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Recharge Wrap-up: Elon Musk talks autonomous cars, Renault to run ZOE in ZENN Monte-Carlo Rally

Elon Musk discussed the autonomous driving capabilities of the Tesla Model S with NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang. He said the car is already equipped with the hardware needed for highway driving. "Even with the current sensor suite, we could make the car go fully autonomous, but not a level of reliability that would be safe in, say, a complex urban environment at 30 miles an hour," says Musk. That would require "a bigger sensor suite, and you need more computing power." Huang and Musk also discussed car hacking and artificial intelligence during the interview at the 2015 GPU Technology Conference. See the video above, and read more at Teslarati. Renault will send four of its ZOE electric cars to the ZENN (Zero Emission, No Noise) Monte-Carlo Rally. The rally, which travels through the principality beginning and ending at the Port of Monaco, is open to electric cars with ranges of less than 250 kilometers (about 155 miles). Visitors can also explore an "electric village," which includes vehicle test drives and information about the future of automobiles. The race takes place from March 20 through 22. Read more in the press release from Renault below. A Seattle-area Nissan dealership has opened a "charging depot" with six fast chargers. Bellevue Nissan now claims to have a larger group of fast chargers than any other dealership in the country. The chargers are part of the NRG eVgo network, and will be available to drivers around the clock every day of the week. They'll also be part of Nissan's "No Charge To Charge" program for Leaf customers. Washington Governor Jay Inslee was on hand at the dealership for the opening, where he called such fast charging stations, "the backbone of our future transportation infrastructure." Read more at Hybrid Cars. A coalition of environmental groups and renewable energy advocates want New York to require all heating oil sold in the state to include at least two percent biodiesel. The proposal passed the Assembly's Committee on Environmental Conservation Tuesday. Its sponsor is Assemblyman Steven Englebright, a Long Island Democrat who says a biodiesel standard would reduce carbon emissions while boosting the state's agricultural industry. Supporters of a biodiesel standard include the New York League of Conservation Voters, the New York Public Interest Research Group and the state's Corn and Soybean Growers Association. Conventional oil companies are opposed.

Rinspeed details Tesla-based autonomous XchangE concept for Geneva [w/video]

Like it or not, the age of the self-driving autonomous automobile is just around the corner. But what form will a car's cabin take when the emphasis is taken off of human operation? That's the question that Rinspeed aims to answer with the XchangE concept. Previewed two months ago, Rinspeed has now revealed details, photos and even video footage of the self-driving electric vehicle. This year's concept car from the self-styled "Swiss idea factory" takes a Tesla Model S and modifies it for autonomous operation, freeing up the driver to sit back and enjoy the ride.
The redesigned cockpit includes a pair of highly adjustable front seats that can tilt, swivel and recline to make for a business class-like cabin space for driver and passenger. The drive-by-wire steering wheel slides out of the way when not in use. The dashboard displays all manner of data on four screens through a scalable infotainment package controlled by gestures, based on HTML5 and developed by Harman. The vehicle is fully networked with car-to-car communications and integrated LTE connectivity furnished by Deutsche Telekom. Access to the calming cabin space is granted by RFID technology, there's an LED plexiglass roof panel and a Carl F. Bucherer timepiece mounted in a watch winder on the dashboard.
It all comes across as a rather innovative take on the automobile from a design firm known for doing exactly that with its annual Geneva show cars. There's plenty more to digest in the press release, so check it out along with the video footage below and scope out the hundred-plus high-resolution images in the gallery above.

Demand for electric car rentals unplugged by range anxiety

It's the hurdle that electric vehicles must clear to be launched into the mainstream: range anxiety. But this time it isn't prospective customers who worry about running out of juice, Bloomberg reports, but renters who return to car rental agencies before their lease is up and trade their EVs in for more traditional gasoline-powered autos and gas-electric hybrids.
"People are very keen to try [electric vehicles], but they will switch out of the contract part way through ... they think they can't get to a charging station," says Lee Broughton, head of sustainability at Enterprise. Enterprise customers who rent EVs reportedly trade them in 1.6 days into the rental period on average, which compares unfavorably to the six- to seven-day rental periods of traditional, fuel-burning automobiles.
Christopher Agnew, an analyst at MKM Holdings LLC, says that longer range would help rental customers' range anxiety, especially since they are usually renting vehicles in unfamiliar places.