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Nissan presents NV200 is the brave new face of London taxis [w/video]

In most cities, just about any vehicle can serve as a taxi - so long as it meets the owner/operator's requirements for reliability, comfort and utility. But certain cities have their own unique taxis, and Nissan has been working hard to corner those markets. It has already designed specific taxis for such locations as New York, Barcelona and Tokyo, but its latest effort will bring a new Hackney Carriage to the streets of London.
A year and a half ago, Nissan displayed its NV200 on the streets of London in traditional black livery. But this new design takes the customization for the British capital one step further. Working closely with the mayor's office and with cab drivers across the city, Nissan's European design center in the Paddington district has reskinned the NV200 specifically to serve as the new black cab in London. The new face features round headlights, a new grille, LED lighting and a restyled front bumper. The steering has also been reconfigured to meet the 25-foot turning circle requirements for Hackney Carriages, as the black cabs are known on the streets of London.
The result is a distinctly British take on the NV200 taxi - one that we're guessing won't go without its fair share of controversy. Nissan will begin offering the black cab at the end of the year with a 1.6-liter gasoline engine mated to an automatic transmission, a powertrain said to be cleaner than the diesels used in existing taxis. And Nissan should know, having supplied many of those 2.7-liter turbodiesels in the '80s and '90s. But if that's not clean enough, the Japanese automaker will also begin selling an electric version, the e-NV200, starting next year. Watch the video clip and read the full details in the press release below.

Nissan Cube dead for 2015

Another class cut-up has graduated from our motor pool. The Nissan Cube's indefatigable weirdness was likely both its chief selling point and its Achilles Heel, but Autoblog sources say that after a six-year run in the US, the niche player has been scrubbed from the Japanese automaker's lineup.
The move is hardly unexpected - there was confirmation from Nissan Canada that it was pulling the plug on the asymmetric little front-driver in its market back in May, and sales have not exactly been sparkling here in the States, either. In June, Nissan shifted just 336 Cubes, down 23.8 percent year over year. So far this year, Nissan has sold 2,294 units, a sales pace off 30.9 percent versus 2013. At its peak in 2010, the Cube remained firmly a niche vehicle, selling 22,968 units.
Nissan North America's Dan Passe, senior manager of product communications, maintains that "We are continuing to sell the 2014 Cube and we haven't made an announcement about future model plans," but Autoblog sources indicate that an official announcement will be coming in the next couple of months, and the Cube has been conspicuously left off of an exhaustive 2015 lineup "Charting the Changes" announcement released on Tuesday.

Thanks to a year of free charges, Nissan Leaf sees sales increase in Texas

Nissan is pretty certain that free charging offers in the two largest metropolitan areas in Texas are substantially boosting sales of the Leaf electric vehicle. Heck, one Houston car dealer says Leaf sales have tripled because of the plan, which is run by NRG through its batch of eVgo Freedom Stations. Each of these stations has a fast-charging outlet and a standard Level 2 cord where EV drivers can plug-in without breaking out the wallet. Here's how the plan works: NRG is offering a year of free charging for those who buy or lease a Leaf in either the Houston or Dallas-Fort Worth areas. NRG has 17 stations in Houston and another 23 in DFW. Nissan pays NRG a fee for employing the program, and it's apparently paying off, Nissan's Brendan Jones told Plug In Cars. The stations are located at retailers such as Walgreens and at gas-station chains. The "No Charge to Charge" program started October 1 and runs through the end of this month. The promotion may be driving sales, but let's remember that Nissan was touting a rise in Leaf sales numbers before the free charging deal went into effect. Of course, the fun does eventually end, and folks have to start paying for the juice after that first year. Two options NRG offers are a 12-month unlimited charging plan for $39.95 a month or a year of unlimited one-hour sessions at a Level 2 a cool $59.95. Californians, there's sadly no word on Nissan or NRG bringing a similar program to the Golden State. Because we know you were wondering that.