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2015 BMW X3 arrives with tweaked styling, diesel option

The luxury crossover market has been a huge success for BMW, having sold over a million X3 models worldwide since the CUV first went on sale in 2003, not to mention all of the momentum its had with the larger X5. At the Chicago Auto Show, BMW is unveiling the refreshed 2015 X3, featuring an improved design, a new diesel engine option, and a rear-wheel drive variant.
The X3 is getting some handsome upgrades to the exterior. The twin, circular headlights now extend to touch the slightly widened, chrome kidney grille, to bring the styling in line with the 3 Series and 4 Series. (LED headlights are now optional, as well.) The front bumper gets reshaped brake cooling ducts, and the rear bumper gets a touch of additional metal trim at the bottom. BMW has also added standard LED turn signals in the side mirrors.
BMW has enhanced the interior with added chrome trim, high-gloss black trim around the center console, sliding covers for the cup holders and new interior upholstery designs. The X3 is also getting a major boost in optional technology - there's a new Parking Assistant, as well as an Active Driving Assistant with adaptive cruise control, Lane Departure Warning, Frontal Collision Warning, Pedestrian Warning, and City Collision Mitigation.

BMW, VW partner with ChargePoint for high-speed charging network

To promote their plug-in electric vehicles, a number of electric vehicle makers are working overtime to get a charging infrastructure set up. Tesla is famously setting up a network of Superchargers around the world, and today BMW and VW have announced they are partnering with ChargePoint to install almost 100 DC Fast Chargers up and down the US coasts. Installing additional Level 2 chargers is also part of the plan. The new DC Fast Chargers will offer the SAE Combo connectors, which is available on both the e-Golf and the i3. The fast chargers will have "up to two 50 kW DC Fast chargers, or 24 kW DC Combo Fast chargers," BMW says. They will be installed roughly 50 miles apart between Boston and Washington, DC in the east as well as Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego in the west. The 24-kW DC Fast Chargers will fill up an empty i3 or e-Golf to 80 percent in a half-hour or 3.5-4 hours from the Level 2 cords. Speaking at an announcement ceremony at the Washington Auto Show today, ChargePoint CEO Pasquale Romano said that infrastructure investments like this will get more people to realize that they can use an electric vehicle as their only car, and Jorg Sommer, VP of product marketing and strategy for VW North America, said that it's clear that, "The EV is perfect for the daily driver." BMW, Volkswagen and ChargePoint Join Forces to Create Electric Vehicle Express Charging Corridors on the East and West Coasts. · A goal of nearly 100 DC Fast charging ports will be installed to support long distance and metropolitan electric vehicle travel with the BMW i3, Volkswagen e-Golf and other electric cars, along heavily trafficked corridors on both coasts, supported by Level 2 chargers. · These publicly available charging stations will be added to the existing ChargePoint network and can be easily accessed using a ChargePoint® or ChargeNow card. Washington, D.C., January 22, 2015 – At the 2015 Washington Auto Show, two of the top automakers, BMW of North America and Volkswagen of America, together with ChargePoint, the largest electric vehicle charging network, announced an initiative to create express charging corridors along heavily-traveled routes on the East and West Coasts.

Recharge Wrap-up: Renault e.dams wins Formula E Marrakesh ePrix, S. Korean Tesla store opens this month

Renault e.dams has won the 2016 Formula E Marrakesh ePrix. The win at the season's second round gives the team a strong lead with 74 points. ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport and Mahindra Racing are tied in second place with 36 points. Renault e.dams driver Sebastien Buemi took first place in the race, with teammate Nico Prost finishing fourth. "We know we have an efficient car and we had to take advantage of that after we started further back on the grid than we wanted," says Buemi. "I was able to extract everything I needed from the car and it shows the team is working really well, so it's been a very positive start to the season." Read more at Green Car Congress, or from Renault. Navigant Research has ranked the EV charging companies. Of the 12 companies providing public charging networks and services, Navigant has named The New Motion, ChargePoint, and EV-Box as "leaders" in the field based on market share, breadth of products, and market adaptability. Following that group of three are a group of "contenders," including Chargemaster, Fortum, Innology SE, Greenlots, Clever A/S, EVgo, POD Point, and SemaConnect. Trailing those is Car Charging Group in the "challengers" category. Read more at Green Car Congress. BMW has entered the second phase of its ChargeForward program to study advanced EV charging. In partnership with Pacific Gas and Electric Company, BMW is inviting i3 and i8 owners in the San Francisco Bay Area to apply to participate in the second phase of the smart charging project, which aims to test technology that optimizes charging for the benefit of the electric grid. "By managing charging when a BMW i or iPerformance vehicle is plugged in – wherever the vehicle is plugged in – BMW can ensure that vehicles are efficiently charged to meet driver's communicated mobility needs while helping the grid reach greater levels of efficiency and sustainability," says BMW's Manager of Connected eMobility, Cliff Fietzek. Read more from BMW. Tesla will open its first Korean retail location this month. On November 29, Tesla plans to open a store in Starfield Hanam, South Korea's largest mall, in Gyeonggi Province. Tesla has also finished ground construction of a Supercharger station in the mall's parking area. Tesla is working to open another store in Seoul's Gangnam District, as well as charging stations around the country. Read more from The Country Caller.