2007 Nissan Altima on 2040-cars

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Auto sales in March and first quarter down nearly across the board

Nearly every major automaker reported weak U.S. sales for March and the first quarter of 2019, citing a rough start to the year, but said a robust economy and strong labor market should encourage consumers to buy more vehicles as 2019 rolls on. GM, which no longer releases monthly sales figures, saw first-quarter sales fall 7 percent, with declines across all brands. Sales of Silverado pickup trucks fell nearly 16 percent and the high-margin Chevy Suburban large SUV dropped 25 percent. Ford also no longer releases monthly sales numbers, but is due to release its first-quarter sales figures on Thursday. According to industry data, Ford's sales fell 2 percent in the quarter and 5 percent in March. Ford representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. FCA reported a 7 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and a 3 percent drop for the first quarter. All of FCA's brands dropped in March, except for Ram, which saw a 15 percent increase in pickup truck sales. "The industry had a tough first quarter, but with spring finally starting to show its face and continued strong economic indicators ... we are confident that new vehicle sales demand will strengthen going forward," FCA's U.S. head of sales, Reid Bigland, said in a statement. Toyota reported a 3.5 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and 5 percent for the first quarter, hurt by declining demand for its Corolla sedans and Camry vehicles. "While some of our competitors are abandoning sedans, we remain optimistic about the future of the segment," Toyota said in a statement. Nissan posted a 5.3 percent drop in sales in March, and its first-quarter sales were down 11.6 percent. Honda and Hyundai bucked the trend. Honda's U.S. sales rose 4.3 percent in March and 2 percent in the quarter, while Hyundai's were up 1.7 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. Passenger-car sales suffered throughout the January-March quarter compared with the same period in 2018 as Americans continued to abandon them in favor of larger, more comfortable pickup trucks and SUVs, which are far more profitable for automakers. The battle for market share in the particularly lucrative large-pickup truck market intensified in the quarter, as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Ram brand outsold the U.S.' No. 1 automaker General Motors' Chevrolet-brand trucks. The two automakers have both launched redesigned pickup trucks.

As of today, Nissan has sold 50,000 Leafs in the US, 115,000 globally

Watch out, America, there are 50,000 Nissan Leaf electric vehicles prowling your streets. That's the official word from Nissan, which says it has just delivered the 50,000th Leaf – a black SL model – to Todd and Lisa Bolt in Dallas, Texas. Todd is a pastor at the Gateway Church in Southlake, where there almost two dozen Leaf drivers who call themselves the "Blessed LEAFs Club." We're not making that up. Divinely inspired or not, Todd said in a statement that the EV completely meets the family's needs and that, "I don't know why we'd buy another gas car." Last September, Nissan announced it had sold 35,000 Leaf EVs in the US so far, and the 25,000 mark came in May last year. Globally, "nearly 115,000" Leafs have been sold, which makes Nissan's workhorse the most popular EV by a long shot. To celebrate the occasion, Nissan has put together an infographic (click to enlarge) showing the cumulative effects of all those electric vehicles on the roads. While they're only estimates based on taking the actual data from the CarWings connected vehicles (which make up 55 percent of the total fleet) and extrapolating, the numbers are still impressive. Around 906,000,000 miles driven, which means 241,000 metric tons of CO2 saved from going into the air. 50,000 Leaf sales is a big deal, sure, but we're much more keen on those cleaner air figures. Read more below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. NISSAN DELIVERS 50,000TH ALL-ELECTRIC LEAF IN U.S. TO TEXAS FAMILY DALLAS (May 23, 2014) -- Nissan, the global leader in electric vehicle (EV) sales, achieved another milestone this month as Dallas residents Todd and Lisa Bolt made Nissan LEAF the first all-electric model to hit 50,000 sales in the U.S. The Bolt family took delivery of their black LEAF SL earlier this month at AutoNation Nissan of Lewisville. Thanks to enthusiastic owner advocates, robust public charging infrastructure and the launch of a successful free charging promotion, Dallas – and the state of Texas – have become hot growth markets for LEAF. So far in 2014, LEAF sales in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex have grown by about 50 percent over the previous year, with that growth set to accelerate faster thanks in part to the introduction of a new state tax rebate of up to $2,500 on the purchase or lease of a new Nissan LEAF.

Even Ferrari swept up in latest Takata recall expansion

The scope of Takata's deadly airbag problems continues to widen. Eight manufacturers announced recalls Friday that affect more than 12 million vehicles, according to documents filed with federal regulators. The automakers include Honda, which is recalling 4.5 million units, Fiat Chrysler with 4.3 million, Toyota with 1.65 million, and Subaru, which is recalling almost 400,000. Some of these cars include the Saab 9-2x and Pontiac Vibe that Toyota and Subaru made for General Motors. Mazda will recall 730,000 vehicles and Nissan has 400,000 affected units. The smallest numbers were posted by Mitsubishi, with 38,000 Lancers manufactured from 2006 to 2007, and as a noteworthy high-end manufacturer, Ferrari is calling back 2,800 vehicles. These are all US-market cars. Beyond America, the Japanese Transport Ministry has announced seven million additional vehicles will be recalled, which means 19.6 million vehicles across the globe are affected by recalls announced. The defects have been traced to an insufficiently manufactured airbag inflator, which lacks a drying agent that would prevent the inflators from deteriorating over time. Thirteen deaths have been linked to the faulty airbags, which have become unstable and are prone to exploding and showering vehicle occupants with lethal amounts of metal shrapnel. A private equity firm, KKR & Co., has been named in a possible buyout of the struggling Takata. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Shutterstock Government/Legal Recalls Ferrari Honda Mazda Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Pontiac Subaru Toyota Saab Safety