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Recharge Wrap-up: 1M Lexus hybrids, Best Buy Geekmobile goes Prius

Cummins is developing a plug-in hybrid system for heavy trucks. Its plug-in system for Class 6 trucks (those with a gross vehicle weight between 19,000 and 26,000 pounds) is expected to improve fuel economy by 50 percent. Funded in part by a $4.5-million grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE), the system will use a battery pack and some form of range extending internal combustion engine. The system will employ various drive cycles in order to help commercial fleets save fuel based on their needs. Read more at Gas2. German automaker Borgward, LG Chem, Bosch, and software firm SAP have joined forces to form an electric mobility partnership. Borgward recently revived its brand with a new model, the BX7. Borgward has also announced that two other models, the BX5 and BX6, will be available as plug-in hybrids. SAP will provide software services, and LG Chem will supply battery technology to Borgward. Bosch will supply and help develop a number of components for Borgward cars. Read more at Inside EVs. Lexus has sold its millionth hybrid. The luxury automaker began selling hybrids with the electrified RX in 2005, and the millionth hybrid was a NX 300h sold to a customer in Milan, Italy. "This is my first Lexus," says the customer of that vehicle in a Lexus release, Aldo Pirronello. "... and I am honored to celebrate this important milestone with Lexus!" Lexus currently sells 10 hybrid models worldwide. Read more from Lexus. Best Buy's Geek Squad is switching from Volkswagen Beetle Geekmobiles to the Toyota Prius C. As part of an update to the home electronics chain's house call service, the Geeks will be driving more eco-friendly cars with a refreshed logo. More than 1,000 Prius C Geekmobiles are being deployed nationwide. With the Geek Squad answering more than 5 million house calls a year, the fuel savings from switching to a more efficient hybrid cars means reduced emissions over the 12.6 million miles they'll drive per year. Read more in the press release below. Vehicle of Choice for Geeks? Toyota Prius c An armada of agents is about to roll out in Toyota Prius c. Their mission: to help people across America get the most from their technology. Starting today, Best Buy's Geek Squad will dispatch more than 1,000 of the vehicles – fully decked out as the new Geekmobile – nationwide.

Recharge Wrap-up: Q50 Hybrid video, Iran's biodiesel weed

A new video from Infiniti showcases the Q50 Hybrid's kinetic energy recovery technology, borrowed from Formula One. The video details what is going on inside both the Q50 Hybrid and the racecar when it gathers energy to store for later use, offering better performance than an internal combustion engine alone. In the Q50 Hybrid, that electric energy helps the car accelerate from 0-60 in 4.9 seconds. The video also serves to highlight the relationship between racing innovation and performance and efficiency improvements in production vehicles. See the video above. The 2015 Toyota Prius C has been named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The compact hybrid, updated for the 2015 model year, has been upgraded from a "poor" to "acceptable" rating in the small overlap crash test, placing it on the Top Safety Pick list. Beginning in the 2016 model year, cars will have to score a "good" rating on the test to make the list, which means further improvements will be necessary if Toyota wants the Prius C to maintain its safety status with the IIHS. Read more at Green Car Reports. A couple in Tennessee have been found guilty of scamming the state in a fake biodiesel scheme. John and Lisa Brichetto's Northington Energy LLC received a state loan to produce biodiesel in 2011, but the facility never started production and was later foreclosed upon. In addition to the $142,215 the Brichettos defrauded from Tennessee, the state also invested in utilities and roads, while the US Department of Agriculture also paid for site improvements. Read more from the Times Free Press. Researchers in Iran have developed a way to make biodiesel from a weed. Scientists at the Islamic Azad University have created two liters of biomass for biofuel from flixweed. Flixweed, also called herb-Sophia and tansy mustard, is a non-edible weed that grows in various climates with little to no effort. It was found to contain 22 percent oil and fatty acids, and the biomass contains oxygenated chemical components. "This issue is important because the atomic oxygen in the fuel of a car directly cuts exhaust and the dangerous carbon monoxide and cancerous particles suspended in air," says Mehdi Alami, a chemistry graduate working on the project. Read more at Press TV.

Expedition drives from Russia to Canada over North Pole...

No, a Ford Expedition did not drive from Russia to Canada via the North Pole, but that's exactly what a team of intrepid explorers accomplished recently. Using specially-modified buses with massive tires, the group slowly drove 2,485 miles in 70 days over drifting ice, occasionally using a pickaxe to clear a path and staying on guard for chasms that could open up and plunge the team into the frigid arctic waters. Average speeds were about 6 mph, "at the speed of a (farm) tractor." While the big tires technically allowed the buses to float if the need arose, the team preferred to stay out of the water to keep the suspension from getting coated in thick, hard ice. Falling in on foot would mean almost certain death.
According to Phys.org, the buses were powered by Toyota diesel engines, but were built with prototype parts from a previous driving expedition to the North Pole. Right now, the machines are parked in a garage in Canada's Resolute Bay while the the team rests up with family back home. They plan to continue their trek to back across the Bering Straight to Russia. If successful, the team may eventually offer a version of their buses for commercial sale.