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GM's European Opel division may eventually go all-electric

General Motors' Opel division in Europe may transform itself into an all-electric vehicle maker by 2030. Granted, a lot can happen between now and then, including a potential buyout by French automaker PSA Group. Regardless, Opel appears to view its electric future beyond the Ampera-e, which is the sister vehicle to the Chevrolet Bolt, and more like Tesla. Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann indicated that focusing on electric drivetrains would be a superior strategy to expanding its EV technology while pushing forward with conventional drivetrains, says Automotive News Europe, citing comments Neumann made to German publication Manager Magazin. General Motors could make the decision to move towards an all-electric vehicle line for Opel as soon as May. Of course, that depends on whether Opel is bought out by PSA, the parent country to Peugeot and Citroen. PSA is in talks to buy General Motors' Opel and Vauxhall divisions, though government and labor representatives in Germany have expressed concerns over potential job losses from the proposed buyout, Reuters says. Regardless, GM has hinted at expanding its electric-vehicle line far beyond the Bolt, which has a 238-mile single-charge range and debuted late last year. Mary Barra, in an interview with CNET, said the Bolt's all-electric platform could be applied to a "huge range of vehicles," though wasn't specific about additional EV models. Opel first showed off its Ampera-e at the Paris Motor Show last fall. The name of the model raised some eyebrows because the Ampera badge had been previously used by Opel for the sister version of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in. Either way, Opel is looking to take on Renault for electric-vehicle sales supremacy across the Pond. Related Video:

Automakers score 8 out of top 20 most-watched ads on YouTube [w/videos]

Who would have ever thought there'd be a day where people are able to skip television commercials only to go to websites to watch them later? Such is the joy of a DVR and YouTube. AdWeek tabulated the 20 most-watched ads on YouTube, and found that nine were car-related including eight coming from automakers.
Volkswagen continued its Star Wars theme with two ads in the top 20, including the highest-ranking car commercial The Bark Side spot at number three with almost 18 million views, which doesn't even have a single car in it. Some of our favorites are from Chrysler with Clint Eastwood in It's Halftime in America and House Arrest with Charlie Sheen for the Fiat 500 Abarth. Chevrolet, Honda, Audi and Toyota were the other automakers in the top 20, but we'd be remiss if we didn't at least mention one of the coolest ads on the list, the Hot Wheels corkscrew jump.
Of all the car videos, only the Fiat ad wasn't played during a Super Bowl. Check out all eight videos - in order - after the jump. Nike took the top spot with its My Time is Now ad that has been seen online more than 20 million times with Pepsi's Uncle Drew posted up in the runner-up; some of the other videos include four Old Spice commercials and an ad in which Snoop Dogg is pedaling Hot Pockets.

This map reveals the cleanest vehicles based on location

Naysayers love to point out how dirty the electricity grid mix is when it comes to charging electric vehicles. Curmudgeons are eager to jump into any conversation about EVs to enlighten the lucky listeners about how plug-in cars contribute to pollution, sometimes even throwing in a dash of climate-change denial for good measure. (Thanks, buddy. Pray, tell me more about the plight of oppressed SUV owners.) Unless someone buys an EV just because they think they're cool (which, yeah, they often are), they probably have at least a passable understanding of their environmental pros and cons. As many EV owners are already aware, location has a lot to do with any particular plug-in car's carbon footprint. Still, there's always more to know, and knowledge is not a bad thing, especially if one uses it to do the right thing. That's why this handy-dandy map from Carnegie Mellon University is so interesting. CMU researchers have compiled information about the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of various EVs based on where they're charged, as compared to gasoline-powered vehicles. The researchers looked at the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt, and Prius Plug-In Hybrid versus the gasoline-dependent Toyota Prius hybrid and the stop-start-equipped Mazda3 with i-ELOOP and compared grams of CO2 emitted per mile. CMU takes into account the grid mix, ambient temperature, and driving patterns. CMU takes into account the grid mix based on county, as well as ambient temperature and driving patterns in terms of miles traveled on the highway or in the city. For instance, if you drive a Nissan Leaf in urban areas of California, Texas, or Florida, your carbon footprint is lower than it would be if you were driving a standard Toyota Prius. However, if you charge your Leaf in the Midwest or the South, for the most part, you've got a larger carbon footprint than the Prius. If you live in the rural Midwest, you'd probably even be better off driving a Mazda3. Throughout the country, the Chevrolet Volt has a larger carbon footprint than the Toyota Prius, but a smaller one than the Mazda3 in a lot of urban counties in the US. The Prius and Prius Plug-In are relatively equal across the US. Having trouble keeping it straight? That's not surprising. The comparisons between plug-in and gasoline vehicles are much more nuanced than the loudest voices usually let on.