2014 Porsche Cayenne Diesel on 2040-cars

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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.

Bisimoto's 911 and Honda Odyssey each pack 1,000 hp

There aren't a lot of vehicles on the road that pack a thousand horsepower. The Bugatti Veyron and McLaren P1 are in rare company, but there have been a handful of aftermarket tuners that have managed to extract that much power out of lesser vehicles. Bisimoto is responsible for more than its fair share, so Matt Farah and the team at Drive stopped by the workshop in Southern California to check out the craftsmanship for the latest episode of Tuned. What they found is two vehicles with that astronomical four-figure output that otherwise couldn't be more different from each other. First up is the vintage, stripped-out 911 that company founder Bisi Ezerioha built for himself. It's based on a 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera with a widebody kit and a pair of turbochargers hanging off the back. The result is that thousand-horsepower output and, as Farah found out, one of the scariest, hairiest, and squirliest automobiles ever devised. As if that weren't enough, there's a thousand-horsepower minivan on the docket, too. This one is based on a Honda Odyssey, rebuilt on an air suspension and a six-speed manual gearbox conversion out of an Acura TL. And of course the engine's been tuned to deliver that headline output figure. Honda and Bisimoto showcased the vehicle at the SEMA show a couple of years ago, where Farah says he didn't think it could possibly hold together. But as he discovered in the video above, it actually does, and accelerates with tenacity... and plenty of room for the kids.

Porsche Cayman GT4 speeds back into view

We're all familiar with the succession of numbers that follow the letters GT on a hard-core Porsche 911: the GT1 that was Stuttgart's Le Mans contender in the late 90s, the GT2 that packs turbochargers but without the Turbo's all-wheel drive and excess weight, and the naturally aspirated GT3 that's the enthusiast's choice. But a GT4? That's something new, and exactly what Porsche has in store.
Spied testing in Germany once again is the upcoming GT4 version of the Porsche Cayman, set to supersede the existing GTS and take the place of the previous Cayman R at the top of Porsche's junior sports car range. This latest batch of spy shots doesn't show us much more than the last crop, but gives us a much clearer view at what promises to be the most hardcore Cayman to date.
As you can see, the Cayman GT4 packs a much more aggressive aero kit and rolling stock than any version we've seen to date. It's got a lip spoiler, big air dam and GT3-style vent in front of the hood, deep air scoops along the flanks, a set of spindly alloys packing oversized brakes, a diffuser with twin central exhaust tips around back and a rear wing that's likely to be replaced with a sleeker unit before the GT4 reaches production.