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Mercedes may be working on a new electric car dubbed 'Ecoluxe'

Automobile has a lengthy piece this month on how the four German mass-market luxury manufacturers each plan to go after Tesla with their own electric vehicles. It was written by Georg Kacher, the magazine's European bureau chief, and the English version came a month after he wrote the German-language original for Autobild. Tesla isn't exactly a threat to the Germans, but, according to the report, the Model S is planting the right kinds of seeds in niches that are important to the luxury players. The thinking is that - in addition to needed electric vehicles anyway for stricter US regulations - it's better to start designing the machinery now. The article posited Porsche's attack would rest on the coming Panamera platform, but a big hurdle would be battery placement. Unable to find one large space for a lithium-ion pack, engineers would instead put batteries everywhere they could, for a supposed tally of some "108 battery pouches" throughout the body. A few days after the Automobile piece, however, Porsche publicly said it had no intention of challenging the Model S, because the enthusiastic driving the brand is known for doesn't jive with useful range. In Kacher's retelling, Mercedes' plans are even more ambitious, supposedly taking aim at the Model S and the coming Model X. It would do this with an investment in excess of $2 billion in a program called "Ecoluxe" – Mercedes has no brand division akin to BMW's i and Audi's e-tron. The new brand would create a four-strong family of bespoke electric vehicles: a smaller platform with a wheelbase around 106 inches and a larger one with a wheelbase around 118 inches. In addition, the range would have "provisions for rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, and rear-wheel steering." The numbers are impressive: seating for seven in the larger vehicles, both longer than 16 feet, front and rear storage areas, ratings of up to 610 horsepower and production capacity of 80,000 units per year. When would we see such creatures? Perhaps as soon as 2019. We do know that if Tesla can knock the Model X over the outfield fence, automakers are going to have to do something. We don't know what the chances are that Ecoluxe is Mercedes' first move - but such a plan could help explain the weird Mercedes concept spied in October.

BMW reveals M4 safety car with innovating water injection system [w/video]

Racing series don't just pick their safety cars at random, or use just whatever car is lying around. These days the car that sets the pace at the front of the pack is typically provided through consideration by a sponsor. In the MotoGP series, that's BMW and its M division, which have served up the Official Car of MotoGP since 1999. What you're looking at is the latest, and it packs some innovative technology on board. Aside from the matte black wrap with BMW's iconic striped livery, upgraded aero kit, retrofitted interior and emergency equipment, this BMW M4 coupe packs a new injection system under the hood. Only instead of injecting fuel, it injects water into the combustion chamber – something that wouldn't usually be recommended, but BMW insists actually aids in the combustion process. The idea is that the temperature of the air being mixed with the fuel inside the engine is usually hotter than ideal, so the system injects a fine mist of water into the collector in order to reduce the air's temperature... sort of like one of those hydrating misters at an amusement park or outdoor mall, but in an even hotter environment. The system brings the temperature of the air down to a more optimal temperature, helping it combust better. The process is said to yield a number of positive effects. For one, it reduces knocking. For another, it can make more out of lower-octane fuel where higher octane isn't available. It also can control the adverse effects of higher ambient temperature on the combustion process. But most of all, it increases output and reduce fuel consumption by around eight percent. Whether that eight percent is worth the added weight of the system – particularly with water pump and a 1.3-gallon tank in the trunk – is up for debate. But we'd imagine that the Bavarian engineers have weighed very carefully. Of course there's also the matter of refilling the water tank, which BMW says would be carried out whenever the safety car is refueled, but in real-world conditions would only necessitate attention once every five top-ups at the gas station. By now you might have guessed that BMW probably didn't develop this system just for the MotoGP safety car, and isn't planning on keeping it confined to the racetrack. Instead it's being tested and demonstrated on the safety car before being rolled out on production models in the future.

BMW solar roof helps i3 drivers even when sun isn't shining

At the Consumer Electronics Show, BMW has announced a release window for its i Wallbox Pro that unites domestic solar power and the electricity grid. The box itself was shown off during last year's i8 drives and it rests inside a solar carport to control the simultaneous delivery of both solar power and the electric grid energy to recharge an i8. One drive attendee wrote how the Wallbox Pro display showed that it was providing 3.4 total kW to the coupe, with 2.8 kW from the sun and 0.6 kW from the grid. At CES, BMW said the i Wallbox Pro, brought to life by BMW DesignWorks, will be available in 2016. For homes that aren't equipped with solar power, or when solar isn't available, the system will draw power from the grid when it's least expensive. The Munich manufacturer also announced a concept storage solution using discarded batteries from its electric cars, where excess energy from solar or other sources could be held for later use for a vehicle or the home itself. BMW will be demonstrating the i Wallbox Pro at CES and the press release below has more information. BMW i Home Charging Services unveiled at the CES Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Pioneering integrated charging solution for electric vehicles brings further reduction in charging costs and integrates home solar generating systems with the household electricity system. Munich / Las Vegas- January 5, 2015... At the Consumer Electronics Show CES 2015 in Las Vegas (6 – 9 January 2015) BMW i will unveil a further innovative product from its 360° ELECTRIC portfolio: BMW i Home Charging Services. This smart solution for home charging of electric and plug-in hybrid BMW models is based on the smart home-enabled BMW i Wallbox Pro system already presented by BMW in spring 2014. How the smart charging service works. Using BMW i Home Charging Services, the vehicle is charged with homegenerated solar power whenever this is available. At other times, or if the household does not have a solar generating system, the vehicle is automatically charged at the cheapest off-peak rates. This makes it possible to take advantage of flexible electricity pricing that varies depending on the time of day. In the USA, this can result in savings of up to 800 dollars a year. With this fully automated charging service, customers get a simple-to-operate system that integrates vehicle charging with the household electrical system and online-based data systems.