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Recharge Wrap-up: BMW's 2015 awards, Tesla Superchargers in Poland

Poland will soon get its first Tesla Superchargers. A photo on Reddit appears to show multiple parking stalls with Superchargers under wraps at an Orlen fuel station. Tesla recently signed a deal with the German branch of Polish oil refiner Orlen to install Superchargers at fuel stations in Germany, and it appears the focus is shifting eastward to Poland. Some question whether it makes sense for Tesla to focus on Poland, where the cities have a lot of high-rise dwellings and few private garages. Tesla, however, is known for taking risks on building infrastructure as an investment in future customers. Read more from Teslarati. Is it really true that most pedestrian crashes are the pedestrian's fault? Baltimore County and other authorities claim this is the case, but upon examination, this appears to be because roadways aren't always designed with the entire community in mind. In some cases, for instance, large, multi-lane roads travel through neighborhoods where more residents travel by foot out of necessity. "The really tragic part about it is that the two areas where we've had the most pedestrian fatalities, these are disinvested, depopulated areas," says Dallas City Councilman Philip Kingston. "Those big arterials are completely unnecessary. It's so overbuilt. The infrastructure is built for a bygone era that simply doesn't match what's there now." Read more at Treehugger. BMW won numerous distinctions for sustainability in 2015. Among the automaker's many other accolades for a variety of vehicles, The BMW i3 and i8 were singled out for praise. The i8 won four awards, including Green Car of the Year, from the World Car Awards. It was named All-Wheel Car of the Year by Auto Bild, and best sports car by multiple organizations. The i3 won Car of the Year Australia, Blogger Auto Award for the Small Car category, Auto Bild Value Master award for EVs, among others. Read more in the press release below. Distinctions, prizes and awards for BMW in 2015. Position confirmed as worldwide trendsetter in innovation, design, quality and sustainability. Munich. 2015 was a highly successful year for the BMW Group and this is confirmed by overwhelming worldwide acknowledgement. This year BMW vehicles won numerous national and international distinctions in categories as varied as innovation, design, sporty flair, quality, sustainability and intelligent vehicle connectivity.

Some younger drivers relish the idea of stick shifting

Part way into the 21st Century, obsolescence isn’t what it used to be, especially in the minds of younger consumers; consider the renaissance of vinyl records and film cameras. To that list, add the automobileÂ’s stick shift. Manual transmissions are no longer just about lower car purchase prices, better fuel economy or more control on the road. TheyÂ’re about being hip. At least, thatÂ’s part of the thesis offered in a recent article in The Wall Street Journal. “The 20-Somethings Fueling a Stick-Shift Renaissance”  examines a modest but real resurgence in the sales upticks of manual-equipped cars, and focuses on the enthusiasm of younger people to acquire them, and the challenges—no longer so challenging—of learning bow to drive them. But, as readers of Autoblog have learned in recent years,, the future of manuals, as author Rachel Wolfe succinctly points out in the Journal piece, is essentially doomed in the longer term. Blame the electric vehicle. She writes that car makers sold 43 different manual models in 2022, according to J.D. Power, compared with 69 in 2019. “While a few EVs do have more than one gear,” she says, “auto makers are still figuring out how to translate the experience of maneuvering a manual to their electric car lineups. ‘’ Did we mention “doomed”? But Ms. Wolfe does offer some positivity. “MINI just opened a manual driving school of its own at the BMW Performance Center in Thermal, Calif.,” she writes. “A January company survey of just over 1,000 drivers found that two-thirds of 18-to-34-year-olds are eager to learn how to drive a manual, versus 40% of older respondents who donÂ’t already drive stick.” The author quotes a couple of drivers who became enamored of manuals, including a teenager from Ohio who took his driving test with a manual. “I thought it was cool to learn how to drive on a stick, just because I could tell my friends that I was a better driver than them,” he says. She also visits the other side of the issue, talking to a 24-year-old, who said that she found the stick “cool,” but only until “her leg grew sore from the clutch as she navigated traffic commuting back and forth from law school every day in Tampa, Fla.  ‘I think they are very fun to drive for about two hours, and then youÂ’re like, OK, I would like to put it away and just drive like a normal person again.’’” The full article is available online here.

BMW says no more manuals, M cars capped at 600 hp

BMW appears to be approaching a big change in the way that it handles performance. First, the clutch pedal may be a goner from future M models, based on recent statements from the division's boss, Frank van Meel. We also might not be seeing any significant increases in horsepower from some of these vehicles anytime soon. "From a technical standpoint, the future doesn't look bright for manual gearboxes. The DCT and auto 'boxes are faster and they have better fuel consumption," van Meel said to Autocar. Although, he left the door open slightly to keeping them at least in the near future. "It's difficult to say we'll stick to the manual, but we still have a big fan community for manuals and we are not going to take away something the customer wants to have." Van Meel also suggested that the company is capping the output of M models at 600 horsepower. "We're at the limit. If you go on adding more horsepower and torque, it'd probably be over the limits," he said to Autocar. That ceiling does leave some room to grow for future versions of the M3 and M4, which currently offer 425 hp. However, it means that the M5 and M6 with 560 hp are basically at the cap. The limited BMW M5 30th Anniversary Edition already packs 600 hp. Rumors have suggested that the already spied, next-generation M5 might stick with around 600 hp. It seems unlikely for BMW to completely give up competing against the Autobahn-burning sedans from Mercedes-Benz and Audi. Performance could still see a boost thanks to a reportedly lighter platform and optional all-wheel drive. Related Video: News Source: AutocarImage Credit: Copyright 2015 AOL BMW Technology Performance bmw m dual clutch transmission automatic transmission