2000 Nissan Sentra Gxe Sedan 4-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

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Renault planning a Tata Nano rival. Again.

Four years ago, Renault confirmed that it would partner with India's Bajaj Auto to develop a rival to the Tata Nano. At the time, as everyone waited for the Tata Nano to arrive, you could have used a Richter scale to measure the tremors the executive suites of any automaker with an interest in the low end of emerging markets. Then the Nano, still the cheapest car in the world, didn't sell so well - at the end of last year its sales were just six percent of its most conservative projections - and everyone seemed content to let Tata spend the money to figure out if there really was a market for the cheapest car in the world.
Renault believes there is, kind of. Automotive News Europe reports that it will partner with Nissan to build two low-priced cars for emerging markets, one for €3,000 ($3,888 U.S.) and another for €5,000 ($6,400 U.S.). The price of the least expensive offering is nearly $1,400 more than a Nano, which costs $2,500, and that can't be considered a small sum in comparison. But one of the hindsight knocks on the Nano has been that even in emerging markets buyers don't want a car whose biggest lure is that it is cheap; they'd rather give their aspirations a bit more of a workout.
Renault's offerings are scheduled to hit the non-Western market in late 2014, which is coincidentally the same year that will see the return of the budget-minded and emerging-market-specific Datsun nameplate. They'll be built in Renault facilities in Chennai, India, with no mention made of Bajaj this time around.

Nissan edges out Tesla for most ZEV credits sold in California

When it comes to California zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) credits last year, Nissan was selling and Mercedes-Benz was buying. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) put out its ZEV-credits numbers for the year that ended September 30, which is why we now know that Nissan, maker of the battery-electric Leaf, transferred 663.6 ZEV credits out of its account last year. That just edged out the 650.195 credits that Tesla sold. Chrysler's Fiat affiliate was a distant third, but its limited-production Fiat 500E was still able to generate some ZEV credits and then transfer out 235.2 of them. We don't know how much the buyers paid for these credits, since those details are kept private. It's an ever-changing rulebook over at CARB, anyway. On the flip side, Mercedes-Benz had to buy 663.6 ZEV credits in order to comply with clean vehicle-sales mandates in the most populous US state, indicative of the German automaker's gas-guzzling tendencies. Honda has cars that get better fuel economy than your average Benz, but its plug-in vehicles represent just a fraction of total sales and so it had to shell out for 542.5 ZEV credits. Chrysler-Fiat basically tread water, since the 237.8 ZEV credits it required for compliance canceled out gains on the other side of the ledger. Those Dodge Ram pickup trucks don't exactly help matters. Last year, Tesla sold the most ZEV credits while GM purchased the most. Overall, Californians bought about 3.5 million vehicles for the year that ended September 30, including 38,000 battery-electric vehicles, 30,000 plug-in hybrids and 570,000 conventional hybrids. The longstanding ZEV program means that California now has more than 100,000 ZEVs on its roads. Read this for more details on ZEV credit transfers in California. Featured Gallery 2013 Nissan Leaf View 55 Photos News Source: California Air Resources Board via Green Car Congress Government/Legal Green Mercedes-Benz Nissan Tesla Electric California zev credits

Recharge Wrap-up: Car2go launches in Brooklyn, Green Fleet Car of the Year Award announced

The Car2go carsharing service is starting operations in Brooklyn next month. Beginning October 25, the service will offer 400 Car2go edition Smart Fortwo vehicles for point-to-point travel. Members pay a one-time sign-up fee, and are charged by the amount of time the use the vehicle (fuel and insurance is free). Drivers can find a car using the Car2go app or website, and can return the car to any non-metered parking spot within the 36-square-mile Brooklyn Home Area. Car2go is offering free membership and 30 minutes of credit for those who sign up early with a special promotional code. Learn more in the press release below. Renault and the Eco2charge consortium are working to bring better EV charging to France. They are providing research and development aimed at turning simple charging stations into "fully fledged energy ecosystems" through a smart grid. This grid would coordinate charging, consumption and energy storage in a way that increases efficiency and decreases cost. Read more in the press release below. The Renault-Nissan Alliance could source EV batteries from suppliers other than Nissan, according to CEO Carlos Ghosn. This news comes after recent questions of whether or not Nissan would scale back battery production in the US and UK. Ghosn says, "At the moment, we continue to produce our own batteries and we are open to outside sourcing, period." He also denies any plans to shutter Nissan's battery production facility in Tennessee. One source of batteries the alliance will look to is Korea's LG Chem. Read more at Automotive News Europe. The first-ever Green Fleet Car and Truck of the Year Awards will be presented at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The presentation on November 20 will be part of the LA show's Connected Car Expo. Nominees are selected by Bobit Business Media, with finalists picked by readers of Green Fleet, Automotive Fleet, Work Truck and Business Fleet magazines. The winners will be chosen based on performance, fuel economy, emissions, safety, capacities and other similar factors. Read more in the press release below. car2go Heads To Brooklyn Brooklyn To Be First To Launch Point-To-Point Carsharing Service In New York City Area On October 25th car2go North America LLC, the fastest-growing global carsharing company, announced today that it will be launching its pioneering carsharing service in Brooklyn on October 25th, marking Brooklyn as car2go's 29th market and the very first in the New York City area.