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Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla owner's garage makeover, Lucid signs deal with LG Chem

A Tesla owner has remodeled his garage to resemble a Tesla showroom. The Model S owner, who also runs Teslainventory.com, painted one wall a very specific shade of red, mounted a Tesla logo on it, and even bought the same table and stools used in some showrooms. He also documented the transformation, and gives tips on how other fans can give their own garage a makeover. Check it out in the video above, and read more at Electrek. Lucid Motors will source lithium-ion batteries from LG Chem. Lucid's batteries will use proprietary cell chemistry developed in partnership with LG. Lucid also has a battery supply deal with Samsung SDI for its first vehicle, but says it could use batteries for other companies through its own supply business, or for specific performance variants of its electric sedan. "The differing performance attributes available from the two cell suppliers provide Lucid with maximum flexibility to select the best cell for each application," Lucid says. Read more in the press release, or at Green Car Congress. Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi will share an electric vehicle platform. As other automakers are building their own mass market EVs, these three are teaming up in order to be able to offer their own models at prices competitive to their gasoline powered counterparts. According to the Nikkei, EVs from the three companies will all use the same platform as the upcoming 2018 Nissan Leaf, and will share motors, inverters, and batteries. Read more from Reuters, or at Green Car Reports. Related Gallery Lucid Motors EV Prototype News Source: Electrek, YouTube: DAErik, Lucid, Green Car Congress, Reuters, Green Car Reports Green Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Tesla Renault Green Automakers Green Culture Electric Videos recharge wrapup

Takata air bag recall list

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed yesterday that 33.8 million vehicles with Takata airbags are going to be recalled. It's the largest recall in automotive history. The already record-breaking rate of automotive recalls this year shows no signs of slowing down, especially since millions of cars with defective airbags made by global supplier Takata are under ongoing scrutiny. The federal government is warning owners that inflator mechanisms in the air bags can rupture, causing metal fragments to fly out when the bags are deployed. The faulty air bags have already been blamed for multiple deaths. How do you know if your vehicle is safe? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released an updated list of vehicles under recall. Sometimes however, the government's website will crash and the list may not be complete. Check your VIN at the NHTSA website to make sure. The list of cars affected by the recall has not been released, but seem to span multiple models over the years for many of the automakers.

Workers at Mississippi auto supplier protesting low wages

Workers at an automotive seat factory in Mississippi are protesting what they say are low wages and poor working conditions as they attempt to unionize in what could become a new front for the United Auto Workers in the state. A group of workers and supporters at the Faurecia SA seating plant in Cleveland plans a Tuesday march. "We work an auto job and we're getting paid like Wal-Mart wages," said Jamarqus Reed, a 32-year-old Pace resident who has worked at the plant for almost 10 years. "We're trying to better ourselves." Nationally, the UAW has staked its future on unionizing Southern auto factories, with limited success so far. The union has been trying to organize Nissan Motor Co.'s Canton, MS, plant for years, and lost a 2008 worker vote at a Johnson Controls plant in nearby Madison that French-based Faurecia bought in 2011. The UAW narrowly lost a unionization vote at the Volkswagen AG plant in Chattanooga, TN, last year, but the union has since qualified for a new labor policy at the plant that grants access to meeting space and to regular discussions with management. The policy stops short of collective bargaining rights. The union is also trying to organize Nissan's assembly plant in Smyrna, TN, and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, AL. Protesters say Faurecia employees make a top wage of $11.64 per hour, while contract workers make $7.73 an hour. Company spokesman Tony Sapienza said that with overtime, the typical Faurecia employee makes more than the $27,000 a year that is the median wage around Cleveland. Wages are often low in the heavily impoverished Delta. "We are very confident that we are offering a very competitive wage," Sapienza said. Organizers criticize use of lower-paid contract workers Shannon Greenidge, a 44-year-old Cleveland resident, said she worked for a labor agency for more than two years before being hired directly by Faurecia. Greenidge said she makes $9.29 an hour, and can't save for retirement or to send her 11-year-old daughter to college. "That's not going to help me down the line in life," she said. Union supporters say as many as half the workers at the plant work for a contract-labor agency. Sapienza said that while the number varies, the company expects 15 percent of its workforce will be temporary employees this year. The UAW has organized some Southern auto parts plants in recent years, including Faurecia plants in Cottondale, Alabama, in 2012 and Louisville, Kentucky in 2013.