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Recharge Wrap-up: Big Oil fails at renewable fuel, scientists study air with EVs, plug-in Panamera sales

Big Oil companies help keep renewable fuels out of your tank, a new report shows. No surprise there, right? The Renewable Fuels Association published a report card grading the country's largest retail gasoline chains on fuel offerings like E85 and E15. The report gave failing grades, with less than one percent of stations offering E15 or E85, to "Big Five" companies Exxon, BP, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Shell, among other oil company and convenience/grocery store brands. The only major oil companies that didn't get an "F" were Valero (D), Cenex (B), and Marathon (A-). The eight companies that scored an A+ had at least 25 percent of their stations offering E85 or E15. Read more at Domestic Fuel.Leicester scientists are studying local air pollution using EVs. Beginning July 4, University of Leicester researchers began driving electric vehicles kitted out with special sensors to monitor air quality throughout the city (similar to how California does it). Now their emissions-free daily driving duties double as data collection for their studies. "By monitoring air quality as a seamless part of our daily transport system, we are providing a cost-effective way to help inform future policy and operational systems," says the University's Dr. Roland Leigh. Read more at Fleet News. "There is no doubt electric cars are the future." – Nissan's Andy Palmer Nissan is exploring the idea of taking its Leaf EV to India, but a lack of charging options is an obstacle. According to Nissan's chief planning officer Andy Palmer, "There is no doubt electric cars are the future. The product is there, what we need is infrastructure. Charging is a big challenge." Though Nissan stopped short of saying it (this time), this could possibly mean working with Mahindra, which said it is open to collaborating with other companies concerning EVs. Learn more in this article from the Hindustan Times and know that India is rolling out a plan to encourage the production and adoption of EVs. The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan will get over $2 billion in funding, and some of that will go toward creating a charging infrastructure (you hear that, Nissan?). This is good news for EV manufacturers, India's economy and people who enjoy breathing clean air. Read more at The Financial Express.Porsche has reported a significant sales increase, part of which is due to demand for the Panamera S E-Hybrid.

Honda may recall up to 1M vehicles for airbag issue, following Toyota's lead

It seems Toyota won't be the only one recalling the faulty Takata airbag inflators for long. Honda insiders in Japan claim that the company is getting close to announcing its own worldwide campaign that would begin before the end of June.
Unnamed sources close to Honda in Japan tell Automotive News that the company is pursuing an internal investigation into possibly affected models and is working with Takata to gather more information. They claim that it could involve even more than the 1.14 million cars worldwide that the automaker covered under the first recall for the problem in April 2013, including 561,000 vehicles in the US.
Toyota jumpstarted this process last week when it recalled over 2 million cars worldwide, including 844,277 in the US. Soon after, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began a preliminary evaluation into the issue following six reported incidents, and started assembling data about potentially affected models from Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Chrysler. NHTSA also began investigating Takata itself.

Nissan BladeGlider Concept shows its inner DeltaWing

Just like the DeltaWing and ZEOD RC racecars, it takes seeing the Nissan BladeGlider concept live to get a true appreciation for its design. But that doesn't mean it's any less weird. The wedge-shaped, three-seat concept car hit the stage today at the Tokyo Motor Show, and Nissan says the car is an "exploratory prototype" for a future production model.
The BladeGlider is defined by its design with front wheels that are just about three feet apart, while the rear has a more conventional track. Opening the scissor doors reveals a center driving position flanked by two passenger seats with a cockpit-inspired design. Although no power figures were revealed for the conceptual vehicle, Nissan does say that the BladeGlider is an all-electric vehicle with its battery pack mounted toward the rear of the car helping to provide a 30/70 weight distribution front to rear.
Check out our live images of the BladeGlider as well as the Nissan press release below.