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Nissan, Kia spending big to promote EVs, Chevy stays conservative on Volt

With 22 months of record Leaf sales under its zero-emission belt, Nissan has started two big ad campaigns for the battery-powered Leaf. On TV, there's the Kick Gas campaign (it's a popular name) and on social media, Nissan is promoting the EV as the "world's cleanest car" (it's a paint thing). We don't know how much the paint prank is costing, but we do have some estimated numbers for the TV ads. Nissan has spent over $30 million on TV advertising for the Leaf in 2014. According to iSpot, which tracks these sorts of things, Nissan spent over $30 million promoting the Leaf on TV in 2014. "Through November of this year," iSpot CEO Sean Muller wrote to AutoblogGreen, "Nissan spent more then $400 million in TV advertising for its traditional fuel fleet, and $22 million for the rechargeable Leaf. It has since dedicated an additional $9 million on it its new Kick Gas campaign, which started airing November 3, shortly after news of the electronic sales slump broke." iSpot says that Kick Gas aired predominately on NBC, CBS and Fox. The result of those airings can be seen in the charts below, but the takeaway point is that viewers of college football, Gladiator and The Rachel Maddow Show were the most engaged by the ad. Nissan has said the ad is working and that it helped increase Leaf sales in November. How is Chevrolet promoting the Volt? Not nearly as aggressively as Nissan is with the Leaf. Muller said iSpot estimates that GM spent just $2 million over the past couple of years to sell the plug-in hybrid on TV, despite offering 62 different Volt ads online. Then there's new entry into the mix, the Kia Soul EV. iSpot figures Kia has spent about $15 million on TV airings of that odd sexified hamster spot. That's a lot of money for a car that just went on sale here in October, let alone one that isn't available in most states. We've asked Chevy, Kia and Nissan for comment on the iSpot numbers but have not yet heard back. You can watch ads for all three vehicles below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Details on Nissan's Kick Gas:

Farmer moves illegally parked car with tractor

Bad parking in London can get you a ticket or the boot, but bad parking in the West Country is treated in a more direct manner. One motorist learned this fact in early May when a video published by The Daily Mail showing a farmer moving a car with his tractor went viral. Lianne Dunn and Ally Boxall were out for a drive near Marksbury when they came upon a strange sight. Coming at them down the narrow country lane was a tractor with a red Mazda6 perched on its front-end loader attachment. One of the women pulled out her cell phone and filmed the odd scene while the other backed into a convenient driveway to let the tractor past. As the tractor trundled by with its load, they asked the young man guiding the driver what was going on. "They parked in this chap's drive," he said in his broad, West Country burr. "He asked us to move the car, nobody claimed it." When asked where the pair were taking the car, the unnamed farmer replied, "We're going to put it up on the main road. It's the police's problem then." The two women, obviously entertained by the spectacle, exchange a few more words with the young farmer before they finally drive off. "This is the best!" one of the women says as on the video. "Never piss a farmer off!" News Source: The Daily Mail, The Western Gazette Humor Weird Car News Mazda Nissan Driving Diesel Vehicles Sedan parking tractor farmer

NRG eVgo ready for 'No Charge to Charge' in Atlanta

That loop of highways circumnavigating the city of Atlanta is about to get some fast chargers. And, for those driving newer Nissan Leaf electric vehicles, some free chargers as well, for the next couple of years. It's the new taste of southern hospitality. NRG Energy, which has been expanding its NRG Evgo fast-charging networks across the country, is now going into the Atlanta metro area. The stations, which can fully charge an electric vehicle in as few as 30 minutes, will be located "along major thoroughfares in retail locations." This makes sense, since Atlanta has emerged as a major plug-in vehicle market this year. Additionally, the "No Charge to Charge" program that NRG eVgo helps administer will apply in NRG eVgo's Atlanta network. That means that Georgians who either buy or lease Leaf EVs will be allowed to charge their cars at the eVgo stations for free for the first two years. Other eVgo programs are up and running in Texas, Phoenix, Nashville, Washington, D.C. and the Pacific Northwest. Last month, the NRG eVgo program took over a proposed fast-charging network in Chicago, where charging-station deployments had stalled. Take a look at the NRG eVgo press release for Atlanta below. NRG eVgo Announces Electric Vehicle Charging Network in Atlanta ATLANTA, December 09, 2014 – NRG eVgo, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG), is expanding its comprehensive electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure designed to support EV drivers whenever and wherever they choose to charge - at single family or apartment residences, at work, on the road, or even at the airport to the Atlanta metro area. The new network will give Atlanta EV drivers unprecedented access to cutting-edge fast charging technology and bring much-needed EV infrastructure to the region. "We are pleased that NRG has chosen to expand its eVgo charging network in the City of Atlanta," said Mayor Kasim Reed. "Establishing a robust fast-charging network is essential to even broader adoption of electric vehicle use, both here in Atlanta and across the country." Recently, according to IHS Automotive, Atlanta emerged as the second major metropolitan market for EV sales, following San Francisco. Atlanta is geographically large, meaning most people commute to work, and have a need for a sustainable, reliable charging infrastructure.