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BMW i creates high-design solar charging carport

With the first deliveries of the i3 under way, and the recent i8 press launch, the marketing push in the US for the BMW electric sub-brand has begun. These i vehicles are supposed to have a completely different feel from the rest of the brand's lineup. To complement their earth-friendly ethos, the Bavarian company commissioned BMW Group DesignworksUSA in California to create a solar carport concept that could keep the models sustainably topped up on power. It premiered alongside the i8 in Los Angeles at the electric sports coupe's media launch.
At first glance, the BMW i Solar Carport Concept looks like a pergola from a winery or a well-groomed garden, but like the i vehicles, the deeper you look, the more high-tech features there are. The sides feature carbon elements in a similar way that the i3 and i8 have a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic body. Bamboo forms the uprights because its quick-growing nature makes it rather sustainable, and the solar panels are strung along the top to harness energy.
Obviously the sun can't provide all of the energy that the electric cars need, and a BMW Wallbox Pro charger is also connected to the power grid as a supplement. It includes a readout telling users the amount of solar energy versus municipal electricity it's using.

Dinan S3-R BMW 1M Coupe

I nearly shed tears a few years ago upon learning that BMW was only planning to produce a very limited quantity of its then-new 2011 1 Series M Coupe. In simplest terms, the two-door was a 1 Series fitted with a modified version of the automaker's twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six, and the running gear (gearbox, driveshaft, axles) from contemporary M3 models. It was also a return to form for the brand. Aggressively short and stubby in stature but packing telltale flared wheel arches that hinted at its potential, the four-seater was a spiritual successor to the original (and much loved) E30 M3 from decades earlier.
After spending a day with the original high-performance 1 at New York's Monticello Motor Club, I declared, "The little coupe with the big flares is old-school retro cool and deliciously fun to drive ... the new BMW 1 Series M Coupe doesn't target boy-racers, it targets enthusiasts." Yet sadly - and despite strong demand - BMW limited the model's production to just one year. All told, only 740 units made it to the States, and each was gobbled up at a starting price of $46,135, a price tag history will show to be a bargain.
Since I had little hope of even driving one again, I deliberately pushed all memories of BMW's 1 Series M Coupe from my mind - until my phone rang recently. On the other end was a representative from Dinan Engineering who wanted to know if I would be interested in driving the company's new S3-R BMW 1M. A quick Google search revealed it to be a heavily modified version of the discontinued 1 Series M Coupe. As if they needed an answer...

Recharge Wrap-up: BMW i sales hit 50k, SsangYong SIV-2 concept

BMW sold its 50,000th i car in January. The i3, which launched in September 2013, made up roughly 83 percent of those sales. The considerably more expensive i8, which launched in June of 2014, understandably made up fewer sales. The i3 is currently sold in 49 countries, while most of the i8's sales came from the US, UK, Germany, and Norway. Through December, cumulative i3 sales reached 17,116 in the US, 5,063 in Germany, 4,494 in Norway, 3,747 in the UK and 1,348 in Switzerland. i8 sales were 2,820 in the US, 964 in the UK and 793 in Germany. BMW sold 29,513 i-Series cars in 2015, and 1,255 in January of 2016. Read more at Hybrid Cars. SsangYong will debut its SIV-2 concept at the Geneva Motor Show. The SIV-2 – which stands for Smart Interface Vehicle – uses a 48-volt mild hybrid system with a turbocharged, 1.5-liter, four-cylinder engine, 500-Wh battery pack and 10-kW electric motor. The Korean automaker says the modular SIV-2 platform can also accommodate plug-in hybrid and battery electric versions. Alongside the SIV-2, SsangYong will introduce a new Tivoli XLV crossover, based on the XLV Air concept, which is expected to offer competitive fuel economy. Read more at Green Car Reports. Worcester Polytechnic Institute is receiving a $1 million contract from the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) to make recycled plug-in hybrid batteries. The 50-percent cost-share contract will help Worcester Polytechnic scale up its recycling process to make batteries using recycled cathode material. The process, which USABC calls "novel and efficient," will make the batteries less costly than ones made with all-new material, "thereby offering a value-driven path towards improved sustainability." United States Council for Automotive Research executive director Steve Zimmer says, "These programs are critical to advancing the technology needed to meet both near- and long-term goals that will enable broader scale vehicle electrification." Read more in the press release below. USABC AWARDS $1 MILLION TO WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC TO DEVELOP PROCESS FOR RECYCLED PHEV BATTERY CELLS SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Feb.