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China Tesla driver goes crowd-funding route to get chargers installed

Tesla Motors has at least one Chinese businessman in its corner. Andrew Zong, CEO of heat-pump maker PHNIX, recently engaged in a bit of crowd-funding to establish a charging network for new owners of the Model S battery-electric sedan throughout at least part of the world's most populous nation. And it's good publicity, of course. Zong hatched a plan to buy 20 electric-vehicle chargers from Tesla after picking up his new sedan in Beijing and realizing he'd have a hard time recharging in on the 1,300-mile drive south to Guangzhou. Zong then went onto online sites such as WeChat and Weibo and solicited volunteers to install his chargers. And after more than 3,000 miles worth of driving (or about a dozen or so odd recharging sessions), Zong got his 20 chargers installed. You can read PHNIX's press release below. Zong's efforts are a far cry from those of fellow Chinese businessman Zhan Baosheng, who registered for the trademark on the Tesla name in the country in 2006. Zhan, who has long been scuffling with the California-based automaker, recently sued Tesla for trademark infringement and was seeking almost $4 million in damages. That would buy a lot of chargers. Crazy Charging Plans for Tesla GUANGZHOU, China, July 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- "When I picked up my Tesla in Beijing, I realized that it's impossible to drive it back to Guangzhou as there are hardly any places to recharge the batteries," Andrew Zong, the CEO of PHNIX and also one of the first Chinese Tesla owners, said this to reporters. As a result, Andrew Zong got a crazy plan that by utilizing the power of the Internet and folk strength, he could make the first charging facility network in China to solve the electric vehicles' charging problems. With this plan, Andrew Zong bought a batch of original chargers for Tesla and promised that he would donate all the chargers to new-energy-loving car owners. Next Andrew Zong posted on online social network platforms, like WeChat and Weibo, to recruit volunteers who were willing to provide installation sites and offer free charging service for Tesla motors. During the next three days, there were thousands of volunteers applying to install charging piles at their places. Taken everything into consideration, 20 of the volunteers were selected. During the following twenty days, Andrew Zong and his companions have self-driven his Tesla for 5,750 kilometers via sixteen cities, in which they have donated twenty charging piles.

New Civic, FCA UAW Agreement, Frankfurt | Autoblog Minute

FCA reaches a tentative agreement with the UAW, Honda reveals the all new 2016 Civic, and the Frankfurt Motor Show dazzles us again.Senior editor Greg Migliore reports in the Weekly Recap edition of Autoblog Minute Weekly. UAW/Unions Bentley Honda Jaguar Porsche Tesla Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video FCA porsche mission e civic

Consumer Reports no longer recommends Honda Civic

Consumer Reports annual Car Reliability Survey is out, and yes, there are some big surprises. First and foremost? The venerable publication no longer recommends the Honda Civic. In fact, aside from the walking-dead CR-Z and limited-release Clarity fuel-cell car, the Civic is the only Honda to miss out on CR's prestigious nod. At the opposite end there's a surprise as well – Toyota and Lexus remain the most reliable brands on the market, but Buick cracked the top three. That's up from seventh last year, and the first time for an American brand to stand on the Consumer Reports podium. Mazda's entire lineup earned Recommended checks as well. Consumer Reports dinged the Civic for its "infuriating" touch-screen radio, lack of driver lumbar adjustability, the limited selection of cars on dealer lots fitted with Honda's popular Sensing system, and the company's decision to offer LaneWatch instead of a full-tilt blind-spot monitoring system. Its score? A lowly 58. The Civic isn't the only surprise drop from CR's Recommended ranks. The Audi A3, Ford F-150, Subaru WRX/STI, and Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, and Passat all lost the Consumer Reports' checkmark. On the flipside, a number of popular vehicles graduated to the Recommended ranks, including the BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Porsche Macan, and Tesla Model S. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the hilariously recall-prone Ford Escape getting a Recommended check – considering the popularity of Ford's small crossover, this is likely a coup for the brand, as it puts the Escape on a level playing field with the Recommended Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. While Ford is probably happy to see CR promote the Escape, the list wasn't as kind for every brand. For example, of the entire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles catalog, the ancient Chrysler 300 was the only car to score a check – there wasn't a single Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, or Ram on the list. That hurts. FCA isn't alone at the low end, either. GMC, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, and Mitsubishi don't have a vehicle on CR's list between them, while brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Cadillac only have a few models each. You can check out Consumer Reports entire reliability roundup, even without a subscription, here.