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As BMW i3 US launch nears, more details discovered

Think of the BMW i3's gas-powered range-extender as akin to driving around with a middle linebacker in the back seat. Except that football player will have a hard time pushing the car 60 miles or so once the battery runs out. Thankfully, he won't prevent you from getting a nifty tax credit either, according to BMWBlog, which isn't affiliated with the company. The i3's front storage compartment is not watertight. Here in the US, where the i3 will be available in short order, BMW will offer an optional i3 plug-in vehicle with a range extender that will have a 1.9-gallon capacity gas tank. That sounds a good deal smaller than the 2.4-gallon tank used in Europe, but the two are actually the same, the US tank is simply limited to the smaller size, Dave Buchko, from BMW's product and technology communications department, told AutoblogGreen. The complete range extender system – including the tank, the engine, and all related hardware – adds about 265 pounds to the 2,634-pound curb weight of the i3 EV and the extra weight in turn adds about a second to the EV's 0-to-60 time of seven seconds flat. Adding the range-extender won't make the US government take any longer to dole out a $7,500 tax credit for the i3, though. We also learned that the i3's front storage compartment is not watertight since it is only meant to hold the mobility kit and the 110-volt charging cord. BMW recently increased its production of the i3 at its German factory from around 70 units a day to about 100 due to better-than-expected demand. Check out our First Drive impressions of the model here.

Bertone goes bust

The famous Italian coachbuilder and designer Bertone may be on its deathbed. The company that penned the beautiful shape of the Lamborghini Miura has been facing financial hardships for months, and Autocar is reporting that the Turin, Italy firm has just declared bankruptcy. The last we heard from Bertone, it was showing the Jet 2+2 station wagon based on an Aston Martin Rapide at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The Turin-based carrozzeria became famous for its wild designs like the BMW Spicup concept, Lancia Stratos and the initial shape of the Lamborghini Countach. In recent years, it had been limited to creating mostly one-off vehicles. The company has slowly been shrinking recently. It sold its small factory to Fiat a few years go and let go of 165 employees and 10 interns in December. Bertone has been shopping itself in hopes of finding a new owner. According to PistonHeads, even with the money problems, the business generated 20-million euros ($27.9 million) in revenue in 2013 and has been working on projects in China. A Turkish firm was rumored to be interested in buying it for just $2.7 million, and GT Spirit claims that there are also seven Italian companies potentially interested in purchasing it. Bertone has a long and proud automotive history, and it wouldn't be surprising if it were bought just for the value of the brand – perhaps we haven't seen the last of its stylized B logo. Featured Gallery Bertone Jet 2+2: Geneva 2013 View 10 Photos News Source: Autocar via Pistonheads, GTSpiritImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Design/Style Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Plants/Manufacturing BMW Lamborghini Lancia Concept Cars Luxury Special and Limited Editions Performance Classics bertone lamborghini miura Lamborghini Countach

8 automakers, 15 utilities collaborate on open smart-charging for EVs

We're going to lead with General Motors here. GM is one of eight automakers working with 15 utilities and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) at developing a "smart" plug-in vehicle charging system. Why did we start with GM? Because it's the first automaker whose press release we read that mentioned the other seven automakers. Points for sharing. For the record, the collaboration also includes BMW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Chrysler, Mitsubishi and Ford. The utilities include DTE Energy, Duke Energy, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric. The idea is to develop a so-called "demand charging" system in which an integrated system lets the plug-ins and utilities communicate with each other so that vehicle charging is cut back at peak hours, when energy is most expensive, and ramped up when the rates drop. Such entities say there's a sense of urgency to develop such a system because the number of plug-in vehicles on US roads totals more than 225,000 today and is climbing steadily. There's a lot of technology involved, obviously, but the goal is to have an open platform that's compatible with virtually any automaker's plug-in vehicle. No timeframe was disclosed for when such a system could go live but you can find a press release from EPRI below. EPRI, Utilities, Auto Manufacturers to Create an Open Grid Integration Platform for Plug-in Electric Vehicles PALO ALTO, Calif. (July 29, 2014) – The Electric Power Research Institute, 8 automakers and 15 utilities are working to develop and demonstrate an open platform that would integrate plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) with smart grid technologies enabling utilities to support PEV charging regardless of location. The platform will allow manufacturers to offer a customer-friendly interface through which PEV drivers can more easily participate in utility PEV programs, such as rates for off-peak or nighttime charging. The portal for the system would be a utility's communications system and an electric vehicle's telematics system. As the electric grid evolves with smarter functionality, electric vehicles can serve as a distributed energy resource to support grid reliability, stability and efficiency. With more than 225,000 plug-in vehicles on U.S. roads -- and their numbers growing -- they are likely to play a significant role in electricity demand side management.