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Nissan quietly, quickly installing more CHAdeMO stations

Nissan Leaf electric-vehicle sales continue to grow. And the number of US fast-charging stations that the Leaf can use are growing, well, faster. As it should be. Nissan has made good on its early-2013 vow to help ensure that the number of CHAdeMO stations in the US tripled by mid-2014, with Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Dallas emerging as the most prevalent US markets, Green Car Reports says. In fact, the number of such stations, which can charge a Leaf to 80-percent battery capacity in about a half hour, has jumped to 633 from about 160 as of January 2013. About 180 are at Nissan dealerships, and that number should continue to surge since Nissan plans to aggressively add fast-charging stations through next March. Nissan spokesman Brian Brockman, in an e-mail to AutoblogGreen, confirmed those numbers and added that companies such as NRG, through its eVgo program, are also adding fast chargers throughout the country. The continued increase is good news for drivers of the Mitsubishi i (okay, we admit, there are not that many of them out there) and future drivers of the Kia Soul EV, as both of the models are CHAdeMO-compatible. Granted, the US has nothing on Europe, where the number of CHAdeMO stations has jumped to more than 1,000 from about 600 stations early last year. Nissan expects the continent to have about 1,800 fast-charging stations by year end. Still, the number of US CHAdeMO stations dwarfs the number of Tesla Motors' Supercharger stations, which total about 100.

Nissan Leaf sales up again in February, Chevy Volt dips deeper

Nissan managed to buck the industry's overall trend of lower sales in February with double-digit growth throughout its lineup. That includes a 12th month of record sales for the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle, with the year-over-year numbers up more than a skosh. The February ledger for the Chevy Volt looked much worse, falling 25.6 percent from February 2013 down to 1,210 units. With 1,425 Leafs sold, Nissan came away the winner in a head-to-head competition between these the two early plug-in vehicles for the fourth month in a row. Nissan expects the Leaf's sales momentum continue in March. February Leaf sales were up 118.2 percent, making 2014 the car's best February ever. The car was most popular in San Francisco, CA and Atlanta, GA, two places where the the brutal winter cold that struck most of the country had a limited effect. Nissan said that other markets with notable Leaf sales growth were Honolulu, HI, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX and Denver, CO. Toby Perry, Nissan's director of EV sales and marketing, said in a statement that Nissan, "amped up advertising in the latter half of February, which already has resulted in an uptick in sales and a significant increase in shopping traffic. We expect to see that momentum continue in March." The Volt retains an overall sales lead against the Leaf, but Chevy's calendar year-to-date sales numbers are down 23.1 percent so far in 2014. Overall, Chevy's sales calendar YTD numbers were down just 7.7 percent, so the Volt is performing below average. As always, we will have a more complete report of last month's green car sales up in short order. Green GM Nissan Electric Hybrid PHEV ev sales

Farmer moves illegally parked car with tractor

Bad parking in London can get you a ticket or the boot, but bad parking in the West Country is treated in a more direct manner. One motorist learned this fact in early May when a video published by The Daily Mail showing a farmer moving a car with his tractor went viral. Lianne Dunn and Ally Boxall were out for a drive near Marksbury when they came upon a strange sight. Coming at them down the narrow country lane was a tractor with a red Mazda6 perched on its front-end loader attachment. One of the women pulled out her cell phone and filmed the odd scene while the other backed into a convenient driveway to let the tractor past. As the tractor trundled by with its load, they asked the young man guiding the driver what was going on. "They parked in this chap's drive," he said in his broad, West Country burr. "He asked us to move the car, nobody claimed it." When asked where the pair were taking the car, the unnamed farmer replied, "We're going to put it up on the main road. It's the police's problem then." The two women, obviously entertained by the spectacle, exchange a few more words with the young farmer before they finally drive off. "This is the best!" one of the women says as on the video. "Never piss a farmer off!" News Source: The Daily Mail, The Western Gazette Humor Weird Car News Mazda Nissan Driving Diesel Vehicles Sedan parking tractor farmer