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Tesla Model S Easter egg turns car into submarine

When thinking about Elon Musk, the first thing that comes to mind may not be his sense of humor. However, the Tesla boss is embedding a pretty funny Easter egg in the company's cars that references a part of his own collection. Musk famously purchased the Lotus Esprit submarine from the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me for about $967,000 in 2013. At one point, he even intended to install a Tesla powertrain and make it fully transformable. From anyone else that plan would sound like pure fantasy, but Musk has the money and the means to make it happen, if he wants. Now, every Tesla Model S driver gets to share in just a little of that very cool ownership experience. A person on YouTube filmed how to access the Easter egg, and it's extremely easy. Just hold down the T on the infotainment screen for a few seconds, enter the appropriate code 007 and check the suspension settings page. Instead of seeing a Model S, Bond's submersible Esprit now appears. As another cool touch, users can set the vehicle's depth in leagues, and the options max out at 20,000. This is almost certainly a subtle reference to the classic story 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Maybe someday Musk can get the Lotus' conversion complete, and we can see it working for real. Until then, this a neat way to show the unique car off. Related Video:

Buick tops in Consumer Reports' annual brand rankings

Buick is the first US-based automotive brand to crack the top 10 in Consumer Reports magazine's annual brand report cards. US automakers also placed three vehicles on the magazine's list of "top picks" for vehicles, the first time that's happened in 17 years. The rankings were unveiled Tuesday in the magazine's annual auto issue. Buick placed seventh in the brand rankings. But the brand rankings and top picks still were dominated by Japanese and German manufacturers, with Lexus, Mazda, Toyota, Audi and Subaru taking the top five brand spots. The magazine calculates each brand's overall score with a composite of its vehicles' road-test scores and reliability scores for each model in its annual survey of subscribers. It's the third year for the brand rankings. Porsche placed just ahead of Buick at number six, while Honda, Kia and BMW rounded out the top 10 brands. Mercedes-Benz, Acura and Infiniti all suffered precipitous declines in their rankings due to unreliable new models or poor road test scores. Mercedes fell out of the top 10 to 21st, while Acura dropped from number two to 11 with an unimpressive test of the new RLX sedan, the magazine said. In the model rankings, the top overall finisher was California-based Tesla's Model S electric car, for the second year in a row. The Model S, which cost the magazine $89,650, finished first due to its performance and technical innovations, the magazine said. Buick's Regal midsize car beat the BMW 328i as the top sports sedan, and the Chevrolet Impala was named the top large car. The model rankings show Consumer Reports' favorite among the 270 vehicles its team has recently tested. The rankings are closely watched in the auto industry, since shoppers consistently cite Consumer Reports as a main source of car-buying advice. Other top picks included the Subaru Impreza in the compact car category, Subaru Legacy in midsize cars, Toyota Prius as the best green car, Audi A6 luxury car, Subaru Forester small SUV, Toyota Highlander midsize SUV and the Honda Odyssey minivan. Japanese vehicles won six of 10 top pick categories, but that was the smallest number in the 19-year history of Consumer Reports top picks. "For years domestic automakers built lower-priced and lower-quality alternatives to imports, but those days are behind us," said Jake Fisher, the magazine's director of automotive testing. But other U.S.-based automakers still had problems.

Recharge Wrap-up: Telsa's aerodynamic modeling program, new toll plan for NYC

A video shows the digital aerodynamic modeling Tesla used when making the Model S. The video is from Exa, which uses predictive airflow software to create a "digital wind tunnel." Tesla's aerodynamics guru Rob Palin said the digital modeling helped them pinpoint areas with the most drag - the mirrors and wheels being the big anchors - and make the car more slippery overall. "One of the objectives with the Model S was to minimize the airflow around the front wheels and to line up the airflow so it hits the front wheels head on," says Palin. "This was an area where we made a huge improvement from the initial concept designs to the final design." See the car's 0.24 drag coefficient in action in the video above, and read more at Teslarati. A new toll plan in New York City could help ease congestion and pay for infrastructure. A report from Move NY Fair finds that drivers in the outer boroughs end up paying most of the tolls, while Manhattan drivers do not. "The toll levels charged to motorists do not accurately reflect travel demand nor do they appropriately act as a disincentive to drive into the most congested part of the city," according to the report. Under the new plan, driver's entering central Manhattan would pay $8, while tolls would be lowered by 45 percent on bridges that don't lead into the central business district. The plan would encourage mass transit, and generate an expected $1.5 billion in annual revenue. Read more at Wired. More and more, utilities are getting into the business of electric vehicle charging. More energy providers are looking to install and operate EV charging stations in order to promote electric driving and create new revenue selling electricity. EV charging can also help to manage the grid more efficiently. Some charging companies and energy consumers oppose utilities getting into the charging game, though. They worry about stifling competition and burdening customers with the costs of creating the infrastructure. The large utility companies, though, are better poised to take on such large projects. Read more at The New York Times. Related Gallery Tesla Model S: Quick Spin View 33 Photos News Source: Teslarati, Wired, New York TimesImage Credit: YouTube: exacorporation Green Tesla Alternative Fuels Electric recharge wrapup

Apple car could arrive by 2020

The possibility of Apple entering the auto business has been a scorching hot topic lately. The tech giant is reportedly poaching employees from both Tesla and battery maker A123 Systems, and there's even a lawsuit over the dispute in the latter case. The latest rumor adding even more gas to this growing conflagration of rumors is that the company is targeting 2020 for a possible start of production for its car. Anonymous "people with knowledge of the matter" tell Bloomberg this is the case and say there are about 200 employees reportedly working on the project. Apple reportedly wants to enter the car market because the company is looking for new business sectors. The development began in earnest in the past few months with all of the new hires. The automotive project is rumored to be called Project Titan within the tech business, and its styling may resemble a minivan, at least at this stage. While Apple has no car manufacturing facilities of its own, meetings with Magna Steyr indicate the company could consider a contract partner to actually assemble the vehicle. Of course everything about this project is entirely a rumor at this point, and Apple isn't confirming anything. All signs so far suggest the business is developing an electric car, and the poached workers from A123 Systems indicate the company is researching battery technology. Although, if Apple really wants to debut the vehicle in five years, there are still a multitude of problems to solve, including setting up a sales and service infrastructure. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Mark Lennihan / AP Photo Green Tesla Technology Emerging Technologies Electric a123 systems project titan icar

Recharge Wrap-up: Digital Giant video lights up Tesla Model S, GM uses wind power in Mexico

General Motors will use a 34-megawatt wind farm to power its facilities in Mexico. Upon completion of the wind farm's construction, GM will be sourcing 12 percent of the energy for all of its North American operations from renewable sources. Currently, GM uses 104 megawatts of renewable energy, with goal of 120 megawatts by 2020, and the new wind farm deal helps the automotive group achieve its goal several years early. Most of the energy from the wind project will power GM's Toluca Complex. "Once online, we'll evaluate the project to better understand how we can expand the use of wind power," says GM's renewable energy manager, Rob Threlkeld. Read more from GM. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) supports readoption of California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard, but sees room for improvement. The advanced biofuel trade organization said it is "generally supportive" of the law, but feels that some of the requirements get in the way of producers doing their job. "BIO and its members are concerned that the intensified reporting requirements under the readoption plan could be particularly burdensome in time and cost to small and new low-carbon fuel producers," says BIO's Brent Erickson. "CARB should make every effort to ensure that the new reporting (and other) requirements under the plan do not inadvertently discourage small producers or innovation." Read more in the press release below. The Tesla Model S is the subject of a new video from Digital Giant. Called "Lightdrive," the video uses the newest video technology to show off what is arguably the world's favorite EV. The filmmakers "harnessed the freedoms gifted by the latest state of the art cameras, camera cars, drones and bespoke technologies to create a piece that we hope appeals to the sci-fi junky and car enthusiast alike." Digital Giant calls the Model S the "obvious choice" for making such a video. "Tesla is not only a brand we identify with on all levels, it is a case of automotive fiction meeting science fact, and to drive one is to understand that the game has changed." See the video above and read more at Gas2. BIO Urges California to Readopt the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, With Changes BIO expresses concerns on reporting requirements and compliance curve Washington, D.C. (Feb.

Cramer: Elon Musk made a mockery of latest Tesla earnings call

CNBC's Jim Cramer was not impressed with the earnings conference call Tesla hosted last week to explain its 2014 fourth-quarter and annual results, calling CEO Elon Musk's reasons for the company's performance "horrendous," "ridiculous," "a fiasco," and reminiscent of "the rambling John DeLorean." Musk said Tesla met its production target of 35,000 Model S units for the year, but missed out on getting something like 1,400 of those vehicles into customers' hands because of the weather, problems with "actual" ships, and customers being on vacation. Revenue rose to $956.7 million for the year, but the company posted a loss of more than $107 million for the quarter. Tesla saw its third Chinese executive in a year resigned from the company this month, when its VP of communications and chief marketing officer departed. Musk argued that problems in China are "overblown." Part of the trouble in China, Musk argued, has been that the Tesla sales team has been telling customers it's difficult to charge the cars. And the company also dropped two bombshells: Telsa has planned to spend $1.5 billion on capital expenditures planned this year, without borrowing, a statement that a Morgan Stanley analyst called hitting the "insane button." And Musk said Tesla will have a higher market cap than Apple in ten years. Right now, Apple's market cap exceeds $700 billion, Tesla's is about $27 billion; Musk's plan would need 50-percent annual revenue growth for a decade, depending on who you believe. Cramer, who rarely minces words on anything, thinks that's all just plain insane, writing that Musk's explanations "hang himself" and remind him of John DeLorean. Cramer said he loves the car, but he's frustrated with what he calls a "cult stock," which "can't be valued by traditional metrics." It's a sentiment that Musk is in no hurry to change, but he doesn't need to as long as he backs up his braggadocio. For more, check out the call transcript, Q4 Shareholder Letter, and SEC filing. News Source: CNBCImage Credit: AP Photo/Cathleen Allison Earnings/Financials Green Tesla quarterly earnings

Koch Brothers, Sierra Club side with Tesla in dealer fight

The Koch Brothers and Sierra Club don't generally see eye to eye. When it comes to Tesla Motors and its efforts to tweak the traditional dealership distribution model, though, they're jumping across that proverbial aisle, according to Bloomberg News. Is this a great country or what? About 10 entities signed an open letter dated February 16 to US legislators imploring them to back the electric vehicle maker and its factory-to-customer distribution sales model. In addition to groups like the Consumer Federation of America and Institute for Justice, both the Koch's uber-conservative Americans for Prosperity and the ever-green Sierra Club are on that docket, with the former supporting the cause out of a desire for a more free market and the latter on board because of emissions-free transportation. Those entities all decry the traditional distribution system that they say restrains innovation and does not "rest on a legitimate public policy basis." Tesla has long been battling a number of states for the right to sell direct to consumers, with Michigan, New Jersey and Texas among the company's most hardcore adversaries. More recently, Connecticut and Arizona have made moves to legalize direct-to-customer sales from Tesla. You can read a copy of the advocacy letter (PDF). Featured Gallery 2015 Tesla Model S P85D: Detroit 2015 View 18 Photos News Source: Bloomberg News Government/Legal Green Tesla Electric dealer fight koch brothers

Top horsepower-per-dollar cars in 2017

Bang for the buck. That quasi-scientific statistic is bandied about by motor heads everywhere from classrooms to barrooms, though the truth of the matter is that it's exceedingly complex to measure. A fair performance-per-dollar index would include something like cross-referencing MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) with point-to-point times on a track or driving route, which is obviously hard to do comprehensively. But, for the sheer joy of talking about cars and playing with a big spreadsheet, there's always the horsepower-per-dollar index, which is more straightforward, albeit hilariously flawed. There are vagaries even with this simple formula, of course: MSRP for vehicles can change at a moment's notice, to say nothing of the bottom-line shifting that happens with local deals or showroom negotiation. For this list we're running with the straight MSRP wherever possible, and as recently reported as we can get it. All the vehicles on this list are 2017 models, and all trims are reported where the lowest price and differing power levels intersect. Some choices were made for personal preference and some for sanity, avoiding things like all 48 trim levels of the Ford Transit, all with the same horsepower). If this list were a simple top ten, or even a top fifty, you'd be bored to tears with all the red, white and blue that is represented. Following perfectly with conventional wisdom, American cars really do lead the world where hp/$ is concerned. So, for the sake of variety (and the sheer joy of seeing a minivan 'win' one round of this thing) I've sorted out some top five and bottom five lists for broad power categories. Let's dive in. Less Than 100 Horsepower Okay, okay, this is hardly a category we'll grant you. But we've often tried to click off all the sub-100-hp cars on sale in the US, and making this list gave us an excuse. It also illustrates that none of these smallish vehicles bring cheap horsepower to the table - for that you'll need a motorcycle. The segment-leading Chevy Spark (above) asks just over $139 for each hp, and that Smart Fortwo Electric Drive has hp on sale for about the same price as its very distant family cousin, the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG (insert your favorite Smart joke here... we know you want to).

Tesla Roadster 3.0 road trip manages 340 miles on single charge

We still don't know when, exactly, it's coming, or how much it will cost, but we now confirm this: the 3.0 package for the Tesla Roadster will allow the electric sportscar to make the long-distance drive from San Jose to Los Angeles without stopping to charge. And, it could have a additional 20 miles with of range after it arrives. We know this because the California automaker has, on the anniversary of its Cross Country Rally, sent a Roadster equipped with the prototype version of the 3.0 package from its Santana Row store in San Jose all the way down to the Santa Monica Pier. In all, the two-seater clocked the voyage at 340 miles and indicated another twenty left in the "tank." According to an account of the trip on the Tesla website, the driver used cruise control to keep close to the speed limit and engaged the heater, at one point, for a 40-minute stretch. The total time is given as under six hours, with no mention of whether any stops were made for maintenance of the pilot. While the electric car company still won't say when the package will be available – we asked – it seems like the wait will probably extend for a couple more months, at least. The prototype may have been ready for its maiden voyage, but the consumer version will get more development work using data derived from this early venturing forth. Featured Gallery 2012 Tesla Roadster Final Edition View 10 Photos News Source: Tesla Motors Green Tesla Coupe Electric Performance

Recharge Wrap-up: Kia Soul EV wins MotorWeek award, Virgin Hotels offering Tesla Model S rides

The Kia Soul EV has been awarded a MotorWeek's Drivers' Choice Award. Winning the honor for Best Eco-Friendly Vehicle, "The Kia Soul EV is the perfect EV," according to MotorWeek host and executive producer John Davis. "It has more power and range compared to other affordable all-electric vehicles. Plus, its funky style makes driving the Kia Soul EV really cool." The Soul EV has a driving range of about 93 miles on a single charge, and offers an interior roomy and comfortable enough to earn MotorWeek's praise. Read more in the press release below. Virgin Hotels will provide its Chicago guests car services in the Tesla Model S. Guests can get rides to and from the hotel in a red, dual-motor Model S P85D. Virgin Hotels offers the EV services as part of its sustainability program. "Tesla is the hottest electric car on the road right now, and we're elated to provide our hotel guests with this chic house-car service while also helping to reduce our carbon footprint," says Virgin Hotels vice president of sales and marketing Doug Carrillo. "For Virgin Hotels it's important to provide services our guests desire but do so with the environment in mind whenever possible." Hyundai has announced the first lease of its Tucson Fuel Cell in Canada. Hyundai chose the Vancouver couple, Jennifer Ma and Clayton Crawley, as the first buyers in part because they live near both a dealership and a fueling station, the latter of which sources its hydrogen from a chemical company that produces the gas as a byproduct. Crawley, whose children love the beach, says, "Getting there while reducing our environmental impact will be awesome." Read more at Automotive News. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is providing $30 million in grant money for Proterra electric buses. Six transit agencies will buy 28 of the EV buses for a variety of projects. Proterra CEO Ryan Popple calls the funding a "tremendous validation for the company." In total, the FTA is handing out $55 million in grant money for the deployment of American-made electric buses. Four other agencies will receive buses from BAE Systems and New Flyer as part of the program. Read more at Charged EVs. Kia Soul EV Wins 2015 MotorWeek Drivers' Choice Award Kia's First All-Electric Vehicle Wins Best Eco-Friendly Honor - Soul EV praised for funky style, power, range and roomy interior - MotorWeek's annual list of winners serves as a buying guide for the show's nationwide audience CHICAGO, Feb.