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Recharge Wrap-up: Indianapolis to switch 425 fleet vehicles to EVs, Chevy Corvette provides bat habitats

Indianapolis will deploy 425 battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles as part of its municipal fleet by 2016. The fleet will include such cars as the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt and Ford Fusion Energi. The city will also reduce its overall fleet by 100 vehicles. In all, the revised group - called the "Freedom Fleet" - will save $8.7 million and 2.2 million gallons of gasoline over 10 years. Read more at Hybrid Cars. EVs with longer range would make vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-grid energy management systems more practical for the US. The idea of using EVs as energy storage for emergencies or times of high grid demand is currently being tested in Japan with Nissan's Leaf-to-Home system. The US is also interested in such capabilities, but the higher average energy use of American households would make larger batteries in EVs ideal for grid storage applications. Read more at Green Car Reports. LG Chem has broken ground on its EV battery plant in Nanjing, China. The factory, when constructed, will have a capacity of producing batteries for 100,000 cars per year according to the Korean company. The plant will supply batteries for Chinese automakers such as SAIC and Qoros. Construction is expected to be finished by the end of 2015 and LG Chem expects revenue of more than $933 million by 2020. Read more in the press release below. General Motors is using adhesive used in the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray to create habitat for threatened bat species. Artificial bat caves could help alleviate white-nose fungus that leads to diminished bat populations. Leftover adhesive is used to create stalactites in the artificial caves, allowing them more structure to hang from. GM has also provided Volt battery covers to create nesting habitats for bats, which eat harmful insects and help pollinate plants. See the videos and read more in the press release below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. LG Chem officially breaks ground for China EV battery plant Seoul, Korea - Oct 30, 2014 – LG Chem, Korea's leading manufacturer of advanced batteries, held a ground breaking ceremony for the construction of electric-car battery plant in Nanjing, China, to meet growing demand in the world's biggest car market.

Recharge Wrap-up: Volt makes up third of Quebec Chevy dealerships sales, Tesla seeks Aussie talent

A Chevrolet dealership in Quebec has had the Volt make up 35 percent of its sales so far this year. Bourgeois Chevrolet in Rawdon, Quebec received recognition for the feat at the 2014 Electric Vehicle Conference, where it won the award for Leading Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Dealership. To sell that many, Bourgeois Chevrolet had to import used Volts from the US, and keeps about 50 units on the lot in various configurations. The conference also saw Park Avenue Nissan of Brossard, Quebec win the Leading Battery Electric Vehicle Dealership Award, and Loch Lomond Mitsubishi of Saint John, New Brunswick receive the award for Electric Vehicle Dealership Inspiration. Read more at Green Car Reports. Tesla Motors has begun scouting Australian engineers as other automakers shutter operations there. Ford, General Motors and Toyota have announced that they will shut down their Australian factories, leaving behind a lot of unused talent. Tesla recently held a "Recruiting Open House" in Melbourne for engineers to fill positions at its plant in Fremont, CA, where they will be paired with other Aussie engineers already on staff. Read more at Green Car Reports, or at Motoring. Electric turbochargers may come to play a key role in making internal combustion engines more efficient. Valeo recently showed an electric turbo it plans to supply to an unnamed automaker at a fuel economy showcase event at the EPA's National Vehicle Emissions and Fuel Lab. Electric turbochargers have the advantage of greatly reduced lag when compared to exhaust-driven turbos. They also work well when paired with cylinder deactivation, providing a much-needed boost when driving on a grade, which can help reduce the need for cylinders to reactivate. Independence from the exhaust system also makes it easier to package the turbocharger wherever there is room. Read more from Navigant Research. US crude oil futures have dropped to their lowest in more than two years. Saudi Arabia cut oil costs for the US and raised them for Europe and Asia as the US has increased output. On November 3, US crude futures fell as much as 2.2 percent in New York. West Texas Intermediate closed at $78.78, the lowest since June 2012. Brent crude slipped $1.08 to $84.78 a barrel. Read more at Bloomberg.

Super Bowl LVII car commercial roundup: Watch them all here

Fewer automakers than usual spent money advertising during Super Bowl LVII. In total, there were only five traditional ad spots from three big OEMs. A number of car-adjacent ads aired during the Big Game, too, and we’ll bring you those ads in this roundup alongside the more obvious ones. WeÂ’ve compiled all of the automotive-related commercials for you here in this post so you donÂ’t have to go searching for them elsewhere. Read on below to see what aired as the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles. Ram's Super Bowl spot offers a cure for 'Premature Electrification' This commercial revealed the new electric Ram Rev pickup, and itÂ’s themed like a prescription ad for an antidote to "Premature Electrification.” A concerned narrator in the Ram spot asks if you're afraid that going electric too soon will mean "you might not be able to last as long as you like," and there's a guy on a pier who's going to need some new equipment if he wants to catch fish. We're also told there are "options being designed to extend range in satisfying ways," so if this truck isn't right for you, you have choices. All the commercial's missing is a silly medical marketing name and six seconds of speed-reading gibberish about side effects like intestinal bleeding and death. Which are two more good things. Jeep 4xe Super Bowl commercial highlights modern version of 'Electric Boogie' JeepÂ’s “Electric Boogie” commercial follows the Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe in a variety of simulated off-road situations. Though fun, the soundtrack is the real star of the show. The songÂ’s original artist, Marcia Griffiths, was joined by Grammy winner Shaggy, Jamila Falak, Amber Lee, and Moyann on the track. The modernized re-recording celebrates 40 years since GriffithsÂ’ original track, and Jeep says the track is available for streaming now. Kia returns to the Super Bowl with the tale of 'Binky Dad' This year, Kia follows the adventure of "Binky Dad" in his quest to fetch his daughter's lost pacifier, which naturally takes him over just about every bit of terrain you might encounter upon leaving the civilized confines of Southern California for the not-so-civilized mountains of ... probably also California. It features the refreshed 2023 Kia Telluride, which probably doesnÂ’t need much advertising to see these days, but Kia went for it with the strong three-row SUV anyway.