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Recharge Wrap-up: Free chargers for Canadian ELR buyers, Renovo gets funding for EV supercar

Chevrolet offers versions of its Express passenger van with B20 biodiesel and E85 capability. Customers can buy the van with the Duramax turbodiesel V8, which is compatible with the 20-percent biodiesel blend. There is also a FlexFuel V8, which can use the 85-percent ethanol gasoline blend. It's a great option for shuttling the whole soccer team to practice using renewable fuels. Read more at Domestic Fuels. Early buyers of the Cadillac ELR in Canada will get a 240-volt charger installed at their home for free. It should help convince some buyers to adopt the range extended luxury EV. Cadillac's Chief Marketing Officer Uwe Ellinghaus says, "Professional installation of the fastest home-charging unit is a natural way to mark the introduction of ELR to the luxury market." Read more in the press release below. Renovo has received venture capital funding from California-based True Ventures to build its Coupe electric supercar. The impressive EV, with its 500 horsepower and 1,000 pound-feet of torque, is an inspiring vehicle built by a promising company, according to its financial backers. Toni Schneider of True Ventures says that Renovo has "created incredibly advanced technology and a beautiful machine that is well positioned to disrupt the automotive market." Read more in the press release below. Renault says it will build its Fluence ZE electric car in China for an unnamed brand, pending government approval. Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn announced the plan at a test drive event in France on Monday. Renault has a partnership with Dongfeng Motors to build and sell its cars in China. Read more at Reuters. Germany has lifted its ban on Uber. While the German court believes the ride-hailing service is operating illegally without proper licensing for drivers, it says Taxi Deutschland waited too long to file the case against Uber. The taxi association plans to appeal the decision soon. See more in the video below, and read more at The New York Times. A new report from UC Davis claims that a global expansion of public transit could save 1,700 megatons of carbon dioxide yearly and over $100 trillion by 2050. A "high-shift scenario" would be necessary, wherein governments invest in rail and clean buses, expand biking and walking infrastructure and shift focus away from projects that encourage car use. This shift to public transit would especially be important in the US, China and India. Read more in the press release below.

Weekly Recap: GM scales back as Russian auto market teeters

General Motors' extensive plans to scale back its Russian operations are the latest sign the automotive market in the former superpower is collapsing – and there are few signs of recovery. GM said Wednesday it will stop selling mainstream Chevrolets and shutter the entire Opel brand in Russia. The moves leave GM with a luxury-focused presence consisting of Cadillac and Chevrolet's Corvette, Camaro and Tahoe. The cutbacks will be completed by the end of the year. The automaker will also idle its factory in St. Petersburg and end a contract-assembly agreement with Russian manufacturer GAZ. "We had to take decisive action in Russia to protect our business," Opel Group CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann said in a statement. "We confirm our outlook to return the European business to profitability in 2016 and stick to our long-term goals." GM is the latest automaker to scale back in Russia as the economic conditions, volatile currency and uncertainty over the conflict in the Ukraine all have sandbagged new car sales. Last month, vehicle sales collapsed 38 percent in Russia to 128,298 units, according to the Association of European Business, which records sales. Joerg Schreiber, chairman of the AEB automobile manufacturers committee, didn't even feign optimism in a statement announcing the figures. "The market is entering a very difficult phase now, and February is only the beginning," he said. "Industry sentiment is the next few months will be extremely difficult and the market bottom has yet to be found." The dovetails with industry experts, who predict the Russian auto sector will remain in the doldrums. IHS said earlier this year it expects Russia's sales to slip to just 1.8 million units in 2015, which is a 40-percent drop from 2012. Other News & Notes Chief leads Jeep's Easter Safari stable Jeep is bringing seven attention-getting concepts to Moab for its annual Easter Safari off-roading celebration in Utah, but the Chief is perhaps the standout of the group. It salutes the 1970s Cherokee with a throwback appearance and surfer styling cues. The Chief has a custom modified razor grille made famous by the Wagoneer, and it rolls on 17-inch slotted mag wheels. The surf theme comes in with ocean blue paint, floral cloth and leather seats and a tiki-style shifter handle. Based on the Jeep Wrangler, the Chief has removable sides, a 3.6-liter V6 engine and a six-speed manual gearbox.

Woman thwarts car thieves by jumping on hood

When a pack of car thieves tried to steal a Milwaukee-area woman's car at a gas station, she didn't run for help. Oh no. She hulked out, jumped on the hood, and screamed her head off until the thief finally ran off. According to WISN, Melissa Smith was gassing up her white Subaru Outback at a BP station near Milwaukee's historic Third Ward on the afternoon of May 24. As she stood there pumping gas and minding her own business, a black Cadillac swung slowly around the front of the Subie and came to a stop just off the front left corner. As Smith turned her back to hang up the pump nozzle, a dude bailed out of the Caddy, crouched down, and snuck into the Outback's driver's seat. "I didn't see him till I saw him get into my car. Or someone was in my car, and had my, 'Oh, hell this isn't happening to me today' moment," Smith told WISN. As soon as she saw the thief in her car, Smith ran around the front then leaped on to the hood. She started yelling and pounding on the windshield as the thief tried to pull away from the pump, but he refused to stop. He tried a couple quick stops in an attempt to shake her off, but to no avail. "He looked at me, and he laughed at me, which really irritated me," Smith said. "He was laughing while I was on my car, and he was trying to throw me off, so zero remorse." Smith clung to the Subaru, shouting and pounding until the thief gave up. He abandoned ship, jumped back into the Caddy, and the group of thieves sped away. Unfortunately, when the thief bailed he left the Subie in gear with Smith still holding on for dear life. "Then I had to chase my car into the street and stop it before it hit somebody else," Smith said. Thankfully, Smith was unharmed in the incident, but the crooks got her purse, phone, wallet, and sunglasses. Milwaukee police are still looking for the suspects, who they say stole the black Caddy before trying to steal Smith's Subaru. Related Video: News Source: NBC News, WISN Auto News Weird Car News Cadillac Subaru Crossover Sedan carjacking milwaukee