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Rinspeed XchangE points the way forward for secure, autonomous EV driving [w/video]

If there're features that have great potential to sell the public at large on the concept of self-driving cars, we're guessing that cozy, rear-facing seats and a gigantic in-car 4K television are high on the list. If you've heard of the Swiss company Rinspeed, you almost certainly associate it with outlandish concept cars, and this XchangE autonomous EV fits that description, while still providing insight into a seemingly plausible future. Always a highlight of the Geneva Motor Show, this year's Rinspeed concept has transformed a Tesla Model S into a self-piloting, business class, mobility pod. Or something very like that. Sure, you can drive the XchangE for yourself if you like, but then you'd miss out using the all-new, HTML5-based infotainment platform or the aforementioned mobile movie theatre, which is operable via gesture controls. No more losing the remote down the seat crack for you. Beyond the show car "wow factor" items like the striking interior treatment and green-on-yellow paint scheme, it is interesting to see that Rinspeed has taken electronic security very seriously for the concept car. The infotainment platform is said to be bolstered against hacker attacks, the LTE wireless system offers secure data transmission, and the car systems themselves use RFID tech to identify authorized drivers. Considering the legitimate concerns associated with autonomous cars in a fully computerized, connected environment, high-security while on the motorway might be the biggest luxury of all. Find the usual complement of video, press release and official photos below and see our live gallery of the XchangE concept, above. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2014 Geneva Motor Show: Rinspeed presents the future of autonomous driving. What will move us tomorrow: the office and living room on wheels. Traveling in business-class style redefined with innovative Harman infotainment concept. Autonomous driving is set to become reality in the near future. While the major automakers are putting the finishing touches on the technology, the Swiss idea factory Rinspeed puts man at the center of the autonomous car. At the 2014 Geneva Motor Show Rinspeed presents the "XchangE" study to the public in a world premiere. It demonstrates how cars will 'move' us just a few short years from now, in both senses of the word. Frank M.

Superchargers power Tesla Model S EVs for over 8M miles [UPDATE]

Ahead of the company's press conference at the Detroit Auto Show tomorrow, Tesla is talking up its Supercharger network with some impressive numbers. Tesla's Alexis Georgeson told AutoblogGreen that Tesla Model S EVs have driven more than eight million miles on Supercharger fill-ups. That's the equivalent of 33-and-a-half trips to the moon and back. We can see how quickly the free Superchargers are getting popular by comparing this milestone to where we were four short months ago. At the end of September, after the Superchargers had been installed for a year, Tesla drivers had hit 3.2 million miles. The rapid increase since then is due mostly to there simply being a lot more chargers being available now. Tesla representatives told us that there are over 70 Supercharger stations in the world today (58 in North America and 14 in Europe) and that six were installed in the past week. Georgeson didn't have numbers on hand to say which stations were the most popular or other details, but did say that it's safe to assume that the Supercharger in Lusk, WY (pictured), part of a sweeping 'S' shape from Los Angeles through the northern US and on to Chicago and the East Coast, is not the most frequently visited. The next target for expansion is finishing the Boston-to-Miami corridor, which means putting in more Superchargers in North Florida and South Carolina. At CES last week, the Supercharger network won our AOL Technology of the Year award. *UPDATE: Tesla just let us know that 8 million is a little premature. The current number is actually closer to 7.5 million, but the total should crest the 8-million mark soon.

Panasonic ready to start big investment in Tesla Gigafactory

To paraphrase Dr. Evil from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, why spend a trillion when you could spend ... billions? That's what Panasonic is saying about its investment in Tesla's gigafactory, though there's a catch. The billions are in Japanese yen. Yes, Panasonic will invest "tens of billions of yen" into the Gigafactory slated for the great state of Nevada, Reuters says, citing comments from Panasonic Chief Executive Kazuhiro Tsuga. That's not exactly specific, but 10 billion yen is equal to about $92 million. We've heard Panasonic's share of the new factory could be as high as $2-3 billion, but at least now we have a starting point Whatever Panasonic's kicking in, Nevada is also ponying up a pretty penny. Last month, Tesla said it would build the factory near Reno after reaching an agreement that calls for about $1.2 billion in incentives from the state over a 20-year period. Tesla and lithium-ion battery maker Panasonic officially announced their gigafactory partnership in late July, though Panasonic wasn't talking numbers at the time. All told, the plant is expected to cost about $5 billion to build and is considered necessary for Tesla to reach the scale to build its planned $35,000 EV, the Model 3. That's because the factory is will have the capacity to produce about a half-million (no, we didn't say "billions") electric vehicles a year.