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7 major automakers to build open EV charging network

A new joint venture established by BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis will build a new North American electric vehicle charging network on a scale designed to compete with Tesla's industry-benchmark Supercharger network. The 30,000-plus planned new chargers will accommodate both Tesla's almost-standard North American Charging System (NACS) and existing automakers' Combined Charging System (CCS) options, effectively guaranteeing compatibility with the vast majority of current and upcoming electric models — whether they're from one of the involved automakers or not.  "With the generational investments in public charging being implemented on the Federal and State level, the joint venture will leverage public and private funds to accelerate the installation of high-powered charging for customers. The new charging stations will be accessible to all battery-powered electric vehicles from any automaker using Combined Charging System (CCS) or North American Charging Standard (NACS) and are expected to meet or exceed the spirit and requirements of the U.S. National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program." Critically, the automakers involved will have a say in how the charging tech is implemented, guaranteeing that the hardware will play nicely with each automaker's in-house charging systems. Hyundai and Kia, for example, were hesitant to jump on board the Tesla NACS bandwagon earlier this year over concerns that the Supercharger network is insufficient for powering the two automakers' 800-volt charging systems; similar tech is used by Volkswagen and Porsche.  In addition to providing much-needed capacity and high-output charging for America's growing fleet of electric cars and trucks, the new network will integrate seamlessly with each automaker's in-app and in-vehicle features, rather than forcing customers to use third-party tools and payment systems, as is the case with some existing public charging infrastructure.  "The functions and services of the network will allow for seamless integration with participating automakersÂ’ in-vehicle and in-app experiences, including reservations, intelligent route planning and navigation, payment applications, transparent energy management and more. In addition, the network will leverage Plug & Charge technology to further enhance the customer experience," the announcement said.

Honda Civic Type R Concept to hatch in Geneva

As if the Geneva Motor Show isn't exciting enough, now we have word that a new version of a certain iconic Japanese hot hatch will make an appearance there in a few weeks time. Honda has announced that its Civic Type R Concept will be revealed during the show's media days, which take place March 4 and 5.
Since this is Honda we're talking about, we should point out that the "Concept" part of the Civic Type R's name is usually a bit of a misnomer. For the past few years, the Japanese automaker has made a habit of attaching "Concept" to the end of several near-production models in the name of drumming up auto show excitement (see Exhibits A, B, C, D and E). So really, this is almost certainly the next Civic Type R, a car we've kind of already driven.
The latter car was a "development" model, but we aren't expecting a lot to change between it and the production model. As previously reported, a 2.0-liter, turbocharged engine should deliver north of 280 horsepower to the front wheels via a six-speed gearbox. Have a look up top at the sole image of the hot Civic released by Honda, and then scroll down for the official press release.

2014 Honda Civic Hybrid now available nationwide, CNG model in 37 states [UPDATE]

As promised, the 2014 Honda Civic is about to get a little green update. A hybrid gas-electric version will join the standard 2014 Civic in Honda showrooms nationwide tomorrow and a natural gas-powered model will join the party on February 15th, but only in 37 states. Both new models will get the updates that Honda applied to the other 2014 Civic models, including a seven-inch touchscreen display audio and expanded view driver's mirror, which are both now standard. Read our review of the 2013 Civic Hybrid here but note that enough has changed with the new model to go from an EPA rating of 44 miles per gallon across the board to 44/47/45 city/highway/combined. The CNG model is rated at 31 mpg in all three categories. The 2014 Civic Hybrid will start at $24,635, while the compressed natural gas (CNG) Civic aims a bit higher, starting at $26,640. More details on these new vehicles is available below. If you're happy with earlier versions of the CNG Civic, then you'll be happy to know that 2012 MY vehicles at participating Honda dealers still comes with a $3,000 fuel credit that can be used at Clean Energy stations, the largest brand of public compressed natural gas (CNG) stations in the US. If you don't have a Clean Energy station in your area, the Civic CNG comes with a $2,000 prepaid debit card to be used at other refueling stations. We've asked Honda for information on which 13 states will not offer the CNG model and will update this post when we get that information. UPDATE: The 37 states are now available below. These are the 37 states where the Civic CNG is available: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New England, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. That leaves the following 13 states without the Civic CNG: Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming. Honda Launches 2014 Civic Hybrid and Civic Natural Gas, Enhancing a Diverse Lineup of Fuel Efficient and Alternative Fuel Models Text Only 2014_Honda_Civic_Hybrid-CNG_Rls_FINAL.docx Add to Basket Printer Friendly 02/04/2014 - TORRANCE, Calif.