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The Scoot Quad is Nissan's small step toward EV car sharing

Halfway up Laguna Street, the panic set in. I might not make it up this hill. With my foot depressed all the way to the floor, I sucked in my stomach and started to pray. Yet again, I found myself in an unconventional way to get around on four wheels – but this time, I was on my own, and behind the wheel. Meet the Scoot Quad, aka Nissan New Mobility Concept, aka Renault Twizy. The many aliases reflect the path of descent from its development as a quirky French electric vehicle to its proliferation as a model for car sharing. The Quad resides in San Francisco as part of the Scoot fleet of shared electric vehicles and it's most certainly not for sale. As the line blurs between those who share cars for personal reasons and those who use them for business purposes, Scoot and Nissan came to an agreement in which a small number of New Mobility Concepts would join the Scoot fleet – which currently includes over 300 motorbikes. The added value of Scoot is the capacity for one-way rentals around the city, as well as a dedicated network of charging stations. "We think it's just the best way to get around the city for everyone," said Scoot fleet vice president Mike Waltman, explaining how 10 New Mobility Concepts made their way to San Francisco. Charging time is about four hours on a Level Two charger, made possible through Scoot's network of stations around the city. The one-plus-one Twizy has been in production since 2012 and on sale in certain overseas markets, but it's entirely new for the United States, and it wears the Nissan badge here – kind of. No major changes were made to the Twizy when it became the New Mobility Concept, and similarly none were made in its "transformation" to the Quad. It sports the same insectile shape and the rear profile of a top hat, as well as an identical powertrain: a 13-kilowatt motor that produces 17 horsepower, routed to the rear wheels through a single-speed automatic transmission. Charging time is about four hours on a Level Two charger, made possible through Scoot's network of stations around the city. Its top speed is 50 miles per hour, but Nissan installed a governor at 25 mph to conform to US low-speed vehicle requirements. New Scoot members are required to successfully pass an exam before beginning to use the service, so that was my first order of business. After spending about 35 minutes going through a series of informational videos on the Scoot app, as any new member would do, I was ready to ride Scoot motorcycles.

Lexus NX, BMW i3 to get Super Bowl commercials

At this point last year, we'd been getting news on automotive-focused Super Bowl commercials for more than two months. The teasers hadn't come out yet, but manufacturers lined up for the super-expensive spots were making their intentions known. This year? Almost nada, until this week. BMW has said it will air a 60-second spot promoting the i3 during the first quarter of the game, the Munich firm returning to The Big Game after a four-year absence. BMW says, "Big ideas like the BMW i3 take a little getting used to, and the creative idea surrounding our spot will play on this analogy." We say that pitching a tiny range-extended hatchback during the beer-iest American sports orgy of the year should make for some neat commentary afterward. Lexus is putting its new NX crossover in the second Super Bowl commercial it's ever aired, eschewing the glitter of celebrities and glamor for a straight-shooting spot and the tagline, "Be seen, be heard, make some noise." Joining those two are Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Toyota. The six confirmed carmakers are down from eleven last year, when car spots made up a quarter of the total ad time. The price to do business for 30 seconds this year: reportedly around $4.5 million, up a stacks from last year's $4 million. You can watch the Lexus commercial in the video above, and beneath that, the BMW press release below has a bit more information on its effort. BMW to Advertise All-Electric BMW i3 during Super Bowl XLIX. The all-electric BMW i3 is featured in a 60-second spot during Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, February 1, 2015. Woodcliff Lake, NJ – January 15, 2015... Today, BMW announced plans to feature the all-electric BMW i3 in a 60-second spot during Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, February 1, 2015. After a 4-year hiatus, BMW will be returning to the big game with a commercial during the first quarter. "As one in three Americans will tune in to watch the Super Bowl, we are thrilled to use this platform to educate viewers on the importance of electric mobility," said Trudy Hardy, Vice President of Marketing, BMW of North America. "Big ideas like the BMW i3 take a little getting used to, and the creative idea surrounding our spot will play on this analogy." BMW i is BMW's forward-looking and sustainable brand dedicated to solving many of the mobility challenges faced by the world's most densely populated cities. The BMW i3 is the first of the BMW i vehicles constructed from the ground up primarily of carbon fiber.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla Model X 0-100 video, Nissan-Renault record EV sales

A video shows that a Tesla Model X can accelerate from 0-100 mph faster than a Model S P85D. DragTimes tested a Founders Edition Tesla Model X P90D with Ludicrous Mode, and found that it did 0-60 mph in 3.178 seconds, which is faster than Tesla's stated 3.2 seconds. The 0-100 mph happened in just 7.98 seconds, which is faster than the 8.3 seconds DragTimes clocked in Model S P85D using Insane Mode. Even more impressive is that the Model X used is a seven-seater with all the boxes ticked, which means that it's lugging a lot of extra weight on the drag strip. DragTimes says it intends to do more tests with other configurations of Tesla models – perhaps we'll get to see how two vehicles with Ludicrous Mode compare. See the video above, and read more at Teslarati. Nissan and Renault saw record sales of electric vehicles in 2015. The two automakers sold 84,754 battery-powered vehicles last year, a rise of 2.5 percent. Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 sales dropped by almost 10 percent, but Leaf sales are expected to improve with the next generation. The Alliance's EV sales, though, were boosted by Renault selling 45 percent more EVs in 2015. Government incentives in France are partially responsible for Renault's success. Since they began selling them, Renault and Nissan have sold 302,000 EVs worldwide by the end of 2015. Read more at Bloomberg Business. A study finds that E20 provides higher peak load capability and thermal efficiency than gasoline in reactivity-controlled compression ignition (RCCI) combustion. The dual-fuel combustion technique uses in-cylinder blending to optimize combustion. The study used E20 ethanol blend or gasoline blended with highway diesel or B20 biodiesel blend and compared the results. In addition to the load capacity and thermal efficiency benefits, E20 also produced fewer hydrocarbon emissions. Read more at Green Car Congress. Related Gallery Renault-Nissan Alliance at COP21 View 22 Photos News Source: Teslarati, YouTube: DragTimes, Bloomberg, Green Car Congress Green Nissan Tesla Renault Alternative Fuels Ethanol Green Automakers Electric Videos recharge wrapup