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Chevy Volt has worst sales month since August 2011, Nissan Leaf also down

January is traditionally a time when new car shoppers take a break. For the last few years, if we isolate our focus to just the first two major plug-in cars in the US market, we see that the first month of the year was lower – often dramatically lower – than the 11 that followed. So, when you see the Chevy Volt dropped and Nissan Leaf sales figures for January 2015, don't be too surprised. The Volt sold only 542 units last month, that model's lowest since August 2011. That also represents a 41 percent drop from January 2014, and it reinforces the thought that if anyone out there is interested in a new Volt, they're going to be waiting for the new model to drop later this year. While we do expect sales to climb in February and into spring, we won't be surprised if the general Volt trend remains quiet until the second-generation arrives. On the Leaf side of the ledger, January's low sales numbers were still about twice as high as the Volt's – the Leaf sold 1,070 units last month, the lowest since February 2013 – but it did break a streak for the Japanese automaker. Usually, each month represents at least an increase over the same month a year ago, but that wasn't the case this time. In January 2014, Nissan sold 1,252 Leafs. Still, Brendan Jones, Nissan's director of electric vehicle sales and infrastructure, issued an upbeat statement: "We saw a significant increase in demand in December from Nissan Leaf customers looking to take advantage of federal and state incentives at the end of the tax year, which pulled some sales ahead. We're confident that EV sales will continue to rise over time due to increasing emission regulations and other reasons for purchase of EVs such as lower operating costs, reducing dependence on foreign energy sources, environmental concerns and a great driving experience." The numbers will tell us soon enough. News Source: General Motors, Nissan Green Chevrolet Nissan Electric Hybrid ev sales brendan jones

GM Recalling Another 2.7 Million Vehicles In Five Separate Campaigns

The recalls keep rolling in from General Motors, evidently keen to avoid repeating the mistakes of the ignition-switch debacle and clean house. This time they're all coming at once, with five separate recalls announced together covering approximately 2.7 million vehicles. The largest of the five actions involves over 2.4 million units of the previous-generation Chevrolet Malibu and Malibu Maxx, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura in order to fix brake light wiring harness, which have been found to be susceptible to corrosion. The recall is separate from the 56k Aura sedans which GM recently recalled over faulty shift cables, not to mention the previous massive recall of 1.3 million vehicles – some of them the same models – but appears to have resulted from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation that started with the G6 almost a year ago. The second-largest campaign involves the 2014 Chevy Malibu, specifically those fitted with GM's 2.5-liter engine and stop/start system, approximately 140,000 examples of which has been found to have problematic brakes. The issue does not appear to be connected to the recall of 8k Malibu and Buick LaCrosse sedans (also involving brake woes) which we reported upon last week. Four crashes have been reported in such models, but GM admits it's not yet clear if the problem was a contributing factor in the accidents. A further 112k Corvette models from the 2005-2007 model years are being called in for problems with their low-beam headlamps resulting from a flexing relay control circuit wire that's not meant to bend. GM says it is "aware of several hundred complaints" about this issue, but notes that there have been no reports of related accidents. In addition, over 19k examples of Cadillac CTS from the 2013 and 2014 model years are being recalled over windshield wipers that might not work after a jump start. Finally, GM is also bringing in 477 examples of its 2014 Chevy Silverado, Tahoe and GMC Sierra (though not the Yukon) to fix a problem with a tie rod in its steering rack. As ever, all recall repairs will be performed free of charge, and GM is now estimating that recall-related actions this quarter will result in an estimated $200-million charge against its second-quarter earnings. Read the full announcement from GM below for further details.

eBay Find of the Day: Mario Andretti's personal 2009 Corvette ZR1

With victory in the the Indianapolis 500, a Formula 1 World Championship, a win in the Daytona 500 and too many other motorsports accomplishments to list, Mario Andretti stands among not just the greatest American racing drivers of all time, but the greatest drivers, full stop. Apparently, the champ is also a fan of speed when not on the track, because now there's a chance to own what is said tobe his personal 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 with just 12,872 miles on the clock. The eBay Motors auction page clearly shows Mario Andretti standing with the car, but the rest of the ad is admittedly short on details. The vehicle history report lists only one previous owner – ostensibly Andretti. The exterior is a handsome Blade Silver Metallic accompanied by a Dark Titanium leather interior. However, the seller keeps additional information to a minimum as well with the description simply stating, "This 2009 Chevy Corvette ZR1 is owned by Mario Andretti and has been garage kept all its life. It is fully loaded with all option on this car." The future buyer will get a seriously great car along with some huge bragging rights at any party by touting its ownership history. We've reached out to the seller for more particulars and provenance, and will update this story if we hear back. In the meantime, the auction for this C6 ends on Thursday, January 8, and currently the reserve isn't met. The price sits at a hefty $68,100 as of this writing, with six bids registered. Featured Gallery 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 owned by Mario Andretti Auction News Source: eBay MotorsTip: Roger Celebrities Motorsports Chevrolet Auctions Coupe Performance chevy corvette zr1