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Another Green Episode | Autoblog Podcast #665

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and West Coast Editor James Riswick for an episode dedicated to electric cars. First, they talk about what they've been driving, including the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the new base, rear-wheel-drive Porsche Taycan as well as the Polestar 2. Then they dive into some green news, including the reveal of the Audi E-Tron GT, the new Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV and plans to go electric by companies like General Motors and Jaguar Land Rover. Autoblog Podcast #665 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown What we're driving:Ford Mustang Mach-E Porsche Taycan Polestar 2  News 2022 Audi E-Tron GT revealed as sporty, electric cousin to Porsche Taycan 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV introduced along with revised Bolt EV General Motors sets goal of being carbon neutral, largely electric by 2035 Jaguar to sell all-electric cars by 2030, and six electric Land Rovers coming in next five years Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related Video:

1956 DKW Audi electric van beautifully restored

These days, electric vehicles that make commercial deliveries aren't entirely rare. UPS has a small fleet in California, and at least 5,000 Renault Kangoo Z.E. models are in use by France's national postal service. But the history of this concept is much older. In fact, one of the companies represented by Audi's four rings had an example about 60 years ago. Audi Tradition just completed a full restoration of this blue 1956 DKW Elektro-Wagen to add to the company's collection of historic vehicles. It's quite a rare find because only two are still known to exist. Audi estimates that DKW built about 100 of these electric vans between 1955 and 1962, and they were primarily sold to energy companies, public utilities and battery makers. To create the EV model, DKW took its normal Schnellaster delivery van and replaced the model's two-stroke engine with an electric drivetrain. The vans weren't exactly speedy, though. The motor produced about 6.7 horsepower and lead-acid batteries offered 200 amp hours of power running at 80 volts. It gave the Elektro-Wagen a claimed range of about 50 miles and a 25 mile-per-hour top speed. Following the restoration, Audi took van to the island of Wangerooge in the North Sea to show it off. The location is perfect, too, because vehicles with internal combustion engines are banned on the island. If you can read German, feel free to find out more in the press release below. „DKW Elektro-Wagen" zu Audi heimgekehrt Einen von zwei verbliebenen DKW Elektro Schnellaster restauriert Klein-Bus einst auf der Nordseeinsel Wangerooge im Einsatz Audi Tradition prasentiert einen aussergewohnlichen Neuzugang in seiner historischen Sammlung: einen „DKW Elektro-Wagen" von 1956. Zwischen 1955 und 1962 produzierte die Auto Union GmbH in Ingolstadt DKW Schnellaster – etwa 100 davon als Elektro-Automobile, die das Unternehmen vor allem an Energieunternehmen, Stadtwerke oder Batteriehersteller verkaufte. Bei dem nun nach aufwandiger Restauration „heimgekehrten" Elektro-Schnellaster handelt es sich um ein besonderes Exponat: Der DKW fuhr auf der Nordseeinsel Wangerooge, wo Automobile mit Verbrennungsmotoren verboten sind. Normalerweise war der DKW Schnellaster mit einem Zweitaktmotor ausgestattet - der „Elektro-Wagen" hingegen mit einem funf Kilowatt (kw) leistenden Reihenschluss-Motor. Die seitlich in zwei Kasten gelagerten Bleibatterien hatten eine Nennspannung von 80 Volt und eine Kapazitat von 200 Amperestunden (AH).

Car companies may need to start curbing model proliferation

Looking at the current automotive landscape, especially from German makers, you quickly get the impression that less definitely isn't more. BMW alone offers its 3 Series platform in practically every segment possible, including the regular sedan and 4 Series Gran Coupe, which would seem to be direct competitors. Porsche might be the winner, though, with 20 different variants of the 911 listed for sale on its US website. However, some of this model madness might be reaching an end as companies begin cutting back spending or shifting money to other priorities.
According to Yahoo Finance, the offerings from the German automakers are up 25 percent over the past three years to over 200 models in Europe. The peak is expected to come around 2018 at 230 separate vehicles, according to consulting company PwC.
Amazingly, BMW, which is among the poster children for this model explosion, might be changing its tune. "I'm sure there will be points in the future where we look at certain cars and say, 'Maybe we need to think differently now,'" said head of sales Ian Robertson in an interview, according to Yahoo Finance. The statement certainly sounds shocking coming from a company rumored to have 23 front-wheel-drive vehicles all using a single platform on the way.