1985 -1 Owner For 28 Years! Only 43k Miles! Just Out Of Storage! $99 No Reserve! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Recharge Wrap-up: liquid-cooled Tesla Supercharger, Acenta+ Leaf

A new video offers a close look at Tesla's updated Supercharger. Recently, Elon Musk spoke about the new charging station with a thinner, suppler liquid-cooled cable that is not only easier to manage, but has the potential to handle larger loads and offer quicker recharging. The first examples have been installed in Mountain View, CA, which we can see in this video. Besides the new cable, the new Supercharger also features a solid "button" on the charging handle as well as vents around the bottom of the unit. The video even shows thermal imaging of the new Supercharger, which shows the cable to be cooler than the cameraman usually records. See for yourself in the video above, and read more at Treehugger. Nissan has added a new trim level to the Leaf in the UK. The Acenta+ slots above the Acenta and just below the range-topping Tekna. It comes standard with the 6.6-kW onboard charger and Mode-3 32-amp (EVSE) cable. Using a fast charger, the Acenta+ Leaf can charge to 100 percent in just four hours. "We're delighted to add a new member to the Leaf family in the UK," says Nissan Motor GB Managing Director James Wright. "More than 9,500 Leafs have already been sold here and Nissan is the undisputed leader in the EV market. This new model delivers exceptional value and showcases the Leaf's incredible technology and engineering." Read more at Next Green Car. Mercedes-Benz Malaysia says its vehicles are compatible with B10 biodiesel blend. Malaysia recently announced a mandate for diesel to be sold blended with 10 percent palm-oil based biodiesel, after which, carmakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz came forward with concerns over compatibility with their vehicles. "We have evaluated carefully the influence of B10 Biodiesel blends on our current diesel vehicles for the Malaysian market and we are now able to confirm its compatibility," says Mercedes-Benz Malaysia President and CEO Roland Folger. "We have service intervals of 12,000 km to ensure that our customers are not affected by the diesel quality. Our diesel-powered vehicles currently sold in Malaysia were seen to have run both smoothly and safely with the use of the B10 biodiesel blend." Read more from Paul Tan's Automotive News. Renault has honored its leading electric vehicle dealers with the 2015 Renault EV Awards.

Recharge Wrap-up: Smart Silvretta E-Car Rally, Uber's autonomous Teslas

Daimler took part in the 2015 Silvretta E-Car Rally with seven electrified cars from Mercedes-Benz and Smart. It is the automakers' sixth year competing in the competition in the mountains of Austria's Montafon region. Mercedes fielded two B-Class Electric Drives, an SLS AMG Electric Drive, C350e, S500e and GLE500e 4Matic alongside a Smart Brabus Fortwo Electric Drive Cabriolet. The Silvretta Rally sees some 150 vintage cars and 30 electric vehicles take part in the event, which took place from July 2 through 5 this year. Read more in the press release from Daimler below. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick says that he'd want to buy all of Tesla's autonomous vehicles if they were available in 2020. Venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson relayed Kalanick's comments from the Top 10 Tech Trends dinner in June. Jurvetson also praises self-driving cars, saying, "I believe they are already safer than my parents, and I would trust my kids with them. And they're just going to get better." Jurvetson also believes that taxi services will prosper from the use of autonomous cars in the future. Read more at Hybrid Cars. A Michigan legislator has introduced a bill that would count burning industrial solids — such as tires and plastics — toward the state's renewable energy mandate. Aric Nesbitt's bill would "remove unnecessary burdens on the appropriate use of solid waste as a clean energy source" in order to meet the state's requirement that 10 percent of energy come from renewable sources. Critics argue that these materials are not truly renewable, and that burning them causes pollution and emits greenhouse gases. The proposed bill would also repeal a law requiring utilities to work toward reducing energy use by one percent per year. Read more at Treehugger. Will the cars National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) builds in China bear the Saab name? While NEVS is the newest parent company to Saab after being acquired in bankruptcy from Spyker, there's no confirmation that the electric vehicles it builds at its Tianjin plant will be sold as Saabs. Swedish defense firm Saab AB, which held the rights to the Saab name, withheld permission to use it after NEVS declared bankruptcy last year. "The exact models and brands are not finalized yet," says a NEVS spokesman. The company says it is spending $200 million to build the new factory in China, with an expected annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles. Read more at Automotive News Europe.

Electric Hummer is official, and Tesla's got momentum | Autoblog Podcast #612

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor Alex Kierstein and Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. They start things off with a discussion of the week's news: GMC is launching an electric Hummer truck with a Super Bowl ad, and Tesla was profitable in Q4, sending its stock soaring. Then they talk about what they've been driving, including a super badass Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, the Kia Telluride and their long-term Volvo S60 PHEV. There's no "Spend My Money" segment this week, so send in your questions for future podcast episodes. Autoblog Podcast #612 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Hummer returns as electric GMC truck Further reading: Grappling with the dark side of EVs Tesla profitable for second straight quarter Cars we're driving: Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500XD Kia Telluride (whose safety tech won Autoblog's 2020 Technology of the Year Award) Long-term Volvo S60 T8 update Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.