1972 Chevrolet K5 Blazer on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Free chargers for Canadian ELR buyers, Renovo gets funding for EV supercar

Chevrolet offers versions of its Express passenger van with B20 biodiesel and E85 capability. Customers can buy the van with the Duramax turbodiesel V8, which is compatible with the 20-percent biodiesel blend. There is also a FlexFuel V8, which can use the 85-percent ethanol gasoline blend. It's a great option for shuttling the whole soccer team to practice using renewable fuels. Read more at Domestic Fuels. Early buyers of the Cadillac ELR in Canada will get a 240-volt charger installed at their home for free. It should help convince some buyers to adopt the range extended luxury EV. Cadillac's Chief Marketing Officer Uwe Ellinghaus says, "Professional installation of the fastest home-charging unit is a natural way to mark the introduction of ELR to the luxury market." Read more in the press release below. Renovo has received venture capital funding from California-based True Ventures to build its Coupe electric supercar. The impressive EV, with its 500 horsepower and 1,000 pound-feet of torque, is an inspiring vehicle built by a promising company, according to its financial backers. Toni Schneider of True Ventures says that Renovo has "created incredibly advanced technology and a beautiful machine that is well positioned to disrupt the automotive market." Read more in the press release below. Renault says it will build its Fluence ZE electric car in China for an unnamed brand, pending government approval. Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn announced the plan at a test drive event in France on Monday. Renault has a partnership with Dongfeng Motors to build and sell its cars in China. Read more at Reuters. Germany has lifted its ban on Uber. While the German court believes the ride-hailing service is operating illegally without proper licensing for drivers, it says Taxi Deutschland waited too long to file the case against Uber. The taxi association plans to appeal the decision soon. See more in the video below, and read more at The New York Times. A new report from UC Davis claims that a global expansion of public transit could save 1,700 megatons of carbon dioxide yearly and over $100 trillion by 2050. A "high-shift scenario" would be necessary, wherein governments invest in rail and clean buses, expand biking and walking infrastructure and shift focus away from projects that encourage car use. This shift to public transit would especially be important in the US, China and India. Read more in the press release below.

Joe Flacco wins C7 Corvette along with MVP honors

As part of a longstanding tradition, the MVP of Super Bowl XLVII, Joe Flacco, quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, was given a new car directly after the game and trophy celebrations. For 2013, that car is a 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, and it was presented to Flacco by Rick Flick of Banner Chevrolet, a dealership in New Orleans that was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 before returning to prominence as the only Chevy dealer in Orleans Parish.
Last year, Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning took home a 2012 Corvette GS Centennial Edition. Manning also won in 2008, when he selected a Cadillac Escalade Hybrid as his reward. In 2011, quarterback Aaron Rodgers accepted the keys to a Camaro convertible.
Though we're most definitely an auto-obsessed group, we did watch the Big Game along with nearly everyone else in America. And we've gotta say, as if winning the Super Bowl and receiving the Tiffany-designed Pete Rozelle Trophy wasn't enough for the multi-millionaire MVP athletes, a brand-new C7 seems like an awfully generous prize. Scroll down below for an official announcement from General Motors.

GM starting to talk seriously about 200-mile EV

We've been hearing word of a 200-mile EV from Chevrolet for a while now. First, there was General Motors then-CEO Dan Akerson hinting at a $30,000, 200-mile EV that would take the competition by surprise. Then Akerson confirmed that GM is working on a 200-mile EV in a speech in March. LG Chem, which supplies batteries to GM and other automakers, recently said it was working on batteries for EVs with a range of 200 miles. GM's head of global product development Mark Reuss just re-confirmed that there are plans for an EV with a 200-mile range, and sources have told Automotive News what that car will be. While Reuss didn't mention anything about a specific model or platform, two undisclosed sources with knowledge of GM's plans have said that an EV with a range of about 200 miles is indeed in the works, and that it will be based on the Chevrolet Sonic. The sources also gave a timeline for the car, saying it is slated for sometime in 2017. According to Reuss, the plan is for Chevy to offer a lineup of electric cars, with the 200-mile EV joining ranks of the Chevrolet Volt and the Spark EV. He didn't hint at a timeline, but if the sources are correct, we could see a Sonic EV being built within a few years. Reuss sees demand for it, too. When speaking of the Spark EV, currently only available in California and Oregon, he says that "people wish we would sell it all around the country." If he's right about that, it's not difficult to imagine people taking interest in Chevrolet's 200-mile electric car, whether or not it's a Sonic.