2011 Nissan Altima S Coupe 2-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Nissan NV200 Chicago Taxi looking for a #HailYes

Nissan may be loaning out its small van to General Motors for its Chicago Auto Show debut, but that doesn't mean that Chevrolet is the only one with new NV200-based wares to share. On the heels of launching its Taxi Of Tomorrow for New York City, the Japanese automaker is giving America's Second City a livery of its own.
Shown here in a green and white paint scheme that "expresses a modern take on a historically popular Chicago taxi color," this NV200 Chicago Taxi is the company's less-than-subtle bid to capture some of the city's cab business, which is estimated to have about 7,000 units in service. Nissan is urging the public to generate discussion on social media and hopefully capture local taxi fleet operators' attention with a #HailYes campaign.
Beyond its unique appearance, this NV200 appears untouched, which means it's still powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine backed by a version of Nissan's ubiquitous XTronic continuously variable transmission.

Nissan ZEOD RC on track and from behind the wheel

The Nissan ZEOD RC hybrid racecar has had mixed success in its competition life. It was invented to do a completely electric, high-speed lap at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which it was able to do in practice. However, when the big event actually came, the car lasted less than an hour before it had to bow out with transmission issues. Nissan hasn't completely given up on its experiment, though. The experience (and possibly some of the tech) is going to help with the GT-R LM racer next year, and now the ZEOD is getting its chance to see how it handles the Top Gear test track.
Unfortunately, it's not The Stig piloting the ZEOD; instead, the magazine's motoring editor Ollie Marriage is the lucky man for the job. The car's sharp shape seems to be a good metaphor for how it handles because it just seems to dart around the track. Its tiny, turbocharged 1.5-liter engine with 400 horsepower and two electric motors put out a claimed 750 horsepower, and that seems like plenty for the relatively short Top Gear course.
As usual of Top Gear, the cinematography here is fantastic, and a second video shows off a single lap of the course from around the car. It's amazing to watch, especially with its big screen constantly showing the camera view out of the rear. Scroll down to see both.

Nissan Leaf makes it 19 in a row for record sales; Chevy Volt drops 21 percent

The Nissan Leaf continues its streak of "best month ever" sales with 2,881 EVs sold in September. Compared to the 1,953 sold in September 2013, that represents an increase of 47.5 percent and, as Nissan itself must be tired of saying by now, it marks yet another best month ever, same as last month and now the 19th in a row. Okay, sure, we know, Nissan will tout this run for as long as it can, but we're certainly expecting it each month, so if it ever doesn't happen, it'll be interesting to see how Nissan talks about it. Year-to-date, Leaf sales are up 35.7 percent compared to 2013. In any case, Nissan's director of EV marketing, Toby Perry, sent AutoblogGreen a statement that said, "Nissan Leaf owners have turned into some of our best marketers, and they jump at any opportunity to share their enthusiasm with friends and family. Take National Drive Electric Week – a grassroots celebration of all things EV and the perfect platform for LEAF owners to showcase the benefits of going electric. After celebrating with EV owners in more than 130 cities across the country, we saw a significant increase in Leaf showroom visits with midweek traffic just as heavy as what we see on the weekends." Year-to-date, Leaf sales are up 35.7 percent compared to 2013. Over on the Chevy Volt front, things aren't quite as rosy. After coming off a good August (the best sales month of 2014 by almost 500 units), Volt sales were down to 1,394, a decrease of 21.1 percent compared to September 2013. So far this year, Volt sales are down 13.2 percent year-over-year. It's kind of a stretch, but perhaps people are already waiting for the next-gen Volt, which will be revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in January, to go on sale? Speaking of things we say every month, our in-depth round-up of US green car sales is in process and will be appearing soon. Until then, please discuss how these two long-standing plug-in champs are doing on the sales floor. Green Chevrolet Nissan Electric Hybrid PHEV ev sales hybrid sales