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Recharge Wrap-up: BMW i3 to get more range, a call for EV signage

The BMW i3 will get more range next year, and BMW will announce another i model soon. BMW CEO Harald Kruger didn't say by how much the i3's electric range would be expanded (it currently gets 81 miles on a single charge, or 150 with the range extender). He did say that a third, yet unnamed i car would be out "soon," and that it would be larger than the i3. We've heard rumors of an i5 for years now and BMW has previously stated that a new i car would not be based on an existing model. Read more at Green Car Reports. Where is the sun visor in the Tesla Model X? With a huge panoramic glass roof, Tesla had to be pretty inventive with its design. The sun visor is tucked away in the A-pillar and held in place by a magnet. It pulls out, and swivels overhead. A magnetic peg pops out to attach the end of the visor to the rear view mirror housing. From there, it can be rotated, or one can flip out a panel to create a larger shade. The vanity mirror is hidden behind another panel inside the visor. Have a look over at Teslarati. Nissan and Ecotricity are calling on the UK government to create road signage for EV charging points. There are currently over 9,000 places for drivers to charge their electric vehicles throughout the UK, but no official signage to tell them where they are. "It's time to introduce charging point road signs in Britain," says Ecotricity founder Dale Vince. "They'll provide necessary direction for the thousands of electric car drivers in Britain as well as increasing public awareness that the infrastructure is ready for them to make the move to an electric car." Nissan and Ecotricity suggest that symbols to designate the different types of charging available would also be helpful to EV drivers. Read more at Green Car Congress, or in the press release below.

Watch the Jaws of Life tear apart a Tesla Model S

As electric vehicles become more prevalent on the roadways, first responders are facing new - and sometimes unknown - challenges when it comes to intense tasks such as the extrication of passengers trapped inside a car. Advanced Extrication, an online training resource for rescue workers, recently posted a video showing how rescuers should respond to vehicles like the Tesla Model S.
The best way to do such a video, of course, is to actually demonstrate the process, so Tesla donated a new Model S just so the Fremont Fire Department could tear it to shreds as the host explains some of the unique dangers specific to electric cars. The unfortunate demo car looks like it just came off the assembly line, meaning it is completely intact to begin with, but we wonder if it would have been more interesting to see how firefighters deal with the car's wiring and DC-DC converter (and other high voltage components) when the vehicle structure has been compromised.
Either way, the entire 37-minute video (posted below) goes in depth showing what rescuers face as they deal with a growing number of EVs. Of course, if all you want to see is the business end of the Jaws of Life going to town on the Model S' subframe, you should skip to the 27-minute mark.

Tesla Model S successfully hacked by Zhejiang University team

The $10,000 prize for successfully hacking a Tesla Model S has been claimed. A team from Zhejiang University in China claimed victory at the Symposium on Security for Asia Network (SyScan360) event in Beijing by exploiting a "flow design flaw," whatever that means, to gain access to vital systems including the door locks, horn and window controls, while the vehicle was moving.
The group that was able to hack a Tesla reported its findings to the electric car automaker, so this security breach will hopefully be fixed in short order. The event was welcomed by Tesla, which said it "[supported] the idea of providing an environment in which responsible security researchers can help identify potential vulnerabilities."
Last year, potential security pitfalls of high-tech electric and hybrid cars came to light when the US Defense Department's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (better known as DARPA) successfully hacked into hybrids from Ford and Toyota. Questions about the security of the Tesla Model S have been raised before. If you're wondering why all this might be such a big deal, we suggest you watch this.