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Nissan presents NV200 is the brave new face of London taxis [w/video]

In most cities, just about any vehicle can serve as a taxi - so long as it meets the owner/operator's requirements for reliability, comfort and utility. But certain cities have their own unique taxis, and Nissan has been working hard to corner those markets. It has already designed specific taxis for such locations as New York, Barcelona and Tokyo, but its latest effort will bring a new Hackney Carriage to the streets of London.
A year and a half ago, Nissan displayed its NV200 on the streets of London in traditional black livery. But this new design takes the customization for the British capital one step further. Working closely with the mayor's office and with cab drivers across the city, Nissan's European design center in the Paddington district has reskinned the NV200 specifically to serve as the new black cab in London. The new face features round headlights, a new grille, LED lighting and a restyled front bumper. The steering has also been reconfigured to meet the 25-foot turning circle requirements for Hackney Carriages, as the black cabs are known on the streets of London.
The result is a distinctly British take on the NV200 taxi - one that we're guessing won't go without its fair share of controversy. Nissan will begin offering the black cab at the end of the year with a 1.6-liter gasoline engine mated to an automatic transmission, a powertrain said to be cleaner than the diesels used in existing taxis. And Nissan should know, having supplied many of those 2.7-liter turbodiesels in the '80s and '90s. But if that's not clean enough, the Japanese automaker will also begin selling an electric version, the e-NV200, starting next year. Watch the video clip and read the full details in the press release below.

Recharge Wrap-up: Lucky fan to drive Porsche 918 Spyder, Avis Denmark has 861 Nissan EVs

A Tesla Model S customer shares his story of ownership over the course of 120,000 miles. Dante Richardson describes new software updates as being akin to anticipating the prize in a box of Cracker Jacks. Over the many miles he's driven the car, he has only learned to enjoy it more. "I don't know if it's the software updates or some of the other changes that have occurred with the car, but I find myself increasingly enamored and happy with the car as time has passed," Richardson says. His Volvo C70, in the meantime, usually sits idle as he opts to drive the Tesla. Read more at Tesla's website. A Facebook fan from Austria has won the opportunity to drive the Porsche 918 Spyder more than 622 miles. As part of a celebration for Porsche accumulating 10 million likes on the social media platform, Ingo Georges Vandenberghe will drive from London to the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone, via Wales and the Cotswolds, stopping occasionally to have other fans meet up to see and sign the car. It's a rare opportunity for the lucky driver, as every example of the high-performance Porsche hybrid has been sold. Read more at Hybrid Cars, and learn more about the celebration at Porsche's microsite. Avis Denmark now has the largest fleet of Nissan electric vehicles in Europe. The company has ordered 401 new Nissan e-NV200 vans and 60 Nissan Leafs for its leasing scheme. This is in addition to the 400 Leafs the Avis added to its fleet last year. "We had great success already with the Nissan Leaf in Denmark and we leased all of the units we purchased from Nissan very quickly, which has led to us ordering more," says Kasper Gjedsted, managing director of Avis Denmark. "To follow up that success we have decided to add the e-NV200 vehicle to broaden our offering and appeal to new types of customers." Read more in the press release below. AVIS ORDER CREATES EUROPE'S LARGEST FLEET OF NISSAN ELECTRIC VEHICLES - AVIS Denmark orders 401 Nissan e-NV200 vans and 60 Nissan LEAF electric cars - Combined with last year's order of 400 LEAFs, Avis now has largest EV fleet in Europe Copenhagen, 29th April 2015 - Nissan and AVIS Denmark have signed a deal to create the largest fleet of Nissan electric vehicles anywhere in Europe, with a new order of 401 Nissan e-NV200 vans and a further 60 units of the 100 percent electric Nissan LEAF.

Renault COO Tavares dreams of running GM or Ford

What do you do if you're in a job with no upward mobility? Admittedly, most of us just stick it out while secretly hoping our boss is sacked for all those paperclips he's been swiping, netting us a nice, shiny promotion. Then again, most of us aren't the number two at Renault, like Carlos Tavares.
Tavares is the right-hand man to Renault CEO, Carlos Ghosn, and like a lot of us, he's ready for another challenge. As Ghosn is only 59 years old and doesn't have a boss to fire him for paperclip theft, though, it's pretty unlikely that he'll be going anywhere anytime soon. Tavares doesn't seem too concerned, based on an interview he gave to Automotive News. "We have a big leader and he is here to stay," Tavares told AN.
What's surprising is where Tavares wants to go, "Why not GM? I would be honored to lead a company like GM." The Renault exec also mentioned Ford, and as AN points out, both organizations make a lot of sense. Both are led by CEOs that are approaching or are already past retirement age, and should be looking for dedicated replacements in the not-so-distant future. That doesn't mean Tavares is a shoe-in, though.