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Recharge Wrap-up: meet the Luka EV project, VisibleTesla allows Model S hacking

Select Registry is partnering with Tesla to install chargers at many of its lodgings. More than 170 hotels, inns and bed & breakfasts will install Tesla High Power Wall Connectors for their guests to use. So far, 63 properties have installed the chargers. Eventually, Select Registry members in 34 states as well as Nova Scotia will offer charging on-site. Tesla's wall charger provides the Model S with 58 miles of range per hour. The hotels will rent you a room for the full night, as well. Read more in the press release below. Tesla Model S owners can hack their car with the VisibleTesla app. The free, open source app allows users to check on and control the status of the car and its subsystems, similar to Tesla's official apps. VisibleTesla can also be used to schedule certain automated commands. For example, its creator, Joe Pasqua, has his car send him a text message reminding him to bring his bags with him when he enters the grocery store parking lot. Other users have the car remind them if the car is not charging at a certain time, or schedule the car to turn on the heat before departure. Read more at TechWorm, or learn more at the VisibleTesla website. Georgia Power has added 32 Chevrolet Volts to its fleet. Employees, particularly the utility's energy efficiency experts, will use the cars to travel to customers' homes and businesses to conduct energy audits. "We are leading by example and demonstrating to our customers, and other Georgia businesses, that electric transportation works for all drivers," says Georgia Power Chairman, President & CEO Paul Bowers. Georgia Power also offers charger rebates and special rates for EV customers. Read more at Domestic Fuel. The Luka EV is a project to build an affordable, lightweight, retro-looking, road-legal electric car in one year. The team wants to get the car certified for use on EU roads by September 2015. They have goals of achieving a driving range of 300 kilometers (about 186 miles), keeping the cost under ˆ20,000 (about $22,280 US at current rates) and the weight under 750 kilograms (about 1,650 pounds). The builders recently completed their first range test of the working vehicle, which uses in-hub motors for propulsion. Learn more at the Luka EV project page on Hackaday. Select Registry Teams with Tesla Motors Both Tesla owners and their vehicles can recharge at more than 170 B&Bs, inns, and hotels throughout the U.S.

2016 Chevrolet Volt First Drive

There's a hit vehicle hiding in GM's formula for the Chevy Volt. You can sense it in the enthusiasm that current Volt drivers have for their cars. You can see it in the amount of money GM has poured into its extended-range electric vehicle project. And perhaps most importantly, you can feel it from the driver's seat of the new, second-gen model. The big question is whether or not GM will be able to turn its much-hyped 'halo car' into a best-seller this time around. After driving it in northern California, I can tell you that the Volt is tremendous. But we all know it takes more than that to create a hit. GM has so far sold over 82,000 Volts in the US. That's respectable, but in the early, glory days before the car launched, company representatives were talking about much more impressive numbers. With a few years to talk to customers and potential prospects, GM has learned a lot about what makes someone buy a Volt. For the 2016 model, Chevy has changed just about everything for the better. The new Volt has more all-electric range (53 miles vs. 38 in the first generation), is more fuel efficient whether you're looking at the overall value (106 combined MPGe vs. 98) or just when the car burns gas (42 miles per gallon vs. 37). All of that means that the car's overall range is bumped up to 420 miles, from 380. The battery is smaller and lighter while offering more energy capacity. The range-extending gas engine is bigger (1.5 liters vs. 1.4) but it's also more efficient and can burn regular gasoline instead of just premium. The Volt's overall range is bumped up to 420 miles, from 380. The cost is lower, too: $33,995 vs. $34,170, before incentives. This is a car that GM thinks will compete against the Toyota Priuses and Nissan Leafs of the world (as its new ads make abundantly clear). All three cars have completely different powertrains, but we all know that they're the headline green cars of our time (along with Tesla), so buyers will have to want to pony up a bit more money if they like what the Volt is offering. The 2016 Leaf with its 107-mile range starts at $37,640 (before incentives), while a 2015 Prius can be had for $25,035 (pricing for the 2016 has not yet been announced). So, on paper, the new Volt is an all-around winner. I'm here to tell you that it wins on the road, too. You can't help but notice the changes. They are literally front and center.

2016 Chevrolet Camaro First Drive [w/video]

The Autoblog gang was downright stoked to learn the 2016 Chevy Camaro was next on our test-car docket. Then we found out it was the V6 model. Buzzkill. We were hoping for the snorting V8, or at least the spunky new turbo four-cylinder. The V6? Meh. We've been driving V6 Camaros for, like, six years. It's what you buy if you can't afford anything better, or so say horsepower snobs as they wrinkle their noses and cut their coffee with 93 octane. But after a week with the six-pot Camaro, we'll admit it: we were wrong. The all-new 3.6-liter V6 is strong, sounds good, and is damn fun to drive. Its 335 horsepower and 284 pound-feet of torque appear modest by modern standards, but they power the Camaro to 60 miles per hour in 5.1 seconds with the automatic, or in the case of our manual-equipped test car, 5.2 seconds. That's almost half a second quicker than the new turbo four-cylinder model. Yes, it has the same displacement as the old V6. No, it's not the same engine. Upon closer inspection, the V6's potency shouldn't come as a surprise. This engine is from General Motors' newest family of dual-overhead cam powerplants that launched in the Cadillac CTS and ATS. Yes, it has the same displacement as the old V6. No, it's not the same engine. Don't be fooled, and don't underestimate it at stoplights. The strapping V6 is unsuspectingly good, but it's just one of many improvements for the sixth-generation Camaro. Chevy's coupe is lighter, faster, and more modern looking inside and out. It starts with a rear-wheel-drive chassis donated from the Cadillac ATS, though about 70 percent of the components are unique to the Camaro. The 2016 model is about two inches shorter in length (thanks to a shorter wheelbase) and about an inch has been removed from height and width compared to the 2015 model. These lighter underpinnings jumpstarted the Camaro's weight-loss plan, and thanks to extensive use of aluminum, the V6 with the new eight-speed automatic transmission weighs 3,435 pounds – 294 less than its predecessor (the manual-transmission V6 Camaro weighs 3,448 pounds). The V8, meanwhile, sheds 223 pounds. One by one, these elements would merely enhance how the Camaro drives, but taken collectively, they invigorate the new model. It feels much more confident and agile in all circumstances. Put simply, it's a sportier car. View 32 Photos Grab second, let the revs build, and the dual-mode exhaust changes its tune from a low buzz to a rumble, then a growl.