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Nissan Leaf sets new November sales record, Chevy Volt drops again

When you talk to people in the plug-in vehicle industry, one theme you hear repeatedly is that the more plug-in cars that are out there, the better things are for everyone. One reason is that more EVs build a need for more public chargers, and more chargers mean more people see that plugging in is feasible. But there's still something to be said for old-fashioned competition, and in the sales race between the two long-running plug-in vehicles in the US, the Nissan Leaf is resoundingly beating the Chevy Volt for 2014. In fact, it won't be long before the EV's cumulative sales top the PHEV's. But that's a topic for another month. For now, we have the sales results from November. Unsurprisingly, Nissan set another monthly record (that is, the best Leaf sales in any November, the 22nd time in a row we've seen a monthly record) with 2,687 sales last month. That's up 34 percent over last November and up 35 percent year-to-date. Toby Perry, Nissan's director of electric vehicle marketing, said in a statement that, "Our 'Kick Gas' ad campaign and 'No Charge to Charge' launch in Chicago and Atlanta drove an increase in November Leaf sales. Even with gas prices falling across the country, consumers appreciate that the cost of driving a Nissan Leaf is still a fraction of that of a gas-powered car." Over on the Chevy side of the ledger, there were 1,336 Volt sales last month, down 30.4 percent from the 1,920 sold in November 2013. So far this year, Volt sales are down 16.4 percent and Chevy has sold 17,315 Volts in 2014. As we said last month, the Volt slump might be due to people waiting on the new version to make an appearance at the Detroit Auto Show next month before going on sale in the second half of 2015. So far in 2014, Nissan has sold 27,098 Leafs. Look for our detailed post of US green car sales in the near future. Until then, please discuss last month's Leaf and Volt sale in the comments, below. News Source: Nissan, General Motors Green Chevrolet Nissan Electric Hybrid PHEV ev sales hybrid sales

No diesels in the running for 2016 Green Car Of The Year

It's a new era for the Green Car Of The Year. In the past, the theme of the award was to take a broad look at alternative powertrains and pick the best among them. "Clean diesels" from the Volkswagen group were often among the finalists and won the award twice. For the 2016 edition - which will be handed out at the LA Auto Show next month - not a single diesel made the list. There's little wonder why. Green Car Journal, which names the winner with a panel of experts, had to strip two VW brand vehicles of their past wins. The 2009 VW Jetta TDI, which won in 2008, and the 2010 Audi A3 TDI, which won in 2010, have both lost their titles now that the world knows about the "defeat devices" that VW installed in many of its TDI vehicles around the world. So, what does that leave us with for 2016? Two plug ins, a hybrid, and two gas vehicles. The two electric vehicle are the Audi A3 e-tron and the Chevy Volt, while the all-new Toyota Prius (which will come with a plug-in version later) is the lone pure hybrid. Rounding out the pack are two efficient gas models: the Hyundai Sonata and the Honda Civic. This is the tenth year for the Green Car Of The Year, and it will be interesting to see if diesels can come back into the award's good graces (for the record, no diesels were among the finalists in 2013, either) in the future. For now, we'd like to know who you think should win. You can read more about the finalists in the press release below and then cast your vote in our poll. Show full PR text FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2016 GREEN CAR OF THE YEAR Green Car Journal to Reveal Winner of 11th Annual Award at LA Auto Show Press & Trade Days, November 19 LOS ANGELES, CA (October 15, 2015) – Green Car Journal has announced its five finalists for the magazine's prestigious 2016 Green Car of the Year® award. The 2016 models include the Audi A3 e-tron, Chevrolet Volt, Honda Civic, Hyundai Sonata, and Toyota Prius. An increasing number of vehicle models are considered for the Green Car of the Year® program each year, a reflection of the auto industry's expanding efforts in offering new vehicles with higher efficiency and improved environmental impact. Green Car Journal has been honoring the most important "green" vehicles every year at the LA Auto Show, since its inaugural award announced at the show in 2005.

2013 Chevy COPO Camaro announced with two new engines and manual option

Chevrolet is following up the 2012 COPO Camaro with another limited run of the drag-strip-ready production car for 2013. Ditching the superchargers, the 2013 COPO Camaro can only be equipped with one of three naturally aspirated V8 engines, and other new features include the option of a manual transmission, new front springs, some minor styling changes and a lower starting price of $86,000. All cars are designed to abide by the rules of the NHRA's Stock Eliminator or Super Stock classifications, depending on in which series buyers wish to enter their Chevrolet Camaro.
Returning for 2013 is the 427-cubic-inch V8 producing 425 horsepower, but the new engines include a 325-hp 350-CID V8 and a 375-hp 396-CID V8. Buyers can select to purchase all three engines, and each will be matched with the sequence number of that car; the track-only COPO cars will not have vehicle identification numbers and can't be registered for street use.
Chevrolet is also offering unique enthusiast-specific options such as a COPO Build Book and the opportunity for owners to help assemble their car's engine at the Chevrolet Performance Build Center in Wixom, MI.