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Nissan expands US EV test market for e-NV200 to Portland

Of course, it's going to be Portland. Oregon's largest city, known for its green-friendly vibe and policies, will be where Nissan will next test of its all-electric e-NV200 cargo van. And we hope those vans have cup holders for the inevitable java. The Japanese automaker is working with local utility company Portland General Electric (PGE) on a six-week trial program. Nissan and PGE will record data to better measure how the concept of battery-powered driving works within the local services network. The location makes sense, as Portland is one of the five best-selling US cities when it comes to sales of the Nissan Leaf, which shares its powertrain with the e-NV200. Nissan kicked off its "No Charge to Charge" free-charging program for new Leaf owners in April. Nissan, which had already been testing the e-NV200 with FedEx in Germany, Japan and Singapore as of late last year, said at the Washington Auto Show in January that it would start testing the electric van in the Washington, DC, area. Nissan said at the time that it helped install about 570 fast-charging CHAdeMO chargers throughout the US since last year, including 200 in December alone. Check out Nissan's press release about the Portland project below. LEADING EV MARKET PORTLAND BECOMES TEST BED FOR NISSAN E-NV200 ELECTRIC COMMERCIAL VEHICLE PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland, already a top breeding ground for electric vehicle (EV) sales, is now the proving ground for Nissan's prototype electric commercial vehicle – the Nissan e-NV200. Nissan is working in collaboration with Portland General Electric (PGE) on a six-week trial to help determine the viability of an electric commercial vehicle in the U.S market. PGE has assigned the e-NV200 into its fleet of vehicles with an underground crew, replacing a larger, diesel-powered van. "Oregon has been a top five market for Nissan LEAF sales in the U.S. due to proactive policies at the state level to encourage EV adoption, as well as robust charging infrastructure championed by the state and others like PGE," said Toby Perry, Nissan's director of EV Marketing in the U.S. "If we determine that e-NV200 fits into the U.S. commercial vehicle market, we expect that Portland would be a leading driver for sales as well." This year, Nissan is deploying two e-NV200 prototypes with companies such as PGE and FedEx in top U.S EV markets including California, Georgia, Oregon and Washington, D.C.

Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet being phased out, no replacement planned

Over the years, I've been given many nicknames - a few of them have even been repeatable around small children. One such moniker is "Mr. Other Makes," a title given to me because of my predilection for sifting through eBay Motors seeking out automotive misfits and orphans. I've got a soft spot for the dreamers and automakers who take big chances on beancounter-enraging flights of fancy.
I count Nissan among that bunch, because for every safe-as-houses Altima or Sentra that rolls out of its factory gates, the Japanese automaker has often secreted away a little funding for white-space niche vehicles that any sane person wouldn't expect to pencil out. Some, like the Juke, have proven to be massive hits. Others, like the GT-R, have become icons. And then there are models like the Murano CrossCabriolet, a segment-bending mashup the likes of which we haven't seen since the AMC Eagle Sundancer.
Yesterday, upon revealing the new third-generation Murano ahead of its New York Auto Show debut, we reported "the writing appears to be on the wall" for the midsize crossover's novel convertible cousin. It appears we were right. Autoblog can now confirm that the CrossCabriolet will die at the end of this model year, and our source at Nissan tells us unequivocally, "there is no plan for a next-generation Murano CC."

Autoblog's Editors' Picks: Our complete list of the best new vehicles

It's not easy to earn an “EditorsÂ’ Picks” at Autoblog as part of the rating and review process that every new vehicle goes through. Our editors have been at it a long time, which means weÂ’ve driven and reviewed virtually every new car you can go buy on the dealer lot. There are disagreements, of course, and all vehicles have their strengths and weaknesses, but this list features what we think are the best new vehicles chosen by Autoblog editors. We started this formal review process back in 2018, so there's quite of few of them now. So what does it mean to be an EditorsÂ’ Pick? In short, it means itÂ’s a car that we can highly recommend purchasing. There may be one, multiple, or even zero vehicles in any given segment that we give the green light to. What really matters is that itÂ’s a vehicle that weÂ’d tell a friend or family member to go buy if theyÂ’re considering it, because itÂ’s a very good car. The best way to use this list is is with the navigation links below. Click on a segment, and you'll quickly arrive at the top rated pickup truck or SUV, for example. Use the back button to return to these links and search in another segment, like sedans. If youÂ’ve been keeping up with our monthly series of the latest vehicles to earn EditorsÂ’ Pick status, youÂ’re likely going to be familiar with this list already. If not, welcome to the complete list that weÂ’ll be keeping updated as vehicles enter (and others perhaps exit) the good graces of our editorial team. We rate a new car — giving it a numerical score out of 10 — every time thereÂ’s a significant refresh or if it happens to be an all-new model. Any given vehicle may be impressive on a first drive, but we wait until itÂ’s in the hands of our editors to put it through the same type of testing as every other vehicle that rolls through our test fleet before giving it the EditorsÂ’ Pick badge. This ensures consistency and allows more voices to be heard on each individual model. And just so you donÂ’t think weÂ’ve skipped trims or variants of a model, we hand out the EditorsÂ’ Pick based on the overarching model to keep things consistent. So, when you read that the 3 Series is an EditorsÂ’ Pick, yes, that includes the 330i to the M3 and all the variants in between. If thereÂ’s a particular version of that car we vehemently disagree with, we make sure to call that out.