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Infiniti EV coming in 2021

Infiniti announced that it will offer new electrified vehicles starting in 2021. Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa said that its luxury brand will build its first all-electric car in 2021, as well as new "e-Power" vehicles – series hybrids with batteries charged by gasoline generators. Nissan has introduced e-Power vehicles in other markets, including the Note e-Power and the Serena e-Power minivan. Now it will extend that technology to Infiniti, providing a similar driving experience to an EV with the convenience of a gas-powered vehicle. Infiniti also said that we can expect "beautiful vehicles" like the Q Inspiration Concept that debuted at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show. Infiniti doesn't plan on producing the Q Inspiration, but it will certainly influence future vehicles in terms of both styling and technology. The Q Inspiration uses variable compression technology, which the company intends to use to improve efficiency and performance of its gasoline-powered cars. Infiniti expects half of its global sales to be electric vehicles by 2025 (it's not clear whether the automaker is lumping series hybrids into the electric vehicle category). And while there's no way that Infiniti will release a production version of its all-electric Prototype 9 EV, seen above, we'll hold onto that dream anyway. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Detroit 3 to implement delayed unified towing standards for 2015

Car buyers have a responsibility to be well-informed consumers. That's not always a very simple task, but some guidelines are self-evident. If you live in a very snowy climate, you generally know a Ford Mustang or Chevrolet Camaro might not be as viable a vehicle choice as an all-wheel drive Explorer or Traverse, for example. If you want a fuel-efficient car, it's generally a good idea to know the difference between a diesel and a hybrid. But what if it's kind of tough to be an informed consumer? What if the information you need is more difficult to come by, or worse, based on different standards for each vehicle? Well, in that case, you might be a truck shopper.
For years, customers of light-duty pickups have had to suffer through different ratings of towing capacities for each brand. For 2015 model year trucks, though, that will no longer be a problem. According to Automotive News, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler Group have announced that starting with next year's models, a common standard will be used to measure towing capacity. The Detroit Three will join Toyota, which adopted the Society of Automotive Engineers' so-called SAE J2807 standards way back in 2011.
The standard was originally supposed to be in place for MY2013, but concerns that it would lower the overall stated capacity for trucks led Detroit automakers to pass. Ford originally passed, claiming it'd wait until its new F-150 was launched to adopt the new standards, leading GM and Ram to follow suit. Nissan, meanwhile, has said it will adopt the new standards as its vehicles are updated, meaning the company's next-generation Titan should adhere to the same tow ratings as its competitors.

Nissan Leaf sales up again in February, Chevy Volt dips deeper

Nissan managed to buck the industry's overall trend of lower sales in February with double-digit growth throughout its lineup. That includes a 12th month of record sales for the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle, with the year-over-year numbers up more than a skosh. The February ledger for the Chevy Volt looked much worse, falling 25.6 percent from February 2013 down to 1,210 units. With 1,425 Leafs sold, Nissan came away the winner in a head-to-head competition between these the two early plug-in vehicles for the fourth month in a row. Nissan expects the Leaf's sales momentum continue in March. February Leaf sales were up 118.2 percent, making 2014 the car's best February ever. The car was most popular in San Francisco, CA and Atlanta, GA, two places where the the brutal winter cold that struck most of the country had a limited effect. Nissan said that other markets with notable Leaf sales growth were Honolulu, HI, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX and Denver, CO. Toby Perry, Nissan's director of EV sales and marketing, said in a statement that Nissan, "amped up advertising in the latter half of February, which already has resulted in an uptick in sales and a significant increase in shopping traffic. We expect to see that momentum continue in March." The Volt retains an overall sales lead against the Leaf, but Chevy's calendar year-to-date sales numbers are down 23.1 percent so far in 2014. Overall, Chevy's sales calendar YTD numbers were down just 7.7 percent, so the Volt is performing below average. As always, we will have a more complete report of last month's green car sales up in short order. Green GM Nissan Electric Hybrid PHEV ev sales