G. David Felt

G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.CheersandGears.com BMW iPerformance, Anything New or Just Addressing CAFE? Last year BMW announced their iPerformance line of auto's using the eDrive moniker. This allowed them to have a line of auto's either pure EV or plug-in hybrid sitting between the M and standard petro auto's they make. This July 2016 iPerformance Line of auto's will be available with their eDrive system. The following models are making up the iPerformance line which currently makes the i3 and i8. New Models: 225xe Active Tour 330e X5 xDrive40e 740e xDrive 740Le xDrive 330e Specs: 184 hp four-cylinder petrol engine and 65 kW, 88 hp, 250 Nm electric motor integrated into the housing of the eight-speed automatic total system output of 185 kW/252 hp (on par with 330i and 330d) 0–60 mph in 6.1 seconds with a top speed of 140 mph. all-electric range of up to 40 km (25 miles) NEDC and 14 miles (22.5 km) US EPA 7.6 kWh lithium-ion battery beneath the boot floor charging in 3 hours and 15 minutes from a household outlet average fuel consumption (combined) of 2.1–1.9 litres/100 km (134.5–148.7 mpg imp) at least 370 liters of luggage compartment volume; the rear seat offer a 40:20 40 split EU-empty weight of 1735 kg (3,825 lbs) 740e Specs: 254 hp four-cylinder petrol turbocharged engine and an electric motor integrated into the housing of the eight-speed automatic giving a total HP of 326 with an average mpg of 112. So now that BMW has committed an extensive lineup of EV / Plug-in hybrids to the company auto portfolio, this makes one wonder if this is to address cafe issues, government regulations or customer demands or a bit of all three? By 2018 BMW has stated that all 5 models will be out. We have the lone plug-in hybrid at Cadillac, a few at BMW and of course announcements at others from Mercedes-benz to Audi and the hybrids already on the lots at Lexus as well as others. So this has me wondering just how fast a changeover will take place and if the governments around the world are going to push to move to a default plug-in hybrid with pure EV and petrol performance auto's bracketing the top and bottom of the new auto line up. So what are your thoughts on this new division that is based in the UK? Is the division really needed? Will the push force auto companies to drop more petrol only models and move to plug-in hybrids faster? Does CAFE have to be so high and if so will it only get super high as they push the hybrids into triple digits? How soon will we see hybrids out sell petrol models? Will truck buyers embrace a pure EV truck or hybrid truck? So many questions and so few answers, but let the discussion begin and sound off on what you think of this! References: insideevs caranddriver performancedrive bmwblog bmwblog hybridcars greencarreports

So VW killed the goose for everyone at low speeds and the fact that normal driving disabled emissions control. Yet here you have a vehicle that driven below 90 the emissions work as designed which is where I bet the bulk of drivers drive anyway and yet above 90 it turns off the emissions to protect the engine. This usually means the engine runs richer to ensure enough fuel, enough oil protection, etc. If Germany allows for this feature then Opel should be fine and just needs to show their engineering manner to the body. Sadly, I suspect every auto maker is going to come under the microscope due to VW and Mitsubishi betrayal to the customer and the environment.

Have to say this is lovely in their Forest Green color.

Me Think Someone just might have a trade-in on a new ride! Haha... my weird short list includes the CX-3, the Renegade, Encore, Trax... and Spark. I find the new Spark absolutely adorable. I would get a Spark 1LT in Splash Blue with manual transmission, then add a set of black Enkei wheels and have a fun little ride. If I went with the Spark, I could buy it outright and be done with auto payments altogether... something I have not experienced since... 1998! So one of the following could be your new ride!

Me Think Someone just might have a trade-in on a new ride!

+1 Hyper Nailed that on the head.

And that is where Marketing has FAILED the consumer. They only talk about HP and ignor that Torque is what is needed to move you along while HP is there to sustain it at the high end of speed. EV motors giving 100% Torque and HP or better Kilowatts / Megawatts give it all from ZERO and keep 100% up to red line thus giving a very nice experience. I totally expect the BOLT to suprise many when it hits the lots this fall / winter.

G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.CheersandGears.com Understanding Tesla View of HP and Torque Most people today understand when a person mentions Horsepower or Torque they relate it to how well a petro powered auto might perform. Faster, stronger, driving machines that compete for your hard earned dollars while giving you an in the gut experience to make one grin from ear to ear or puke depending on your own personal constitution. With today's EV auto's, people are still looking to relate the EV to the horsepower and torque or HP / lb-ft that they are used to and no fully understanding that in the EV world the motors are dealing with Kilowatts and Megawatts which is the common terms used for electric motors converting electricity into motion. In reviewing Tesla's Blog, I came across a posting by JB Straubel, Chief Technical Officer for Tesla. He wrote a blog titled "Tesla All Wheel Drive (Dual Motor) Power and Torque Specifications" in which he covers Electrical Horsepower, Dual versus single motor, and all wheel drive 85D and 70D covering the differences between the two. One thing that I learned was that while we all know that petro auto's loose HP/Torque in higher elevations, all auto's have reduced air resistance, yet EV motors actually get faster. It is an insightful read especially about the ability to adjust their power between front and rear motor both going uphill and downhill where regenerative power capture takes place. Take a look and sound off on what your thoughts are on his blog post.

Good for GM to jump on this when discovered. The IDIOT who filed the class-action lawsuit is just looking at money. The judges need to throw this out. I applaud GM for being proactive and for clearly letting the engineers bring the issue to light of day. I take this as a basic mistake that happens and not Like Mitsubishi who deceived for decades.

Very Cool CCAP, thanks for sharing. That is a very cool Paw logo! Drew we need some Dawg Emoticons.

Very cool, and yes I would also burn off the tires and save the money for new ones. Glad to hear you has a fine road trip.

Tesla Blog has some amazing reading and insight into how the company is being run. While clearly this is a response to a lawsuit that Tesla was dismissed from as not being responsible for, it is interesting reading and clearly shows Tesla cares. I hope they do continue long term either as a stand alone company or as a division in one but continues to make their outstanding EV products. Tesla Response to Mercury News Story: Here Tesla Hepa Bio Hazard Filter Blog: Here Have to say that the more I read on this filter system, the more I hope other auto companies follow their lead with a superior air cabin filter system. I really like this.

Love the Power of the Pushrod, truly an amazing engine.

Interesting, even the Korean Car Blog could not really explain the slide that shows Near Luxury SUV and Near Luxury sedan. So Genesis is to compete against Acura, Lexus, Infinity, Lincoln as well as Cadillac, BMW and Mercedes-Benz and yet does the Near mean they also cover Buick? Going to be an interesting and confusing product line me think. Bigger yet is if in the next 4 years they can roll out 5 new luxury auto's then there should be no problem with the rate Cadillac is rolling out new models.

Reason for using my own personal transportation, I know the condition the auto is in, I have everything set the way I like it, I am totally prepped for the long drive. Rental, makes sense if your auto is needing things done before the road trip or older and might not make it, if you have more people going and only have small auto's then I would get a bigger one. Was surprised as to how nice the Ford Explorers were on my most recent trip. If you just do not want to put the miles on your own auto then by all means rent. Personally, I will stick to my own paid off auto.

Being one of the tallest and biggest members here at C&G you all know I drive full size SUV's as such, I always default to my own personal auto even on long road trips. I love to drive and for me driving 500 miles in a day or even 900 is no big deal. This saturday taking some friends to the Hoh Rain Forest on the Olympic peninsula to show them the awesome area. Hoh Rain Forest web site: HERE National Park web site covering Hoh Rain Forest: HERE Images of the Hoh Rain Forest: HERE From my house to the park and back is a total 471 miles or 235.5 one way.

Correct the platform was retired and the new VOLT is now on the new Global D2XX I think is what it is called if memory serves me correct.

Take an ELR for a test drive, you will be surprised how much force that electric motor will push you back into the comfy luxury seat they have in the ELR. They are much nicer than the VOLT, just was never worth the $ they asked. If they brought it out at the current selling price in the mid $40K's they would have done much better.

At least he is visual!

So Volvo stays conservative and bland. Brick on wheels based on that computer drawing.

Yea, they will do the accept blame but I am sure they are still walking away with a very nice golden parachute.

Came across this at my local Caddy dealership. According to Brad my sales guy, the old man traded it in along with his Allante to get a single new auto for him and his wife since he can not drive anymore. They got an SRX, but the dealership has two nice clean auto's to sell. 1981 Chevy C-10 Pickup with custom engine http://www.dougscadillac.com/VehicleDetails/used-1981-Chevrolet-C10-Short_Bed_Pick_Up_350-Shoreline-WA/2762157743 1993 Cadillac Allante http://www.dougscadillac.com/VehicleDetails/used-1993-Cadillac-Allante%27-2dr_Coupe_Convertible-Shoreline-WA/2623191303

You can find ELRs with under 5k miles on them for about 50% off sticker.... they'll even extend the warranty for you. Agreed, it is freakin amazing the deals on ELRs, There is a fully loaded 2015 ELR with 2815 miles at the local Caddy dealer for 40K, originally almost 80k. Not bad, The less than 100 miles on the 2016 ELRs are all in the high 50's to low 60's. I bet they get blown out this fall to clear the lots.

And Triple A or any of the 3rd party companies get to charge you to come out and fix your flat.

For sure this will make them a solid foreign company. Good thing is that the Chinese have no sense for wasting money but do believe in building garbage auto's. Could this be the end of Sergio as we know him?