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Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla Gigafactory gets high-tech neighbors, BMW i8 still comes with a long wait

Switch plans to build a large data center near the site of Tesla's Gigafactory battery production facility in Reno, Nevada. The 3 million square-foot facility in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center will cost $1 billion to build, and eBay is expected to be the main tenant when the first portion is finished in 2016. Apple is also building a data center nearby. One draw for companies like Switch, Apple and Tesla is access to the region's clean power, and the Reno area could become the next big center for high-tech manufacturing. Read more at GigaOm. Daniel Sparks of investing website The Motley Fool has shared his insights after living with the Tesla Model S for four months and 10,000 miles. After driving his 85-kW version through various conditions, including a 2,200-mile road trip, Sparks is optimistic about the car and the company behind it. From his experience, he says that charging is easier than most people believe, and that range anxiety isn't a problem. He calls Tesla's growing Supercharger network a "game changer," citing their quickness, availability and the fact that charging is free for life. He also says that most people seem to know very little about the car. Still, he calls Tesla stock "pricey" with the growth already priced into the shares. Read more at USA Today. The wait for a BMW i8 is about a year, despite efforts to ramp up production. BMW is reducing production of the i3 in order to increase the number of i8s by more than 50 percent for 2015, but the bigger batch won't become available in the US until October. Ludwig Willisch, CEO of BMW North America, says that he doesn't expect cheap gas to slow sales of the i3. He also denies rumors of an i9 positioned above the i8. The new 7 Series appears to be taking some cues from the i8, though, with carbon fiber, magnesium and aluminum construction, as well as improved connectivity. Read more at Automotive News.

Motorweek remembers the Bimmers that made us all fall in love

The enthusiast's tied-in-knots relationship with BMW makes the Bavarians one of those brands especially ripe for nostalgic flights. That's why as soon as we saw the opening shot of Motorweek's review of the 1986 BMW 325e and a 635Csi, we let out a long sigh and thought, "Ahhhhh, I remember those days..." The two red barons were the new entries for the year, the 325e offering a couple of extra doors for the first time, the 635CSi rounding up the powerplant's displacement compared to the 633CSi that preceded it. The inline six-cylinder in the current 335i sedan gets on with 300 horsepower; 28 years ago, the 325e made do with a 2.7-liter inline six offering 121 hp, taking 9.3 seconds to get to 60 miles per hour from a standstill. That's four seconds more than today. Those willing to pay $41,000 for the 635CSi got a 3.4-liter inline six with 182 hp, and Motorweek praised it as a "confident handling car that does feel big and clumsy at times." The more things change, you know... Check out the video for a reminder of how BMW got to be what it is, and to hear the most unusual use of the word "oriental" we've heard in a while. News Source: MotorWeek via YouTube BMW Coupe Luxury Classics Videos Sedan

BMW M3 and M4 CSL not in the cards

We aren't sure whether to file this one under "good news" or "bad news." BMW confirmed to Top Gear that there "are no plans" for lightweight versions of the new M3 and M4, in the same vein as the E46 M3 CSL (despite rumors to the contrary). The reason?
"There wasn't a CSL on the previous generation, and the way we look at it is like this: the CSL was great because it had this real focus on lightweight engineering. But we've already done that with these new cars. We've made them as light as possible - they come in under 1500 kilograms (3,306 pounds), which for a car like this is incredible," said Matt Collins, BMW's product manager for small to medium cars.
Now, as much as we love the idea of a hardcore version of any car, we appreciate BMW's point of view that the newest Ms are already as light and tough as they need to be. Collins elaborated, saying, "Rather than doing a halfway house to begin with and then rolling out a CSL, we thought we'd make the 'real' car as light as we possibly could. So we've no plans whatsoever to make a lighter, harder version just yet."