USA - Nissan now offers free charging in Chicago for LEAF customers.

Chicagoans can now add free public charging to the long list of benefits of buying an all-electric Nissan LEAF. Nissan today launched its "No Charge to Charge" promotion that provides two years of no-cost public charging with the purchase or lease of a new LEAF from Nissan dealers in the Chicago market. This includes complimentary access to fast chargers that can charge a LEAF battery pack from zero to 80 percent in about 30 minutes.

"Nissan LEAF is an attractive option for Chicago car buyers for a number of reasons, such as the available Illinois Alternative Fuels Rebate of up to $4,000* and significantly lower operating costs than a gas-powered car," said Brendan Jones, director, Nissan Electric Vehicle Sales and Infrastructure Strategy. "Adding free public fast charging in Chicagoland gives Nissan LEAF an even greater competitive edge over other vehicles, regardless of their fuel source."

With "No Charge to Charge," new LEAF buyers can enjoy added range confidence with free access to fast chargers** spread throughout Chicagoland at retail stores, tollway oases and other convenient locations for drivers. As part of the promotion, LEAF drivers will also enjoy free one-hour charging sessions at more than 140 level 2 (240 volt) charging stations**.

Nissan now offers "No Charge to Charge" in 12 of the top markets for Nissan LEAF sales, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Nashville, Phoenix, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston and Washington, D.C. In the next year, Nissan plans to offer the "No Charge to Charge" program at LEAF dealers in at least 13 additional U.S. markets.

"No Charge to Charge" will launch at Nissan LEAF dealers in the Chicago market on Nov. 14. LEAF owners who purchased or leased their vehicle on or after Nov. 1, in the Chicago market will receive entry into the "No Charge to Charge" program retroactively.

For more information on the "No Charge to Charge" promotion, visit https://www.ez-charge.com/faq/.

*Buyers of a new Nissan LEAF are eligible for a rebate of $0 to $4,000 from the Illinois Alternative Fuels Rebate Program. Lessees are not eligible. For more information on terms of the rebate program, visit:  www.illinoisgreenfleets.org/rebates/index.

**Consumers can find chargers eligible for "No Charge to Charge" at www.ez-charge.com/stations,PlugShare.com or via the PlugShare app for iOS or Android.

GREAT NEWS - SAAB is back and the future is looking great.

Saab's new owner is seeking to restart production at the automaker's mothballed factory in Sweden later this year.

The Saab plant in Trollhattan is "practically ready" to begin building the 9-3 mid-sized car, said Mikael Oestlund, a spokesman for National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS).

The company has recruited about 300 people including team leaders to oversee assembly, Oestlund told Automotive News Europe. "It is possible to start production later this year," he said.

National Electric Vehicle Sweden, which is owned by a Chinese renewable energy investor, bought Saab out of bankruptcy last August.

Oestlund said the 9-3 that will go into production will be very similar to the 9-3 that Saab stopped building in 2011. He did not disclose engine details except to say that the gasoline version would be turbocharged. An electric version, planned to launch next year, would be given a much more comprehensive face-lift, he said.

Oestlund said the 9-3 will be sold in Europe and China initially with U.S. sales possible later. "Saab will again be a global brand, but we will gradually add markets. The U.S. market is important for us and we intend to enter when we see that we have a business case," he said.

New models

NEVS also plans to build cars based on the Phoenix architecture developed by Saab before the automaker went bankrupt in 2011. The platform will have to be modified to remove the 20 percent of parts sourced from former Saab owner General Motors, Oestlund said.

Saab's new owner, NEVS, says the 9-3 that will go into production this year will resemble the original, pictured.

"The Phoenix architecture is very flexible and when fully developed it will give us the opportunity to design and manufacture several models from smaller to bigger cars. We have not yet decided which models and we have no time plan -- that is some years ahead," he said.

Oestlund said the 9-3 electric version will use batteries built by sister company Beijing National Battery Technology, which builds batteries for city buses.

NEVS and Beijing National Battery Technology are owned by Hong Kong National Modern Energy Holdings, which is run by Swedish-Chinese green energy entrepreneur Kai Johan Jiang. NEVS is 22 percent owned by the Chinese city of Qingdao following a deal earlier this year.

NEVS plans to build 120,000 units of the 9-3 a year by 2016, according to a report by Bloomberg in January. That target would come close to the brand's 2006 peak of 133,000 autos.

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AUDI looking to build on successful qualifying at the Nurburgring

• Miguel Molina on grid position three at Nürburgring ‘home round’
• Edoardo Mortara on second row as well 
• Leader of the standings Mike Rockenfeller starts from position eleven

Since the beginning of the season Miguel Molina has had a second residence near the Nürburgring. Round seven of the DTM is thus something like a home round for the Spaniard – and on Sunday the 24-year-old will be tackling it from grid position three as the best Audi driver.

As is often the case in the DTM, thousandths of a second made the crucial difference about moving on to the next segment of the four-part qualifying session. This truth was brought home as well to leader of the standings Mike Rockenfeller, who in the Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Phoenix set the best time in the first segment but in the second one missed the leap into the top ten by a razor-thin margin of 0.007 seconds. Thus, ‘Rocky’ will be starting from position eleven, one place behind his fiercest rival in the battle for the title, BMW driver Bruno Spengler.

Rockenfeller’s team-mate Miguel Molina on the other hand managed a nearly perfect qualifying performance and the leap into the top four for the first time this season. The Spaniard missed a position on the front row by only 0.006 seconds. He was highly pleased nonetheless: “That was a good qualifying session for me. My thanks go to Audi and to Team Phoenix. We’ve had many rough days this season. That makes it all the sweeter to finally be able to battle for victory again. I never lost my self-confidence but worked hard. I know how tough the DTM is and that anything can always happen. I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow.”

Alongside Molina, Edoardo Mortara in the Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Rosberg will be tackling the race from the second row as well. The Italian who lives in Geneva was quick in all four qualifying segments.

With Mattias Ekström in the Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline on grid position nine, drivers of all three Audi factory teams made it into the top ten. Ekström’s team-mate Jamie Green in Q3 felt obstructed by Mercedes driver Gary Paffett and will start alongside Rockenfeller from the sixth row on Sunday.

Adrien Tambay in the Audi ultra RS 5 DTM will be tackling the race from position 14. Filipe Albuquerque in Q1 in 17th place was lacking 0.004 seconds to make it into the next segment after having achieved the best time in the morning’s free practice.

Timo Scheider’s string of misfortune continued at the Nürburgring. In free practice, a technical defect activated the fire extinguisher of his AUTO TEST Audi RS 5 DTM. Due to a problem with the fuel tank system Scheider at the end of Q1 only had a single lap, which ended in traffic and grid position 18.

“We’ve been able to continue our string of being the only manufacturer to have had at least one car on the two front rows of the grid in all races – and here we’ve even got two,” said Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi Sport. “Qualifying was as close as usual, the conditions kept changing slightly, depending on the position of the clouds. So that meant a bit of fortune was necessary as well. ‘Rocky’ unfortunately didn’t have it in Q2. Starting from position eleven tomorrow won’t make things easy for him. But Bruno (Spengler) and Gary (Paffett), his two fiercest rivals in the battle for the title, aren’t at the very front either. I’m particularly happy for Miguel (Molina) and Edo (Mortara): Both have had a difficult season so far and will have the chance of finishing on the podium tomorrow.”