2017 Tesla Model S on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Honda releases "Green Dealer" Guide, Tesla's China president steps down

Honda has released its "Green Dealer" Guide to the public. The guide, which is used to outline ways for Honda and Acura dealerships to be more environmentally responsible can also help other businesses take the same steps to green up their practices, save energy and even save money in the process. The guide, which ranks dealers based on a points system, provides incentive to dealerships to implement the environmentally practices, but it also helps Honda assert itself as a leader for green business. Read more at Automotive News or in the press release below. Nissan Leaf owners in the UK love their car, and aren't looking back at their fossil-fueled past. According to a survey by Nissan, 93 percent use the EV as their main family vehicle. 89 percent report saving money driving, 64 percent prefer it to driving a conventionally powered car and 95 percent would recommend the car to a friend. Most said they wouldn't go back to a gas or diesel car. One owner even gave up his Aston Martin for a second Leaf so he and his wife wouldn't argue over who got to drive the EV to work each day. That's love. Read more at Next Green Car and at Hybrid Cars. Renault has outlined its future sustainable mobility plans, including two pieces of technology going into production cars soon. Renault will put a smaller, more efficient electric motor into production, as well as a three-cylinder dual-fuel gasoline/liquid petroleum gas engine. The HYDIVU prototype will help Renault research mild hybrid technology for light commercial vehicles. The VELUD project will look into making the last mile of urban deliveries more sustainable. Renault is also testing a two-cylinder, two-stroke diesel engine for small vehicle platforms. Read more in the press release below. Tesla's China president has resigned. Veronica Wu had been in charge of the company's operations in China for the past nine months, and with her leaving the company, Tom Zhu will step into the role. Jochen Siebert of Shanghai-based JSC Automotive Consulting says that, "Tesla counts on China as one of their main drivers of growth after California, and it might have been more difficult than they thought." Tesla states it is still "confident in the Chinese market," where it has sold the Model S since April. Read more at Bloomberg.

Will Bob Lutz's VL Automotive really offer V8 conversions for Tesla Model S?

VL Automotive is closely tied up with Fisker. The company's first product, the Destino, is a converted Karma and the Destino Red Concept, just unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show, is the same hardtop Karma convertible that Fisker showed in 2009. So, what a surprise it was to see that Bob Lutz, who owns half of VL Automotive, is ready to convert a brand new electric vehicle: the Tesla Model S. A gas-powered Tesla? Say what? A gas-powered Tesla? Say what? That's at least one way to read this short article in The Detroit News. There's not a lot of context and a distinct lack of details, so we're left wondering if maybe Lutz just meant that Model S owners can buy a Destino. You can read the exchange for yourself here. What we do know is that Lutz said that VL Automotive has already sold nine Destino conversions. The cars cost $200,000, up from the previous estimate of $180,000, and well above the $116,000 max price tag on the original Karma. For your money, you get a 6.2-liter V8 taken from a Chevrolet Corvette that puts out 636 horsepower and can beat the 135-mile-per-hour top speed that the Karma has. Lutz said that all could add up to sales of around 200 or 300 Destinos each year. Featured Gallery VL Destino Red Concept: Detroit 2014 View 21 Photos News Source: The Detroit News via Green Car ReportsImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Green Detroit Auto Show Fisker Tesla Electric Hybrid PHEV vl automotive destino

'Pro-Tesla' bill in Pennsylvania gets Auto Alliance to end neutral stance

Unlike dealership groups all over the country, one automaker group isn't taking issue with Tesla Motors being able to sell its electric vehicles through company-owned stores in Pennsylvania. But the idea of no limits on its number of stores? That's a problem. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers – which has been neutral on the Tesla dealer fight thus far – is now squawking about a recent law in the Keystone State allowing the California-based company to sell cars through its stores there, Automotive News says. The group doesn't have a problem with the idea in general, but the fact that there's no cap on either the number of stores Tesla can operate or how many cars it can sell there is causing the Alliance to speak out on the issue. And while the Pennsylvania Automotive Association is okay with the new law, the Alliance is alleging a non-level playing field in favor of Tesla. Tesla declined to comment to AutoblogGreen. The prospect of Tesla skipping over the third-party dealer franchise phase has garnered plenty of recent attention, especially from regulators and dealership representatives. Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urged Missouri and New Jersey to change policies that would further prohibit car makers like Tesla from selling their vehicles directly to customers and without a third-party dealership. In April, FTC officials called called the prohibition of direct company-to-customer sales "protectionist" and "bad policy."