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Recharge Wrap-up: Porsche 918 Spyder named Robb Report Car of the Year, cheap E85 in MN

Robb Report has named the Porsche 918 Spyder as its 2015 Car of the Year. The luxury lifestyle publication chose the powerful hybrid for being "the rarest, fastest, quickest, and most groundbreaking production Porsche ever," says Robb Report automotive consultant Robert Ross. About 140 judges were involved in the decision, which was announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week. Read more at Robb Report. Samsung SDI brought four new batteries to the Detroit Auto Show. One is a 120-Ah battery with a range of over 300 kilometers (186 miles). A second is interoperable between plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles. A third is a compact hybrid battery that offers smaller packaging without losing capacity. The fourth is a low-voltage system meant to replace or work alongside lead-acid batteries and improve fuel economy. Read more at The Korea Economic Daily, or in the press release below. A relationship between a Minnesota ethanol producer and retailers means cheap E85 for customers. The DENCO II ethanol plant began blending its own E85 fuel in 2011, and now sells directly to 45 gas stations. DENCO II sets the pricing for the fuel, and has been running a promotion for certain retailers to sell E85 for about a dollar cheaper than E10 gasoline. That promotion includes a Cenex station in Alexandria, MN selling E85 for just 85 cents per gallon. The result has been success for both the producer and gas stations, with customers having more cash to spend on retail goods when they go inside to warm up. Read more at Ethanol Producer Magazine. Samsung SDI, targeting the North American market with automotive batteries and high-tech materials ? Display batteries and materials for automobiles at NAIAS from January 12, 2015 ? Introduce high capacity battery cells providing 300km driving distance per charge ? Present Non-Painting Metallic Material, the winner of SPE Automotive Innovation Award ? Samsung SDI, the world-leading material and energy solution provider introduced automotive batteries and engineering plastic materials targeting the North American market at the Detroit auto show. Samsung SDI showed off automotive batteries for electric vehicles as well as advanced materials for the interiors and exteriors of conventional vehicles at the 2015 North American International Auto Show.

Watch a Cayenne Turbo S, Range Rover SVR, and Cherokee SRT drag race

We live in a weird world where high-performance SUVs could win a 60-mile-per-hour sprint against sports cars from just a few years ago. Here, Top Gear sets up a three-way drag race against the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR, and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, and the results show just how quickly these high-riding models can cross the quarter mile. The Cherokee SRT is the patriotic choice among the three, but it's down on power in this fight. Meanwhile, the Range Rover's menacing growl sounds the best, and the Cayenne Turbo S has the most horsepower. You'll have to watch the video to see which SUV will win this battle. Related Video:

Porsche's 959 is still poster-worthy after all these years

Today, we have the Porsche 918 Spyder. Before that, there was the Carrera GT. While both of those cars are dramatic departures from the traditional, rear-engine Porsche formula, they owe their very existence to another wild child of the iconic German brand - the 959.
Like so many of the great performance cars of yesteryear, the 959 was a homologation special, built just so Porsche could go racing in the clinically insane Group B rally series. Fewer than 400 959s hit the streets, but those that did were some of the most advanced cars of the 1980s. A rear-mounted, twin-turbocharged flat-six sent its power through a still-rare all-wheel-drive system, creating a race-inspired rocket that was, for a short time, the fastest production car on the planet.
Xcar has the story of the 959, from its inception to its conquest of the Paris-Dakar rally, which is interspersed with a drive of the legendary coupe. Scroll down for the full video.