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Recharge Wrap-up: New "2-in-1" electric motor increases range, Gulf offers isobutanol blends

A new electric motor with integrated air-conditioning compressor increases the range of EVs in hot climates, where much of the battery power is used to keep the car cool. Developed by scientists at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the German Aerospace Centre, the "2-in-1" motor uses regenerative braking to help operate the AC compressor, and could increase range by 15 to 20 percent with some modifications. "By integrating the refrigerant compressor directly into the electric motor, we save components, weight and cost," says Dr. Michael Schier of the German Aerospace Centre. "Simultaneously, the more regenerative braking part of the kinetic energy is passed directly to the refrigerant compressor and thus the efficiency is further increased." Read more at Green Car Congress, and in the press release below. Elon Musk has been chosen as a Eurostar winner by Automotive News Europe. The publication chose the Tesla CEO for exceeding expectations in entrepreneurship, saying, "Musk has proved that he's capable of doing what seems impossible." Other Eurostar winners include Dieter Zetsche of Mercedes-Benz, Ralf Speth of Jaguar Land Rover and Marco Tencone of Maserati. Read more at Automotive News Europe. GreenTech Automotive has raised $47 million in a round of equity funding. The company, which was formerly run by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, received the contributions from a total of 94 investors. GreenTech Automotive has plans to produce the small MyCar neighborhood electric vehicle at a newly built factory in Mississippi. The company also has a deal with Jianghuai Automobile Company to sell cars for the Chinese automaker in the US. Read more at Bloomberg. Gulf Racing Fuels will offer fuel blended with renewable isobutanol for marine use and off-road vehicles. The ethanol alternative is approved for sensitive environments, produces fewer emissions, is resistant to moisture and has a lower vapor pressure, making it suitable for boats and ATVs. Gulf will offer a new line of fuels with 16.1-percent isobutanol for these special applications. Gevo, the company supplying Gulf's isobutanol, produces the additive in biorefineries converted from ethanol facilities. Read more in the press release below.

How to get incredibly accurate information on your EV's charging power

One would think that paying about $300 to receive a bit of bad news about electric-vehicle charging would be counterproductive. But the fine folks at Teslarati believe that truth is beauty, and they're willing to pay a little extra for the straight dope. There are always losses when taking power from the grid and shoving it into an EV's battery pack. The question is how big are these losses. Teslarati calculated digital read-outs from the dashboard of their Tesla Model S all-electric sedan and found that Tesla builds in about a nine percent efficiency loss when it comes to recharging the car. But the blog thought the Tesla couldn't know exactly what was transpiring between the wall and the battery, so it footed the bill for about $300 to install a digital submetering unit from EKM Metering. With a little calculation, Teslarati was able to figure out after a couple of recharging rounds that the efficiency loss per recharge was closer to 15 percent than nine percent. That means that, instead of paying about 48 cents on the dollar relative to filling up an economy car (factoring in the AAA average price of $3.66 per gallon), Tesla owners are paying about 52 cents on the dollar. Not much compared to paying upwards towards $100,000 for the vehicle itself, but, hey, every cent counts, right? Get all of the details here. Featured Gallery Tesla Model S View 10 Photos News Source: Teslarati Green Tesla Electric recharging

Tesla driver blames 'new car smell' in fatal cyclist crash

According to the accident report compiled by the California Highway Patrol, 63-year-old driver Navindra Kumar Jain fell asleep at the wheel while driving northbound on Highway 1 in Santa Cruz, crossed into the oncoming, southbound lane, crested a small hill and then while doing 55 miles per hour hit a southbound cyclist who was riding on the shoulder. The cyclist, Joshua Alper, died at the scene. Jain was driving a Tesla Model S he had bought ten days earlier and said that the intense new-car smell - which he attempted to counter with a baking-soda scented air freshener - caused him to fall asleep.
The accident happened in November, and after a three-month investigation the Santa Cruz district attorney has decided to charge Jain with "misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter." As you could guess, there are still plenty of unresolved issues. Jain has said he "fell asleep" and there was nothing mechanically wrong with the car he had bought ten days before the incident. His attorney, however, says "he passed out while driving and still does not know what caused the accident," and that the Tesla "and all its component parts" must be thoroughly tested. The CHP tore the Tesla apart, standard practice in manslaughter cases, and, not having found anything amiss, declared the driver at fault. Observers, and especially cyclists, want to know why Jain was only charged with a misdemeanor, and why he hasn't yet been arrested. Some might ask why he didn't just roll down a window.
It will take the courts to decide - that's "courts," plural. In addition to the criminal case, Alper's family is suing Jain and Tesla, appearing to cover its bases with the new-car-smell defense by accusing the Model S of being "defective and unreasonably dangerous when used in a normal, intended and foreseeable manner." That seems like a stretch to us, but it's not like bizarre defenses haven't ever swayed a sentencing before. No matter the verdict in the criminal or civil cases, though, with Joshua Alper gone, nobody wins.