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Recharge Wrap-up: EV torque secrets, UC Davis maps future of biofuels

A UC Davis white paper maps out "Three Routes Forward for Biofuels," balancing investment risk with carbon benefits. The first option is "incremental," in which we tinker with the existing biofuel manufacturing infrastructure for small improvements over time. The "transitional" plan suggests integrating cellulosic production and other innovations with existing operations. The third route, called "leapfrogging," would mean building refineries based on new technology such as cellulosic and algae-based biofuels. The paper suggests ways the US could use these three routes together in different areas, and predicts the payoffs in terms of carbon emissions could be significant if the right people are willing to risk the capital. After all, financial advisers are always telling investors to diversify their portfolios to manage risk and rewards in the same way. Read more over at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies. The Formula E Long Beach ePrix will offer free admission. The seventh round of the inaugural all-electric race season, which was moved from Los Angeles to the streets of Long Beach, will offer fans free grandstand and general admission. The race, which takes place on April 5, 2015, will use a 1.6-mile portion of IndyCar's Grand Prix of Long Beach. Read more at LA Times. Polaris is now offering its 2015 GEM electric vehicles, including the new street-legal eM1400 LSV. The passenger and utility vehicles come in two- to six-passenger configurations, many of which are street legal on roads with posted speed limits of up to 35 miles per hour. The eM1400 LSV utility vehicle seats two, offers 1,250 pounds of payload, 1,250 pounds of towing capacity, a top speed of 25 mph and a range of up to 45 miles. Its on-board charger plugs into any standard 110-volt outlet. Read more at Hybrid Cars and check out all the different configurations yourself at the Polaris website. In EVs, more torque does not always equal faster. Green Car Reports found this out when driving the Fiat 500e (with 147 pound-feet) against the similarly weighted Chevrolet Spark EV (with 400 pound-feet). The secret is, at least in part, in the gearing. The Fiat has a 9.6:1 reduction gear, making it quicker at lower speeds despite having far less available torque, while the Chevy uses a 3:1 ratio. The trade-off though, is in top speed. Furthermore, Chevy electronically limits the torque delivery at low speeds, as 400 pound-feet is a lot of launch for the little Spark EV to handle.

2018 Ford Expedition vs other big SUVs: How it compares on paper

With our Alex Kierstein rightly impressed in his first-drive review of the new 2018 Ford Expedition, we decided to dig a little deeper into the numbers, and we came up with the spreadsheet below to highlight how the new 2018 Expedition compares on paper to its main full-size SUV competitors: the 2018 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban (and therefore the 2018 GMC Yukon), 2018 Toyota Sequoia and 2018 Nissan Armada. We also threw in the new, even bigger 2018 Chevrolet Traverse since, as you'll see, its massive dimensions should put it on the radar for anyone who needs loads of passenger and cargo space but doesn't care as much about towing. A few notes about the chart above. First, the 6.2-liter V8 that's included with the new-for-2018 Tahoe RST trim level is the standard engine on the GMC Yukon Denali. You can apply most of the Tahoe's numbers to the entire Yukon and Yukon XL lineup. Second, though we highlighted categories where the Traverse led, we also highlighted the runner-up full-size SUV, since this was ultimately about that segment. Traverse numbers are broadly applicable to the new Buick Enclave. Related Video: Chevrolet Ford GMC Nissan Toyota SUV Comparison consumer ford expedition gmc yukon chevy traverse toyota sequoia nissan armada chevrolet tahoe ford expedition max

Silverado HD, Touareg V10 TDI face off in diesel tug-of-war

A couple weeks ago, we watched a Chevrolet Silverado get dominated by a Dodge Ram Heavy Duty in a fullsize pickup tug-of-war, but in that truck's defense, Chevy's Vortec gas engine was no match for the torquey Cummins turbo diesel. For our next round of vehicular tug-of-war, a Duramax-powered Silverado HD takes on Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI.
Now, on paper, putting the Duramax V8's 365 horsepower and 660 pound-feet of torque up against the V10's 310 hp and 553 lb-ft looks like an easy win for the Bowtie, but unfortunately, this battle has a similar result as the Dodge versus Chevy video, with the Silverado smoking its tires trying to move forward as it gets pulled backwards. Put another way: YouTube 2, Chevy Silverado 0.
It just goes to show, though, that big tires, bolt-on fender flares and goofy smoke stacks don't improve your towing abilities. Besides, what did the Silverado driver expect when the Touareg V10 TDI has towed a Boeing 747 in the past?