4 WHEELS July 08 2010 Toyota invests in electric car company Tesla Motors, Inc. (Tesla) and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) say they intend to cooperate on the development of electric vehicles, parts, and production system and engineering support. The two companies intend to form a team of specialists to further those efforts. TMC has agreed to purchase (US)$50 million of Tesla's common stock issued in a private placement to close immediately subsequent to the closing of Tesla's currently planned initial public offering. Tesla's goal is to produce increasingly affordable electric cars to mainstream buyers-- relentlessly driving down the cost of EVs. Palo Alto, CA-based Tesla has delivered more than 1000 Roadsters to customers in North America, Europe and Asia. Tesla designs and manufactures EVs and EV powertrain components. It is currently the only automaker in the U.S. that builds and sells highway-capable EVs in serial production. The Tesla Roadster accelerates faster than most sports cars yet produces no emissions. Tesla service rangers make house calls to service Roadsters. Toyota is investing in Tesla Motors, the maker of electric sports cars. Thirty Nissan D22 4x4 pickup trucks arrive in Haiti Nissan has announced that 30 Nissan D22 4x4 pick-up trucks have arrived in Haiti and were received by the United Nations' World Food Program. The trucks will be put to work immediately to deliver food, supplies and aid in the massive ongoing efforts to help rebuild lives in a nation ravaged by a devastating earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010. The donation of trucks, in response to a request from former U.S. President Bill Clinton, founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and currently UN Special Envoy for Haiti, is an expansion of relief efforts in Haiti sponsored by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and its global community of employees. With the donation of the pickup trucks, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and its employees worldwide have contributed cash and products valued at nearly $750,000 to relief efforts in Haiti. Immediately after the earthquake in January, Nissan employees took action to help-- first with a donation of more than $100,000 cash, corporate matches for gifts from employees, and a commitment to partner with Habitat for Humanity International to construct new homes. In response to the request for trucks, Nissan's Corporate Social Responsibility team worked with the U.N. to identify a partner relief organization and found a match in the World Food Program, which took delivery of the trucks today in Port-au-Prince. The 30 pickup trucks shipped to Haiti were built by the employees of Nissan Mexicana at the company's manufacturing center in Cuernavaca. Each truck is marked with a special message of hope from the employees, "Nissan: Dans les rues d'Haiti pour vous aider!" Translated from the Haitian French dialect, the message reads, "Nissan: On the roads of Haiti to help you!"