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BMW i3 wins 2015 Green Car of the Year award

The popular little BMW i3 (popular in the US, at least) was named the 2015 Green Car of the Year at the Los Angeles Auto Show today. The award doesn't just take into account a car's green credentials but also its "availability to the mass market." While the i3 is a bit expensive, starting at $41,350, it is becoming available at BMW dealers across the country, which cannot be said about a lot of other new plug-in vehicles released these past few years. The other finalists this year were the CNG-powered Chevy Impala Bi-Fuel, the Audi A3 TDI, the Honda Fit and the VW Golf. The BMW i3 with range extender gets a fuel economy rating of 117 MPGe and 39 miles per gallon (in gas mode) with a 72-mile EV range. The EV-only version gets 124 MPGe combined (137 in the city and 111 on the highway) and has an EV range of 81 miles. Green Car Journal has handed out the award every year for ten years now, naming the Honda Accord Hybrid/Plug-In Hybrid the winner last year, the Ford Fusion models (plug-in hybrid and hybrid) in 2013, the Honda Civic Natural Gas in 2012 and the Chevrolet Volt in 2011. BMW i3 NAMED GREEN CAR JOURNAL'S 2015 GREEN CAR OF THE YEAR" Milestone Carbon Fiber Electric Car Wins the Auto Industry's Most Important Environmental Award at Los Angeles Auto Show LOS ANGELES, CA (November 20, 2014) – BMW's i3, an innovative electric car built with a lightweight carbon fiber passenger cell and an aluminum drive module, has been named Green Car Journal's 2015 Green Car of the Year®, which was announced at the LA Auto Show. Green Car of the Year® finalists also included the Audi A3 TDI, Chevrolet Impala Bi-Fuel, Honda Fit, and VW Golf. The Green Car of the Year® award is an honor widely recognized as the auto industry's most important environmental accolade. Green Car Journal, the leading voice in the intersection of automobiles, energy, and the environment since the publication's launch in 1992, celebrates the high-profile award's 10th anniversary at the L.A. Auto Show this year. "BMW's i3 is a milestone vehicle in many respects and illustrates the automaker's expansive vision of future motoring," said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal and CarsOfChange.com.

BMW Individual gives 760Li a Sterling reputation

Standard chrome too plebeian for your taste? You can order a Rolls-Royce with its Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament made out of just about anything you want: gold, silver, glass... you name it. But if your sense of style is a bit less Anglo and a bit more Saxon, BMW has another option for you.
Feast your eyes on the BMW Individual 760Li Sterling edition. (But don't look directly at it. Don't you dare.) Crafted in partnership between BMW Individual and the silversmiths at Robbe & Berking, the special 7 Series is adorned with hammered sterling silver trim inside and out. The twin-kidney grille, the emblems, the interior trim panels... all hand-made in silver. So you won't want to park this particular Bimmer in the wrong neighborhood, because unlike the Rolls ornament, these don't retract safely under the hood.
The special edition gets a dark grey exterior tint and brown leather interior, the best to highlight the silver brightwork. Otherwise it's mechanically identical to any other 760Li (or so we would presume, as the press release didn't mention specifically), that being the flagship version of BMW's flagship sedan, complete with 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 at the front end of a long wheelbase. Check it out in the gallery above, including the build process at both BMW Individual and Robbe & Berking, and press release below.

Recharge Wrap-up: E15 could help smog woes, MPG average at all-time high

A new study shows that using an E15 blend instead of regular gasoline would reduce smog in Chicago. Increasing the availability of the 15-percent ethanol blend could help reduce carcinogenic air pollution and improve air quality, particularly on the city's South Side. The study found that E15 reduces the risk of cancer by 6.6 percent. It also reduces greenhouse gas emissions 1.5 percent compared to a 10-percent ethanol blend. Read more at Domestic Fuel. Fairmont Beijing is offering hotel guests a chance to experience BMW's i cars. For the next three months, guests needing airport transfers will be picked up in one of the German automakers electric vehicles. Also, those who choose the hotel's "Passion Package," which includes transportation in one of the cars or on a BMW bike, and a private guided tour of the 789 Arts District and the Peking opera house as well as tickets to an opera performance. Learn more in the press release below. Formula E will host motor shows at the circuits during its race weekends. Visitors will learn about the technology behind the all-electric race series and the racecars, including the safety and performance aspects. The goal of the four-day shows is not only to entertain and educate people, but also to generate interest in electric and hybrid vehicles in hopes that drivers will consider adopting electric cars themselves. Read more at Formula E's website. The average fuel economy of new vehicles has reached a new high of 25.8 miles per gallon, according to the University of Michigan. The school's Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) used the window sticker ratings of the vehicles to reach that number for the month of August. That's 0.2 mpg higher than July, and 5.7 mpg higher than October 2007, when UMTRI began recording the data. The group also found that average emissions per driver are down by 22 percent since October 2007. Read more at Green Car Congress. The United States Advanced Battery Consortium has awarded a $667,452 development contract to battery maker Xerion. The contract - a 50-percent cost share co-funded by the US Department of Energy - is for a 15-month program to develop next-generation batteries for plug-in hybrids. Read more in the press release below. Fairmont Beijing Introduces Eco-friendly Partnership with BMW's New Electric i Series BEIJING, Sept. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Fairmont Beijing is partnering with BMW in a showcase of the luxury carmaker's new electric, environment-friendly i Series.