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Recharge Wrap-up: Daimler spending big for fuel cells, Ford Go!Drive experiment advances

Ford's Go!Drive experiment is entering its beta phase in London. The project, which is one of the automaker's global smart mobility experiments, uses a mobile app for on-demand carsharing of Ford Focus Electric and Ford Fiesta vehicles. The beta phase involves increasing the number of available vehicles from 20 to 50, and collecting new data from users. The program offers one-way rentals and guaranteed parking, with no membership fees and a cost of 26 cents per minute. Ford hopes to get 2,000 drivers involved in the program. Read more at Green Car Congress. Daimler will invest billions of dollars to upgrade the Mercedes-Benz Unterturkheim plant over the next few years. This year alone, it plans to spend $1.06 billion. The company expects cost savings "in the range of hundreds of millions of euros until 2020," while maintaining its workforce of 18,700 employees and adding 150 vocational training positions. The upgrades will allow the plant to become a center for building more efficient engines, hybrid powertrains and fuel cell systems. "Alternative drive systems are an important element of our future mobility," says Mercedes-Benz's Markus Schafer. "Their share of automotive production is set to steadily rise over the next few years, complementing our highly efficient engines within the portfolio. This is what we have laid the groundwork for today." Read more at Reuters, or in the press release below. The Department of Energy is providing $20 million in funding for the development of more efficient high speed industrial motors and drives. Ditching old motors and gearboxes for ones that use integrated power electronics could help decrease the energy consumption of the industrial sector, which currently uses more than 25 percent of the electricity generated in the US. The projects being funded will reduce losses and decrease the size of drive systems used in industries like petroleum refining and natural gas, which could affect the lifecycle efficiency of transportation fuels. Read more at Energy.gov.

YouTube's Super Bowl commercial buzz list dominated by automakers [w/videos]

After Sunday's big game, YouTube will be the place to watch every commercial that you missed when you left your seat for an emergency guac refill or, as we say in Cleveland, took the Browns to the Super Bowl. That makes YouTube the nation's water cooler on Monday, and it's got some preliminary stats to share in the lead up to kickoff.
As you know, Super Bowl advertisers, particularly automakers, like to endlessly tease their big budget commercials in the weeks before the game, many times revealing them outright days in advance. Because of this, YouTube can tell us which commercials have been viewed the most so far, and their top five list is all automakers.
Kaley Cuoco appears to have been a good investment for Toyota, as her ad for the RAV4 has garnered the most YouTube views - six million and counting - among Super Bowl commercials so far. Second place goes to Mercedes-Benz, though not its actual Super Bowl commercial, but rather the teaser for it. You know, the one with Kate Upton and the car washing, which is up to 5.6 million views. Third place is Audi's Prom commercial (3.3M views), fourth goes to Volkswagen's slightly controversial Get In, Get Happy ad (3.3M views), and the fifth and final spot is bookended by the teaser video for Kaley Cuoco's commercial (3.2M views). You can watch all five in order below.

My year in EVs: 8 electrics that are changing the car industry

The year 2021 will go down as an inflection point in the auto industry’s transition to electric vehicles. It's when many much-anticipated models became reality. No longer sketches or sketchy prototypes, electric vehicles appeared from all corners with everything from the Lucid Air to Ford Mustang Mach-E changing how we think about transportation. I managed to drive a lot of them, and as I went through my notes, I realized IÂ’ve got a mini memoir of the seminal EVs of 2021. HereÂ’s my take on eight of them. Hummer EV Easily the most over-the-top EV I tested this year. The 1,000-hp super truck lived up to the hype with its domineering presence, stupendous power and simply being a reincarnated Hummer. I took it for a short spin on- and off-road at the General Motors Proving Grounds in Milford, Mich., and was impressed with the airy cabin, removable sky panels and expansive touchscreens. Yes, I crab walked, which felt like steering a pontoon boat, though I can see why it would be useful. Lucid Air Dream Performance The most beautiful sedan I tested all year, EV or otherwise. Unlike the futuristic Mercedes EQS — which is quite attractive — LucidÂ’s car is a blend of mid-century modern interior aesthetics and classic European exterior styling. When I walked up for my test drive, someone who IÂ’m pretty sure was comedian Jon Lovitz was sitting inside and taking it all in. As it sat in the valet of a hotel in a wealthy suburban enclave north of Detroit, the Lucid drew more attention than any of the Mercedes, Cadillacs or Lexus models passing by. The driving experience was enveloping. Starting at $169,000 for the Performance model (reservations are closed), the Lucid I sampled packed 1,111 hp and 471 miles of range. From the precise steering to the comfortable suspension, the dynamics were spot-on. It's a formidable product, and all the more impressive given itÂ’s LucidÂ’s first. Chevy Bolt EV The Bolt was the most pleasant surprise for me. It handled well, offered low-to-the-ground hot hatch dynamics and the steering was dialed-in. Adding a crossover variant for the new generation was a smart play. On a summer morning where I went to a first drive of the Ford Bronco at an off-road course, my hour-long commute in the Bolt was an enjoyable appetizer.  The Bolt was also my biggest disappointment due to its extensive recalls for fire risk. Ironically, I had the Bolt in my driveway when the initial recall went out for the previous generation (2017-19).