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All the details on Plug In 2014 electric vehicle conference you could ever want

One of the best parts of the Plug In 2014 Conference in San Jose, CA last week was getting to listen in on thoughts about the state of the plug-in vehicle industry from people who have been involved with it for ages. They bristle when you call them the "Old Guard" (learned that one the hard way), but these are the people who have been through a number of ups and downs with plug-in vehicles, so they've got what we call perspective. Their knowledge was on full display in the three plenary sessions, which the Plug In Conference organizers have given us permission to share with you. Each is at least 90 minutes long, so make sure to set some time aside to enjoy the discussions after you download them (any help with making them streamable would be appreciated). Follow us below to see what we've got to offer. Opening Plenary (audio link). "The Road Ahead – Delivering on a Vision for Sustainable Transportation." Moderated by Mark Duvall (director of energy utilization at EPRI, the Electric Power Research Institute, and a long-time EV advocate), this panel featured: Jack Broadbent, Executive Officer / APCO, Bay Area Air Quality Management District Pat Romano, President & Chief Executive Officer, ChargePoint, Inc. Aaron Johnson, Senior Director, Customer Programs, Pacific Gas and Electric Company Brendan Jones, Director, EV Sales Operations & Infrastructure Deployment, Nissan North America, Inc. David W. Cash, Commissioner, MassDEP Dan Sperling, Director, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis Highlights: Educating drivers to "get over the gas station" is a key strategy, how Level 2 and DC Fast Charging are really "a new paradigm," that there have been well over 214,000 EVs sold in US as of July 2014 and where Nissan sees huge potential for more EV sales (Northeast US and medium-size cities like St. Louis and Pittsburgh). Wednesday Morning Plenary (audio link). "Getting to the Mass Market – A Discussion of Ideas for Widespread PEV Adoption." Moderated by John Gartner, research director for smart transportation at Navigant Research.

Is your new-car warranty good at the race track?

We've all heard the horror stories. Your buddy knows a girl that was dating a guy whose best friend's brother once broke his brand-new, recently purchased performance car while making runs at a drag strip or laps at a track day, and the manufacturer wouldn't cover the repair under warranty. True story? Urban legend? Complete crap? Yes, no, maybe. One thing's for sure: Automotive warranties have always come with caveats. In 1908, an ad in the Trenton Evening Times clearly stated: "All Ford Cars Guaranteed for One Year." Although it changed over time, by 1925 the Ford New Car Guarantee only covered 90 days on material and 30 days on labor, and it clearly stated that that there was "No guarantee whatever on Fan Belts, Glass, Bulbs, Wiring, Transmission, Bands, Hose Connections, Commutator Shells, Rollers, Spark Plugs or Gaskets." Whether or not Ol' Henry would pay to fix your Model T if you broke it shaving a tenth off your lap time at the local board track seems to be lost to history. We're guessing no. But what about today? Do new-car warranties in 2017 cover cars when they are driven on race tracks? We researched the warranties of 14 auto brands to find out, and the answer is yes, no, maybe, depending on the brand, in some cases the model, and whether or not your car is modified from stock. Acura has been out of the high-performance car game for a number of years, but jumps back into the party in 2017 with its hybrid-powered $173,000 NSX supercar. And Acura's warranty, as well as Honda's, clearly states that it does not cover "the use of the vehicle in competition or racing events." View 33 Photos So we asked Sage Marie, Senior Manager of Public Relations for Honda and Acura. "If the car is stock, the warranty covers it on a track just as it does on the street. No question," he told us. "However, if the car is modified, say with slick tires or other components that would put higher stresses on the vehicle's parts and systems, then we would have to investigate the circumstances further." Marie went on to say the same would be true for any Acura model or Honda vehicle, including the new 2017 Honda Civic Si. This became a common theme. Chevrolet actually started this practice with the fifth-generation Camaro on the high-performance ZL1 and Z/28 models.

Hot-selling Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator get production boost

Ford is investing an additional $25 million in its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville to increase by 25 percent production of the hot-selling and all-new Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition SUVs. The investment adds to $900 million in previously announced spending at the plant, which also builds F-Series Super-Duty pickups and employs 8,400 workers. Assembly-line workers are putting in overtime and working voluntary weekend shifts to keep up with demand. The new investment will cover upgrades to the assembly line but does not involve further hiring, Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker says. The popularity of the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator is a bright spot as Ford stock has been battered by Wall Street amid concerns concerns about the automaker's future vision and slowness to detect trends. Ford says the investment is an example of its bid to improve "operational fitness," one of CEO Jim Hackett's common refrains. Ford says Navigator retail sales more than doubled in January, and Navigators are spending an average of just seven days on Lincoln dealership lots as customers trade in vehicles including Land Rovers and Mercedes-Benz. Nearly 85 percent of buyers are opting for high-end Black Label and Reserve trim packages, contributing to an average transaction price increase of more than $21,000 in January compared to a year ago. The 2018 Navigator won the North American Truck of the Year award and also topped a Detroit News poll of public favorites at last month's Detroit Auto Show. Sales of the Expedition, meanwhile, were up almost 57 percent last month as the full-size SUVs also spent an average of just a week on dealer lots. Platinum trim models represented 29 percent of sales, pushing transaction price increases up $7,800. Ford gave the 2018 Expedition an all-aluminum body to save mass in its first significant redesign since 2007. The plant last year got nearly 400 new robots, mainly in the body shop, to help increase line speed, and Ford added a robot lab where employees can test software tweaks or troubleshoot issues away from the factory floor. The Louisville plant also benefits from extensive new data analytics, with seven big-screen monitors providing minute-by-minute updates showing progress against hourly targets or alerting workers to pending parts shortages. A huge spare-parts "vending machine" lets workers more quickly locate needed parts and keep inventory at necessary levels.