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Recharge Wrap-up: new Gigafactory drone video, Mercedes valet

A new, Tesla-approved drone video shows the progress of the Gigafactory. Recently, a video surfaced showing what Elon Musk said was just the "pilot plant," which is only a quarter of the size of the final planned Gigafactory. This new video not only shows the structure, but also the site surrounding it. We see more steel beams waiting to be erected, suggesting that the footprint of the finished building will be even more massive than that of the current standing structure. And if what Musk says is accurate, we've got a lot more to look forward to. Have a look in the video above, and read more at Teslarati. Tesla is paying hackers to find bugs in its website and products. In a posting on Bugcrowd, the electric automaker calls on "security researchers" to find vulnerabilities in the site itself, any domains owned by Tesla, any Tesla apps as well as Tesla hardware owned by the hacker like a Model S or the Powerwall. In exchange for the hackers' service, Tesla is offering rewards ranging from $25 to $1,000 for reported vulnerabilities. Tesla also promises not to sic the law enforcement on hackers who step forward to help, as long as they follow the rules. Read more at Teslarati. Daimler and Bosch are working on automated parking for Mercedes-Benz. In a properly equipped parking garage, the car would find an empty space and park by itself, and return to the driver when called upon. The groups are starting a pilot project for the autonomous valet feature with carsharing service Car2go, where it works the other way around. Customers will be able to call a car to a pick-up zone using a mobile app. When finished, the customer leaves the car in the drop-off zone, and the car takes care of the rest on its own. "Fully automated parking will be ready for mass-production before fully automated driving," says Bosch's Dr. Dirk Hoheisel. "Low driving speeds and the information from the car park infrastructure enable a fast implementation." Read more in the press release from Daimler. Volta has raised $7.5 million in funding to expand its free EV charging network. To offer free charging, Volta's chargers essentially perform double duty as billboards for what Volta calls "companies with a vested interest in the community." "Early Internet pioneers like Google became industry titans by first offering free consumer services online paid for by companies that advertised on their platforms," says Volta CEO Scott Mercer.

Mercedes-Benz intros long-wheelbase E-Class for China

Long-wheelbase sedans are a pretty hot commodity in China, and to keep up with the competition, Mercedes-Benz has introduced an extended version of the 2014 E-Class sedan at the Shanghai Motor Show. Audi, BMW, Volvo and even Cadillac offer extended versions of sedans specific to the Chinese market, and now the E-Class L, shown off in E400L guise, will give luxury sedan buyers in China yet another option.
Compared to the standard 2014 E-Class sedan, the new China-spec E-Class L has been stretched by 5.5 inches - all of which goes to the rear-seat passengers. According to an article on China View from earlier in the year, the market for chauffeur-driven cars is growing in the Asian nation, so automakers need long-wheelbase models like the E-Class L in order to fully compete. As for what powers this stretched E-Class, it's available in three models: the diesel E260L, the V6-powered E300L and the E400 Hybrid.
The redesigned E-Class and the all-new A-Class are just the first of 20 new Mercedes-Benz products that will be introduced into the Chinese auto market by 2015. Scroll down for the full press release on long-wheelbase E.

Smart Cross Connect app changes how ForTwos get used [UPDATE]

UPDATE: The story's been updated with a response from a Smart representative. There are parking spaces, and then there are Fortwo parking spaces. Smart, which is owned by Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler, is looking for a way for its customers to take advantage of the difference. Think of it as a big thing for really small cars. Smart is working on an app for the redesigned Fortwo called Cross Connect that will be available as soon as next month, says Automotive News, citing Smart chief Annette Winkler. The idea is to connect owners of the diminutive two-seat vehicles to, for example, let them tell each other when there's a parking space that's too small for just about any other vehicle but big enough for a Smart. If you think that's a small thing, think again. The Fortwo is 8 feet, 10 inches long. That's almost six feet shorter than a Toyota Prius, which itself isn't exactly a stretch limo. In fact, the length of a Smart Fortwo is just 10 inches longer than the width of a Ford F-150, in case anyone was having misgivings about parking perpendicular in a parallel spot. Parking has become more relevant, and tougher, as more people move to urban centers. For instance, BMW said earlier this month that it would discontinue its DriveNow car-sharing operations in San Francisco because of the challenge of parking vehicles on that city's streets. Other possible amenities with the Cross Connect app including the enabling of personal car sharing as well as information on car washes that offer discounted rates for Smart Fortwo. Yes, there are some out there, apparently, and we salute them. Michael Minielly, a spokesman for Mercedes-Benz, confirmed to Autoblog that the Cross Connect features would be available in November. You can read Autoblog's driving impressions of the 2016 Fortwo here. Featured Gallery 2016 Smart ForTwo: Second Drive View 23 Photos News Source: Automotive News-sub.req.Image Credit: Drew Phillips Green Mercedes-Benz smart Technology Smartphone fortwo