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Ecto-1 is the barn find of a lifetime in 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife'

Following the women-led "Ghostbusters" reboot in 2016, a completely new chapter in the franchise will be born in 2020. "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" will feature a fresh cast, a modern story and cutting-edge cinematics. Yet, one thing will remain the same: the famous Ecto-1. The first trailer for the upcoming film shows the classic movie car — a highly modified 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Futura Duplex — still has a little gas in the tank, even after sitting in a barn for more than 30 years. "Afterlife" follows a character played by Finn Wolfhard (Mike from "Stranger Things") as he, his sister and his mom are evicted and move to an inherited farmhouse in Summerville, Oklahoma. The property, previously owned by the kids' grandfather, turns out to be a secret storage facility for all of the old Ghostbusters gear. Grandpa was Dr. Egon Spengler. The research, the uniforms, the ghost traps and the Ecto-1 are all tucked away and out of sight. Trevor, Wolfhard's character, finds the automotive relic and is able to start the old box of bolts. He and his sister Phoebe are then seen careening the Ecto-1 through a field and testing out the car's gunner seat in town.  Paul Rudd enters the picture as Mr. Grooberson, a teacher at the kids' school who shows an interest in Phoebe's ghost trap. As somebody who remembers the Manhattan Crossrip well, Grooberson schools the kids on the past and, with them, explores their connection to it all.  The trailer closes with a Bill Murray quote from the original film: "Call it fate, call it luck, call it karma ... I believe that everything happens for a reason." He, along with Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver, are expected to have some sort of involvement in the new movie, though it's unclear what that will be. We'll find out more next year when "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" opens summer 2020. P.S. How about that Ford Ranchero GT?

Corvette's Performance Data Recorder headed to other cars, will Cadillac ATS-V be first?

For 2015, the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray gained a novel piece of high-performance technology: The Performance Data Recorder. This trick system combines video from a front-mounted camera with in-car data and GPS information to help drivers record and study their lap times, complete with data overlays. While it's a clever tool for track days, it's also finding popularity as a built-in dash cam of sorts. To this point, the technology has been a Corvette exclusive, but General Motors' executive vice president of global product development, Mark Reuss, has confirmed to Autoblog that it will soon be available in other vehicles.
At a media luncheon on Thursday, we asked whether GM was keen to expand usage of the technology to other models, and if we could expect to see something soon. Reuss coyly replied, "What's soon?" When we suggested the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V (which is scheduled to debut at next week's LA Auto Show), he replied, "There will be other uses, and it won't be that far away. How's that?"
Certainly not an outright confirmation, but we wouldn't be at all surprised to see the next high-po Cadillac roll under the klieg lights at the Los Angeles Convention Center next Wednesday brandishing more than just 450 horsepower.

7 major automakers to build open EV charging network

A new joint venture established by BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis will build a new North American electric vehicle charging network on a scale designed to compete with Tesla's industry-benchmark Supercharger network. The 30,000-plus planned new chargers will accommodate both Tesla's almost-standard North American Charging System (NACS) and existing automakers' Combined Charging System (CCS) options, effectively guaranteeing compatibility with the vast majority of current and upcoming electric models — whether they're from one of the involved automakers or not.  "With the generational investments in public charging being implemented on the Federal and State level, the joint venture will leverage public and private funds to accelerate the installation of high-powered charging for customers. The new charging stations will be accessible to all battery-powered electric vehicles from any automaker using Combined Charging System (CCS) or North American Charging Standard (NACS) and are expected to meet or exceed the spirit and requirements of the U.S. National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program." Critically, the automakers involved will have a say in how the charging tech is implemented, guaranteeing that the hardware will play nicely with each automaker's in-house charging systems. Hyundai and Kia, for example, were hesitant to jump on board the Tesla NACS bandwagon earlier this year over concerns that the Supercharger network is insufficient for powering the two automakers' 800-volt charging systems; similar tech is used by Volkswagen and Porsche.  In addition to providing much-needed capacity and high-output charging for America's growing fleet of electric cars and trucks, the new network will integrate seamlessly with each automaker's in-app and in-vehicle features, rather than forcing customers to use third-party tools and payment systems, as is the case with some existing public charging infrastructure.  "The functions and services of the network will allow for seamless integration with participating automakersÂ’ in-vehicle and in-app experiences, including reservations, intelligent route planning and navigation, payment applications, transparent energy management and more. In addition, the network will leverage Plug & Charge technology to further enhance the customer experience," the announcement said.