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Battery Show 2015: Genovation GXE Corvette EV designed for the 'Ring

The Genovation GXE all-electric Corvette has broken cover. At the Battery Show 2015 in Novi, MI, this week, the converted C6 Z06 Corvette that we first heard about back in August was tucked into a booth along the back wall. Don't let the demure location fool you. This is a muscle-y electric vehicle, ready to roar into the limited-run, expensive EV game. The Genovation GXE Corvette can go from 0-60 miles per hour in three seconds and has a top speed of 200 mph. The powertrain was designed and built in the US, and offers over 700 horsepower and over 600 pound-feet or torque. With a near 50/50 weight distribution, this is "a real driver's car," Genovation CEO Andrew Saul told AutoblogGreen. Saul said that the GXE was designed to do two hard laps at Nurburgring thanks to a 44-kWh battery pack uses the same sort of cylindrical 18650 cells that you can find in a Tesla. That translates to about 40-50 miles of fast, on-road driving, Saul said, or 150 miles on the New York City test cycle. That particular test, "simulates low speed urban driving with frequent stops," according to DieselNet. The car also has a 6-kW charger and a six-speed manual transmission and the adjustable regenerative braking levels can be controlled by paddles on the steering wheel. Of course, none of those performance figures have been proven yet because the GXE hasn't had a chance to hit the road. Saul said that it will take another three-to-four weeks to finish the build and then, finally, there will be a few weeks of road testing. This will include a quarter-mile run on a track as well as a trip to Nevada to do a several-mile top speed test. If all of that sounds like something you're interested in, then get ready to open your wallet wide and wait. Saul said that buying one will set you back $330,000 (just $290,000 if you bring your own C6 Z06). Genovation also won't be making all that many. Saul said he expects to put the GXE into limited production of under 200 units, starting off at maybe five or 10 a year. Featured Gallery Battery Show 2015: Genovation GXE All-Electric Corvette View 14 Photos Green Chevrolet AutoblogGreen Exclusive Electric exclusive corvette genovation

Recharge Wrap-up: Panasonic, Tesla on Gigafactory deal?

Bentley has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for reductions of carbon, water use and waste production in manufacturing. The Carbon Trust is an organization that helps groups such as businesses and governments reduce carbon emissions, use of energy and resources, and waste output. From 2011 to 2013, Bentley reduced CO2 emissions by 16 percent per car manufactured, curtailed water use by 35.7 percent, and saw significant waste reductions. Darran Messem of Carbon trust says, "Bentley is clearly passionate about continuing to improve its environmental performance, which is reflected by the fact the company has consistently invested in new technology." Read more in the press release below. Chevrolet is giving 12 Volts to MBAs Across America. The organization will use the range-extended electric cars in its efforts to help MBA students learn from and work with small business owners. As part of the MBAs Across America program's first year, four students drove 8,000 miles to provide entrepreneurs with free business counseling. The program has expanded, and this year, teams of MBAs will use the Volts to travel to 25 cities to offer their services. Learn more about the partnership between Chevrolet and MBAs Across America in the press release below. A professor from the University of Michigan has found fuel cycle analysis to be too flawed to be relied upon for measuring CO2 impacts of transportation fuels. Professor John DeCicco of the university's Energy Institute feels that the flaws in calculating the carbon footprint of liquid fuel production and combustion make such lifecycle analysis impractical. He suggests, instead, to focus to carbon capture. Since capturing CO2 directly from a vehicle is probably never going to happen, DiCicco believes the solution is to capture carbon from the atmosphere in sectors outside of transportation. Says DiCicco, "Research should be ramped up on options for increasing the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and on programs to manage and utilize carbon fixed in the biosphere, which offers the best CO2 removal mechanism now at hand. Such strategies can complement measures that control the demand for liquid fuels by reducing travel activity, improving vehicle efficiency and shifting to non-carbon fuels." Read more at Green Car Congress. Global transportation energy consumption is expected to increase by 25.4 percent by 2035, according to a report by Navigant Research.

GM workers in Oshawa walk out in protest of plant closure

TORONTO/MONTREAL – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday expressed his "deep disappointment" in General Motors' decision to close its Oshawa plant, a move Canadian officials only learned about on Sunday and which led workers to walk off the job on Monday. GM said the closure affects a total of 2,973 assembly line jobs. GM's total employment in Canada is 8,150 direct jobs. Workers in the Unifor trade union walked out of the Oshawa plant "in protest," ahead of a meeting with GM about the announcement, a union spokeswoman said. "I've moved my family twice for this company and they do this to me," a tearful worker told CBC TV as he left the plant. Currently, the Oshawa plant builds the Cadillac XTS and Chevy Impala sedans. Under Unifor's four-year contract signed in 2016, GM must give the union a year's notice before closing the plant. The automaker intends to close the plant in December, 2019. A 2015 study commissioned by Unifor, which represents GM employees, estimated that shutting the plant would eliminate 4,100 direct jobs and reduce Ontario's gross domestic product by C$1.1 billion. But Jerry Dias, president of Unifor, said the move amounts to a breach of the automaker's contract with its employees. "We have a collective agreement that says they're not closing any of our facilities ... so we will do anything by any means to make sure that they live up to their word," Dias said at a news conference. Dias said the contract between Unifor and the company forbids GM from closing any of its Canadian plants during the contract period, which ends in September 2020. "They are not closing our damn plant without one hell of a fight." Canadian officials promised to aid auto workers affected by the 2019 closure, part of a wider restructuring by the automaker that will cut production of slow-selling models and slash its North American workforce. "I spoke with GM (CEO) Mary Barra to express my deep disappointment in the closure," Trudeau tweeted on Monday. "We'll do everything we can to help the families affected by this news get back on their feet." GM workers have been part of the heart and soul of Oshawa for generations - and we'll do everything we can to help the families affected by this news get back on their feet. Yesterday, I spoke with @GM's Mary Barra to express my deep disappointment in the closure.