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Nissan Leaf sets another monthly sales record, Chevy Volt remains steady

Here we go again. Another month in the books and another month of record sales by the Nissan Leaf in the US. For October, the world's best-selling pure EV sold 2,589 units, which is 29.3 percent more than October 2013. That makes it 20 times in a row that Nissan can say that last month sales were better than the same month a year before. All told, Nissan has sold 24,411 Leafs in the US this year, a new record, reflecting an overall Leaf sales rate that is up 35 percent, year-to-date. Nissan isn't stopping, either. A new TV ad, one that, "encourages consumers to kick gas" by saving money on fuel will start airing today in major markets, according to Toby Perry, director of Nissan's EV marketing. You can watch it below. As for the Chevy Volt, things remained steady last month in the face of a new model that's coming in the second half of 2015. Chevy sold 1,439 Volts last month, which is about the same as September (1,394) but down 28.8 percent from the October 2013 despite GM having its best overall US October sales this year since 2007. So far, 2014 Volt year-to-date sales are down 14.9 percent through the end of October compared to 2013. And that wraps up the flash report on monthly sales for these two long-standing plug-in vehicles in the US market. As always, we'll have our in-depth write-up of US green car sales available soon. For now, we await your comments, below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

How and why Nissan nearly killed off Infiniti

Launched in 1990, Infiniti was expected to be Japan's answer to BMW (Lexus would end up chasing Mercedes-Benz). Yet things went awry almost right out of the gate. Overlooking the fledgling automaker's now infamous early marketing campaign, its product line over the past twenty-four years has been a roller coaster ride of strong hits (Q45, FX35 and G35) and frustrating misses (M30, I30 and QX4).
In a recent interview with Ward's Auto at the Detroit Auto Show, Nissan Executive Vice President Andy Palmer revealed that the company's luxury brand was almost cancelled by CEO Carlos Ghosn as unnecessary. Infiniti, like most premium marques owned by a volume manufacturer, had fallen into the trap of losing autonomy and pushing its high-end product just like its mainstream models.
The one obvious exception to this industry blunder, said Palmer, was VW Group's Audi brand. Realizing that Audi's impressive comeback over the past two decades shamed even that of actor Robert Downey Jr., Nissan hired Audi veteran Johan de Nysschen to bring Infiniti to its intended glory - and protect it from extinction. Check out the complete interview here.

Nissan Titan Wounded Warrior project lands in time for Veteran's Day

We last featured the crowdsourced Project Titan pickup back in September, back when Nissan revealed that its big, bruising custom pickup would take to the wilds of Alaska with a pair of veterans from the Wounded Warrior Project at the wheel.
Now, their journey across the wilds has been fully revealed as part of a 22-minute short film. David Guzman and Kevin McMahon are the pilots of the brutish truck, and while the film is ostensibly focused on the journey and the challenges that come with it, the release of the video on Veterans Day (Remembrance Day or Armistice Day, depending on where you're from), gives some indication to the dominant theme of the story - recovery.
The two travel across Alaska in the Titan on different missions, working with both veterans and civilians afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as supporters of the Wounded Warrior Project. From the avalanche-surviving photographer who's suffering from PTSD to an Air Force veteran who routinely takes recovering vets on fishing trips, the pair experience the many efforts at recovery and support throughout the course of the missions and their journey.