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Rinspeed previews Budii concept ahead of Geneva show

Every year Frank Rinderknecht and his team at Rinspeed come to the Geneva Motor Show with another fantastical concept car, and next year's will be no exception. Though the show may still be several months away, the Swiss outfit is already giving us a glimpse of what to expect. Rinspeed's latest project is called the Budii, and it aims to "redefine the relationship between man and machine." As you might have guessed, that means driverless technology. Specific details at this point are limited, but the design calls for an electric vehicle with an adaptable cabin featuring drive-by-wire steering wheel. That wheel can swing out of the way to the center of the dashboard or to either side, should driver or passenger (as blurred as those rigid concepts become in this case) wish to take control. Beyond that we don't know much at this point, but the image above seems to indicate it'll be based on the BMW i3. Meanwhile the long list of partners and suppliers suggest it'll feature a design by Mansory, a Harman infotainment system and a Carl F. Bucherer analog clock embedded in the dynamic dashboard. 2015 Geneva Motor Show Rinspeed exhibits "Budii" at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show: "We need to redefine the relationship between man and machine" As far as Swiss automotive visionary Frank M. Rinderknecht is concerned, the breakneck speed of technical developments forces us to redefine our relationship with the automobile. The farsighted Swiss says: "Until now, what we have primarily associated with auto mobility was freedom and individuality. And - consciously or unconsciously - we are prepared to pay a high price in many regards for these privileges. We need only look at the accident statistics." Autonomous driving undoubtedly offers the opportunity to drastically diminish some of the drawbacks of private transport. For example, the number of traffic accidents could drop worldwide. But although it will be less prone to err than humans, even the best technology will not be perfect. "That is something we will have to accept," believes the boss of Rinspeed, the Swiss automotive powerhouse of ideas.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla Gigafactory gets high-tech neighbors, BMW i8 still comes with a long wait

Switch plans to build a large data center near the site of Tesla's Gigafactory battery production facility in Reno, Nevada. The 3 million square-foot facility in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center will cost $1 billion to build, and eBay is expected to be the main tenant when the first portion is finished in 2016. Apple is also building a data center nearby. One draw for companies like Switch, Apple and Tesla is access to the region's clean power, and the Reno area could become the next big center for high-tech manufacturing. Read more at GigaOm. Daniel Sparks of investing website The Motley Fool has shared his insights after living with the Tesla Model S for four months and 10,000 miles. After driving his 85-kW version through various conditions, including a 2,200-mile road trip, Sparks is optimistic about the car and the company behind it. From his experience, he says that charging is easier than most people believe, and that range anxiety isn't a problem. He calls Tesla's growing Supercharger network a "game changer," citing their quickness, availability and the fact that charging is free for life. He also says that most people seem to know very little about the car. Still, he calls Tesla stock "pricey" with the growth already priced into the shares. Read more at USA Today. The wait for a BMW i8 is about a year, despite efforts to ramp up production. BMW is reducing production of the i3 in order to increase the number of i8s by more than 50 percent for 2015, but the bigger batch won't become available in the US until October. Ludwig Willisch, CEO of BMW North America, says that he doesn't expect cheap gas to slow sales of the i3. He also denies rumors of an i9 positioned above the i8. The new 7 Series appears to be taking some cues from the i8, though, with carbon fiber, magnesium and aluminum construction, as well as improved connectivity. Read more at Automotive News.

BMW Z8, Lambo LM002 sell for $192,500 apiece in Detroit [w/poll]

Think a car are a bad investment? That all depends on what kind of car you're talking about. Because while most cars depreciate in value as soon as you drive them off the lot, others can do even better than hold their value. The cars that appreciate tend to be pretty high-end exotics, but they don't have to be multi-million-dollar classics to command a premium at auction. Just look at the results from RM Sotheby's Motor City sale in Detroit this past weekend. The auction house moved a solid $7.4 million worth of metal, which is pretty impressive when you consider that – unlike events at Lake Como or Pebble Beach – not one of the lots dipped into seven figures. 1930s-era American classics performed the strongest, with Duesenbergs, Packards, Auburns and the like all fetching hundreds of thousands. But what intrigued us most were the European exotics that rounded the top ten results. Amidst the Depression-era American steel were a BMW Z8 from 2001 and a 1988 Lamborghini LM002, each of which sold for an equal $192,500. Hardly the highest figures paid for European exotics this year, but considering how much they were worth just a few years ago, they've proven solid investments. BMW only made 5,703 examples of the Henrik Fisker-designed retro Z8, of which only 2,543 were brought to the United States, where they originally sold for $128,000. The most anyone had ever paid for one at auction, according to Sports Car Market, was $184,082, just this past March at Silverstone. That makes the price achieved this weekend a new record for one of the slinkiest vehicles the Bavarian automaker has ever made, representing an impressive 50-percent increase in value over the course of fourteen years. This particular example – chassis WBAEJ13481AH60437 for those keeping track – is decked out in silver over black, with less than 15,500 miles on the odometer. This Rambo Lambo was produced early in the 301-unit production run, with the sought-after carbureted engine and 32,000 miles on the clock. It didn't set any records at the same price, other examples of the LM002 having traded over the past few years for over $200k. But considering that Sant'Agata originally charged around $120-130k for the SUV when it was new, its selling price still represents about 50-percent appreciation (leaving inflation aside).