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Recharge Wrap-up: Uber drops rates in NYC, Renault Zoes for Rungis, Nissan Leaf is recycled

Uber is really taking it to cabbies in New York City. The car-hailing smartphone app has temporarily cut rates to its lowest-cost UberX service by 20 percent, now making it much more competitive - even cheaper in many cases - to request a ride from the app than to hail a NYC taxi. Also, tip is included in Uber's rate, while yellow cab fares do not include tip. However, Uber's rates vary depending on certain variables such as traffic and demand. Uber has been the target of protests by cabbies in other cities, but the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission seems confident about the competition for the time being. Read more at CNN Money. Formula E is officially partnering with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, an environmental charity organization focused on climate change, clean energy, biodiversity and water management. Formula E will host fundraising activities during its events to benefit the foundation, as well as its other charity partner, One Drop. The Prince of Monaco, besides his passion for environmental issues, is also an automotive enthusiast with a massive car collection, so the all-electric race series seems like a perfect fit for his organization. Read more at Formula E's website. Semmaris has purchased a fleet of seven Renault Zoe electric cars for its Rungis International Market outside of Paris. The fleet is part of an effort to reduce the market's carbon footprint, as well as as part of an awareness campaign for clean technology. Rungis Market is a destination for some 25,000 customers, many of whom run businesses (especially restaurants) and travel to Rungis for supplies, the sort of trip for which electric vehicles make a lot of sense. The market will also install charging stations, and create an electric carsharing service for use on its campus. Read more about the program in the press release below. The Nissan Leaf has reduced CO2 emissions by 151,000 tons, but its green cred also extends to recycling. About 25 percent of the Nissan Leaf - or about 827 pounds of the car - is made from recycled materials. Those materials include metals such as copper, steel and aluminum, as well as plastics and fabrics. The body uses recycled metals, the seat fabric uses recycled PET from plastic bottles, sound insulation comes from recycled clothing and the center console is made from recycled electronics. Even some of the recycled materials get recycled.

Club to restore amazeballs Datsun Safari Rally Z

Thanks to the Nissan Restoration Club, a legendary rally car is coming back to life. At the recent Nissan 360 media event, the Japanese automaker announced that its restoration club is bringing the Safari Rally Z back to original running condition. A variant of the Fairlady Z (or Datsun 240Z in the US), the Safari Rally Z has a fastback coupe body and a 215-horsepower inline-six engine. It won East African Safari Rally championships in both 1971 and 1973. The restoration is scheduled for completion this December.
Formed in 2006, Nissan's Restoration Club is comprised of 60 volunteer members who are passionate about Nissan's historic racecars. The club's past restoration projects include the 1964 Skyline racecar and 1947 Tama electric vehicle. Read the press release below for all the details on the latest restoration, and check out the gallery for photos of the Safari Rally Z as well as the 1972 Fairlady 240Z.

Bhutan asks Nissan, Mitsubishi for help with massive EV-only plan

Originally, the somewhat modest plan was to introduce 2,000 electric vehicles to the capital of Bhutan. Then things got bigger when Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn paid the country a visit and the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay, said his country, "will commit to a program to achieve zero emissions as a nation by a certain target date." Now we're approaching "holy huge" territory. Last week, Tobgay visited Japan to ask Nissan and Mitsubishi for help in possibly replacing every combustion vehicle with an all-electric option. "Gasoline is expensive and unfriendly to the environment." – Bhutan's Prime Minister At the very least, Bhutan wants to make more eco-friendly vehicles available. Tobgay told AsiaNews that, "Gasoline is expensive and unfriendly to the environment. Sustainable transportation will bring citizens happiness," which is something that a country that measures its Gross National Happiness is eager to track. Switching to electric vehicles makes complete sense in Bhutan, since the mountainous Asian nation produces more renewable hydro-electricity than it can use. Ninety-five percent of the zero-emission energy is exported to India, and Bhutan uses the profits to buy fuel from India to then power its vehicles. You can probably figure out for yourself how there's a simpler way to do this. News Source: AsiaNews.it Green Mitsubishi Nissan Green Culture Electric