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Recharge Wrap-up: BMW cars to share i tech, Jordan to build solar EV charging network

Jordan is looking to promote EVs and build a solar charging network. The country is waiving import tariffs on electric cars, and is spending $120 million on solar chargers. It plans to build 3,000 charging stations, along with 30 MW of solar power. Some chargers will be powered by solar canopies, while others will get electricity from nearby solar farms. Jordan's solar plan should also help to lessen the amount of energy it needs to import from nearby countries. Read more from Navigant Research, or at Green Car Reports. BMW's mainstream cars will benefit from technology borrowed from the i3 and i8, according to BMW sales head Ian Robertson. In an interview with Automotive News, Robertson said that next-generation cars will use carbon fiber more extensively, and that more cars will get plug-in technology. He said that about half of i3 buyers opt for the range extender and added that it is incorrect to refer to a range-extended electric vehicle as a plug-in hybrid. Read more at Automotive News. The ethanol market should remain healthy despite falling oil prices. While cheap oil could drive down ethanol prices, demand still remains due to the federal biofuels standard. Additionally, ethanol producers may find it cheaper to ship their products as domestic oil production drops and railroad shipping opens up. Ethanol byproducts like distillers grains continue to sell, and foreign demand continues as other countries impose their own renewable fuel standards. Read more at Yahoo News. Via Motors will launch the production of an electric Chevrolet Silverado. The company will convert the pickups into range-extended EVs at its assembly line in Mexico, near GM's Silverado plant. Via has the capacity to produce 10,000 vehicles per year at its Mexico facility. Via Motors Chairman (and former GM Vice Chairman during the early days of the Chevrolet Volt project) Bob Lutz wants to help make EVs mainstream in America, and believes that requires electrifying pickups and SUVs. Read more in the press release below. Bob Lutz to Announce Production Launch of the Electrified Chevy Silverado BY VIA Motors Media access to Bob Lutz, former Vice-Chairman of General Motors and father of the Chevy Volt Bob Lutz is now Chairman of VIA Motors who builds the "Volt Style" extended range electric drive system for the Silverado, the Express Van and is working on the SUV's (Tahoe, Suburban) 5 years in development. Now production Launch and Consumer Sales in 2015.

Looking back at the Citation IV concept that likely shaped the GM EV1

Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it. We're not sure how that applies to the GM EV1, but we'd still like to share something from Autoline Daily, an online automotive new show with our friend John McElroy. He's been covering the business for decades now and recently found something interesting: pictures of the 1984 Chevrolet Citation IV concept, seen above. Displayed half a decade before the first electric concept that would become the EV1 (inset), McElroy says it's now clear that the elegant, aerodynamic EV1 took a lot of styling cues from the Citation IV, which was developed in part thanks to GM's new-at-the-time Aerodynamics Laboratory. We agree with him that the spats over the rear wheels, the flush glass, and the covered headlights all bear a certain kind of similarity between the two cars. That the colors almost match is a nice coincidence. The Impact (the concept version of the EV1) looked "frumpier," McElroy says, because it wasn't as long as the Citation. You can read a lot more about the Citation IV here and check out McElroy's thoughts in the video below. Find the Citation starting at around 3:45. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Why the Corvette is Chevrolet's billion-dollar baby

Edmunds has worked up a piece that tries to figure out just how much the global Chevrolet Corvette economy is worth, a spitballed guesstimate putting the number at more than $2.5 billion with the proviso that the number is probably low. It starts by taking Corvette's new car sales of 14,132 units last year, which would equate to $714,725,900 (including destination) assuming ever car sold was a base coupe with no options. In the final tally, a little extra padding gets that number up to $750,000,000.
But that's not all. Consider this: Many of the almost 1.4 million Corvettes produced over the model's history are still on the road. There are new parts being produced and aftermarket companies like Mid-America Motorworks deaing business, that single Illinois company doing more than $40 million a year in sales. There are the Corvette events large and small, restorers who do nothing but Corvettes, salvage yards that deal only in used Corvette parts and the Corvette magazines where owners find all this stuff.
And then there are the Corvette-themed tchotchkes, every single one of which provides a tiny contribution to the huge licensing royalties that General Motors collects every year. The article admits there's no way to come to an accurate number, but it just goes to show how valuable one specific model can be to a company.