioning of the charger at the Roadchef Clacket Lane Services in Surrey, UK. The fast charging unit can recharge the batteries of compatible* electric vehicles - including the 100% electric Nissan LEAF - from zero to 80 percent charge in just 30 minutes, and at zero cost. The installation of the fastest type of chargers dramatically increases the uptake and usage of electric vehicles.

NHTSA urges owners of recalled Takata airbag vehicles to take immediate action

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Department of Transportation are taking the unusual step of issuing a followup press release urging owners of certain recalled vehicles "to act immediately" to fix their cars and trucks. The problem in question concerns the repair campaigns for rupturing Takata airbag inflators issued in June and covers a long list of models from Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Acura, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Infiniti, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Oldsmobile and Pontiac.
While NHSTA doesn't specifically say why the recall is vital in the new release, Toyota's own explanation in its newly announced renotification campaign earlier today sheds some new light on the topic. According to the Japanese automaker, in testing, Takata found a possible link between the rupturing airbag inflators and high humidity. NHTSA is advocating that all owners pursue repairs immediately if they haven't already done so already. This is especially crucial for those drivers especially in Florida, Puerto Rico, Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Virgin Islands and Hawaii because of the humid conditions there.
We don't need to tell you how dangerous an inadvertent airbag deployment could be - even in a stationary vehicle - but adding to the Takata issue is fears that the deployment could lead to shrapnel being sprayed into the cabin.