1995 Bmw M3 Base Coupe 2-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: BMW plans for retired batteries; automakers support dual-standard chargers

Toyota will test hybrids with silicon-carbide (SiC) power semiconductors. In Japan, Toyota has put the SiC power semiconductors into the power control units of a Camry Hybrid prototype and a fuel cell bus for a year-long test. Research suggests the SiC units will decrease electrical losses while managing power supply, thus improving overall powertrain efficiency. Current power semiconductors account for about 20 percent of electrical losses, and success with these tests could mean more efficient hybrids on the roads in the future. Read more at Hybrid Cars. Automakers from CCS and CHAdeMO camps are supporting dual-standard charging station networks. https://www.autoblog.com/bmw/, Volkswagen (CCS camp) and ChargePoint announced plans to build "express charging corridors" by installing about 100 DC fast chargers, many of which will support both types of charging. Kansas City Power & Light is partnering with Nissan (CHAdeMO camp) and ChargePoint to install DC chargers that "will charge any model of electric vehicle on the market." This leads the folks at Green Car Reports to look into whether this ends the looming standard war between automakers in the US. Read more at Green Car Reports. BMW, Bosch and utility company Vattenfall are making plans for a second life for retired BMW i3 batteries. The Second Life Batteries Alliance project will recycle the old lithium ion battery packs - which can still hold a charge - in off-grid storage and grid-stabilization applications, beginning with a grid storage system in Hamburg, Germany. Bosch has created a battery management algorithm to extend the life of the batteries and make sure they don't cause harm to Vattenfall's facilities. Read more at Transport Evolved.

Automotive April Fools' joke roundup [w/videos]

Happy April, everyone. And we all know what this first day of the month means: April Fools' Day. Today is a national holiday for pranksters with the Internet acting as a serious enabler, and it's always fun to see what kind of vivid imaginations exist out there in the automotive world. The abundance of fake news gets a little old as the day rolls on, but we did manage to get in a few chuckles thanks to a handful of major automakers and automotive news outlets that got into the pranking spirit this year
Some of our favorites this year includes Subaru showing what happens when you combine a bunch of rumors, a Corvette some may have already thought was a joke or Honda providing some in-car innovation circa the late 1980s. Honestly, we're still waiting for official confirmation from Mitsubishi that the recently introduced 2014 Mirage is an elaborate April Fools' joke using a failed design intended for the 1995 Geo Metro. We dug up as much "official" OEM foolishness we could find, as well as some of our other favorites, and posted them all below.

Autoblog fan favorite car ads from Super Bowl XLIX

Super Bowl XLIX is in the books, and the New England Patriots emerged victorious. Of course, if you're like us, the big game wasn't so much about the battle between the east coast and west, so much as a fight between the world's automotive advertisers. We collected and collated all of last night's new ads and put them together for you to vote on. And yes, we're limiting this year's contest to last night's new features. That's why you aren't seeing Dodge's epic Wisdom among our collection of commercials, and it's a similar story with Chevrolet's Truck Guy Focus Group series, which highlights the new Colorado. You can still vote for your favorites. We won't be closing the voting on our Super Bowl page, so while the winners and losers are correct as of this writing, it's entirely possible that there could be some changes in the rankings as time goes on. So, without any further ado, here are the winning ads based on your voting. Nissan: With Dad Fiat: Ready For Action Jeep: Beautiful Lands BMW: Newfangled Idea Mercedes-Benz: Fable NASCAR: America Start Your Engines As for those ads that failed to impact you, loyal readers, Toyota was the absolute, undisputed loser. The Japanese brand ran four ads in total – two for Toyota and two for Lexus – and all of them have negative tallies as of this writing. Lexus' Make Some Noise and Lets Play and Toyota's One Bold Choice and My Bold Dad both had very weak showings among the commercials that aired, although they weren't alone. Neither Mazda nor Kia scored particularly well, despite featuring celebrity magic act Penn and Teller and former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, respectively. Chevrolet was the winner of the losers, as of our writing, recording the fewest downvotes for its audience-punking The Big Game ad. If you want to take a second look at the losing ads, you can head back to our Super Bowl page for the complete collection. But for now, head into Comments and let us know what you think of the results.