Newswire

Porsche 918 Spyder sets Nürburgring record

What’s the most fuel-efficient model in Porsche’s lineup? Now, what’s the company’s fastest street-legal model? Many will be surprised to learn that both these superlatives belong to the same car: the 918 Spyder, which was on display at last week’s LA Auto Show. As McLaren (with the P1) and Ferrari (with the LaFerrari) have also… Read more »

Dow sells battery-making division Dow Kokam

Industrial giant Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) has sold its interest in battery manufacturer Dow Kokam to MBP Investors LLC, an affiliate of Townsend Ventures. Dow Kokam makes large-format nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion cells and systems for the fleet transportation, stationary storage and industrial markets. The company’s Midland Battery Park in Michigan includes one of… Read more »

Fisker finally files for bankruptcy, reveals creditors

Fisker Automotive finally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week, some 18 months after building its last car. Hybrid Technology LLC, which bought the automaker’s outstanding $168 million DOE loan for $25 million in October, said that the purchase of the government loan was a first step toward restarting production of the Karma. “As… Read more »

Volvo won’t sell V60 diesel plug-in globally

Disappointing news for American lovers of Volvo station wagons: Senior VP Lex Kerssemakers told the Australian outlet Drive that the company will not offer the V60 diesel plug-in hybrid wagon globally. Instead, Yanks and Aussies will have to settle for a gasoline plug-in powertrain that will debut in the new XC90 SUV in late 2014…. Read more »

Via Motors presents solar tonneau for its plug-in pickup

The first question the “average Joe” asks about an EV is often, “Why don’t they put a solar panel on it?” Leaving aside technical details about surface area, insolation, voltage levels and the requirements of vehicle design, the simple answer is that it wouldn’t produce enough energy to justify the cost. However, Via Motors’ VTrux… Read more »

BMW i3 bares it all in LA

As BMW prepares to bring its new i3 to market in 2014, expectations are running high. The upscale city car fills a vacant niche in the market, and it embodies all the advantages of a pure EV. Equally important, the company seems committed to making the i3 a success in the marketplace, rather than taking… Read more »

Researchers demonstrate major advance in lithium-sulfur battery chemistry

Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have demonstrated a lithium-sulfur (Li/S) battery that has more than twice the specific energy of current lithium-ion batteries, and that lasts for more than 1,500 charge/discharge cycles with minimal capacity loss. This is the longest cycle life yet reported for any lithium-sulfur battery. The results were reported in the… Read more »

Remy CEO moves to VIA as it ramps up production

VIA Motors has announced that John Weber, former CEO of motor manufacturer Remy, has been chosen as VIA’s new Chief Executive Officer. “John’s many years of experience as an auto industry manufacturer and his keen leadership skills make him a tremendous asset to VIA Motors as we ramp up production and work more closely with… Read more »

NHTSA: There’s no such thing as a safety score higher than 5 stars

A perfect score ought to be good enough for any car – that’s the message from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has issued new marketing guidelines that explicitly prohibit automakers from promoting safety scores higher than 5 stars. The updated guidelines also say that NHTSA safety scores are always whole numbers. The… Read more »

ChargePoint network grows to 50,000 users

This week, the ChargePoint network reached a milestone as driver number 50,000 joined up. Unsurprisingly, the 50,000th ChargePoint member resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. Less than an hour after signing up, the new user plugged in a Tesla Model S to a ChargePoint station at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael…. Read more »