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Recharge Wrap-up: Big Oil fails at renewable fuel, scientists study air with EVs, plug-in Panamera sales

Big Oil companies help keep renewable fuels out of your tank, a new report shows. No surprise there, right? The Renewable Fuels Association published a report card grading the country's largest retail gasoline chains on fuel offerings like E85 and E15. The report gave failing grades, with less than one percent of stations offering E15 or E85, to "Big Five" companies Exxon, BP, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Shell, among other oil company and convenience/grocery store brands. The only major oil companies that didn't get an "F" were Valero (D), Cenex (B), and Marathon (A-). The eight companies that scored an A+ had at least 25 percent of their stations offering E85 or E15. Read more at Domestic Fuel.Leicester scientists are studying local air pollution using EVs. Beginning July 4, University of Leicester researchers began driving electric vehicles kitted out with special sensors to monitor air quality throughout the city (similar to how California does it). Now their emissions-free daily driving duties double as data collection for their studies. "By monitoring air quality as a seamless part of our daily transport system, we are providing a cost-effective way to help inform future policy and operational systems," says the University's Dr. Roland Leigh. Read more at Fleet News. "There is no doubt electric cars are the future." – Nissan's Andy Palmer Nissan is exploring the idea of taking its Leaf EV to India, but a lack of charging options is an obstacle. According to Nissan's chief planning officer Andy Palmer, "There is no doubt electric cars are the future. The product is there, what we need is infrastructure. Charging is a big challenge." Though Nissan stopped short of saying it (this time), this could possibly mean working with Mahindra, which said it is open to collaborating with other companies concerning EVs. Learn more in this article from the Hindustan Times and know that India is rolling out a plan to encourage the production and adoption of EVs. The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan will get over $2 billion in funding, and some of that will go toward creating a charging infrastructure (you hear that, Nissan?). This is good news for EV manufacturers, India's economy and people who enjoy breathing clean air. Read more at The Financial Express.Porsche has reported a significant sales increase, part of which is due to demand for the Panamera S E-Hybrid.

Mark Webber treats Maria Sharapova to a Porsche 918 Spyder joyride

We don't much like Mark Webber right now. Part of being a racing driver is dealing with promotional stuff. It's not hard to find a driver that can't stand all this nonsense, whether it be promoting a product, meeting investors or attending some obscure event. Even a driver of Webber's caliber - a former Formula One driver for Red Bull Racing and a member of Porsche's factory Le Mans team - has to serve his time at the promo events.
Somehow, though, we don't think the Aussie driver minds this particular promo detail. In the video below, Webber attends the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. He then takes tennis superstar Maria Sharapova out for a spin behind the wheel of the Porsche 918 Spyder. The level of jealousy at the Autoblog office is palpable.
Take a look below for the video. And as we're super jealous of Mr. Webber, hop into Comments and caption the above photo based on what you think he's saying to Maria. Bonus points if you can work "vegemite" into the caption.

Petrolicious explores long-term living with Porsche's 914/6

After its last video starred none other than the spectacular Ferrari 250 GTO, where was there for the video team at Petrolicious to go? Certainly, in the realm of classics, there are only a few other vehicles that can match the badge and pedigree of the ultra-rare Ferrari. Maybe a Jaguar D-Type or an Aston Martin DBR1? No, this latest video doesn't star either of those British icons. It stars an oft-misunderstood, occasionally derided entry from Germany's most sporting manufacturer - Porsche.
Yes, we've gone from a Ferrari 250 GTO to a Porsche 914/6. As is often the case with Petrolicious, though, the story told about the car by its owner are often more important than the make or model of car being highlighted. That's exactly the case here, as Jack Griffin talks about the 38 years he's spent with this particular Porsche.
Having been born into the Volkswagen fold and introduced to Porsche in the best way possible - behind the wheel of a 356 - Griffin has some interesting stories (including his attempt at running the 12 Hours of Sebring), and he knows a fair bit about some of the 914's attributes.