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Recharge Wrap-up: Chevy Volt CarPlay video, Tesla Supercharger importance

A video demonstrates Apple CarPlay on the touch display in the next-generation Chevrolet Volt. The Volt's eight-inch (bigger than an iPad Mini) capacitive display is capable of putting Siri and your iPhone apps and right at your fingertips. It's "the best CarPlay display I've seen," says the user in the video. In case you're not in the market for a new Volt, 9to5Mac offers some of its favorite aftermarket CarPlay screens. See the video above, and read more at 9to5Mac. A single Supercharger can make a big difference in the life of a Tesla owner. Teslarati's Electric Jen talks about purchasing a Model S, being assured by both Tesla employees and the map of planned Supercharger sites that one would be built along an important route for her. With the construction being pushed back, it made visiting family tricky. "As if owning such a grand car isn't embarrassing enough, asking for a ride to drop off and pick up said car because you can't make it home without charging really made me feel awkward," she says. "You see, one single charging location can mean the world to some people," Jen adds. Read the whole article at Teslarati. Tesla once had considered creating mobile range extender trailers for the Model S. Elon Musk touched upon the abandoned idea during his visit to Paris. While Tesla ultimately dismissed the concept, Nomadic Power has taken the opportunity to hitch their product onto the Tesla brand. "We are delighted, that Tesla Motors' CEO Elon Musk is thinking about a concept like ours for even more extending the range of the Tesla models," says Nomadic Power's CEO Manfred Baumgaertner. He adds, "This confirms our approach to build a long distance mobility provider for all electric vehicles on the market." If you say so, Baumgaertner. Read more from International Business Times, and in the press release below. Renault is giving its EV batteries a second life through Connected Energy's E-STOR. When the batteries have degraded to the point that they're no longer suitable for use on the road, they still have a significant capacity that can be used for other purposes. Still useful for stationary storage, they can be used to support charging sites in order to allow for faster charging. The stationary batteries can charge slowly at the site, but then offer up the juice in a hurry when it's needed for a vehicle. Read more from Renault.

Corvette Stingray Convertible images mysteriously appear on web, so we add our own

It was inevitable that we'd see the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray topless at some point, but that didn't make us any less interested when a pair of supposedly leaked official images showed up on theautoinsiderblog.com last week. We posted them on our Facebook page, but held off reporting on them here until we could get a little more information.
Those images, which feature a dark red car on a sterile black studio background, supposedly first appeared on the website of diecast model maker Maisto. A Chevrolet spokesman has been reported saying that they are "not official images released by Chevrolet PR," which isn't a denial they're the real deal, but neither is it a confirmation.
Close examination of the photos suggest they could be official shots of the Corvette Stingray Convertible, and while some have doubted their authenticity due to a lack of vents (which were seen on the C7s that debuted in Detroit last week), it could be that the images are of a base model car without the Z51 package that doesn't require the extra venting and cooling.

CNG-powered Chevy Sonic, Cruze headed your way

The value proposition for a Crazy Diamond Performance CNG ride was a little bit better before gas prices took a dive in the past month. Still, the Michigan-based company, which converts some of Chevrolet's compact vehicles to run on compressed natural gas, received approval late last month from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for two of its conversion models. And CNG is still pretty cheap. Crazy Diamond will start selling CNG versions of both the Chevrolet Cruze and Chevrolet Sonic. The startup will target fleet operators looking to cut both refueling costs and their carbon footprint. CNG can be found in much of the country in the low $2 range, while the average CO2 emissions are about 25 percent less than those of similar gas-powered vehicles. Average gas prices have tumbled by more than 30 cents a gallon in the last month, according to AAA, but they're still at close to $3. The two models will be able to go almost 300 miles on a full tank of CNG. Crazy Diamond said this summer that it would start selling converted a CNG-powered Cruze that delivers 130 horsepower for as low as $26,000. The turbocharged version goes for about $28,000. Take a look at Crazy Diamond Performance's celebratory press release below. Crazy Diamond Performance recieves EPA approval on its CNG Cruze and Sonic CDP receives EPA approval for its Mono-Fuel CNG Cruze and Sonic. Shelby Township, Michigan, October 30, 2014– Crazy Diamond Performance (CDP) receives EPA approval on its Mono-Fuel Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Chevrolet Cruze and Chevrolet Sonic. Crazy Diamond Performance has received EPA approval on two new mono-fuel small passenger vehicles, the CNG Chevrolet Cruze and CNG Chevrolet Sonic. These new mono-fuel CNG platforms are the first of a series of small and fuel efficient vehicles coming from CDP, where cost, low emissions and reduced fuel consumption is important for not only fleet owners, but to the general public as well. "Soon to be available, are the 1.8L and 1.4L Cruze and Sonic CNG retrofit systems. These two vehicles represent a change in the status quo, with an OEM level integration of the fuel system and its components" states Michelle Fern, Executive Vice President CDP Inc. These vehicles provide flexibility for fleets looking to purchase a domestic small mono-fuel passenger sedan, but have not had an option until now. There are significant emissions benefits over its gasoline counterpart, with an average reduction in Carbon Dioxide (CO2) of 25%.