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Recharge Wrap-up: EVs poll well in Portland, Tesla seeks office space

In a poll of drivers in Portland, more than 80 percent said they would be driving an EV in the next 10 years if they weren't already. The poll was small and not scientific, with just 218 votes cast, but it does reflect a slice of a certain population with changing attitudes toward electric mobility, and 80 percent is an impressive figure. Additionally, 43 percent of respondents planned to have an EV in the next five years, and only 18 percent said they prefer gasoline-powered vehicles. With EVs in many ways repeating the adoption process that hybrids went through a decade ago, the five- or ten-year timeframe for more widespread use seems only natural. Read more at the Portland Business Journal. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee parks like an idiot, or rather, his security detail does. His Chevrolet Volt has been ticketed for parking six times since he took office. Granted, those street-sweeping signs are tough to keep track of, but his car has been photographed blocking at a bus stop while grabbing a burrito (who hasn't sinned in the name of a delicious burrito?), and was even caught parked in a crosswalk. The tickets were all dismissed. Read more from the SF Gate. Tesla is looking for office space in Silicon Valley. As the electric car company continues to search for a place to build its $4- to $5-billion battery Gigafactory, it also needs some real estate to expand its operations near its Palo Alto home. Tesla has expanded from 3,000 to 6,000 California-based employees since the end of 2012, and plans to add 500 more by the end of the year. It is currently looking for 200,000 to 300,000 square feet of office space close to its Fremont factory, according to sources in the real estate industry. Read more at the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Related Gallery 2014 Chevrolet Volt View 11 Photos News Source: Portland Business Journal, SF Gate, Silicon Valley Business JournalImage Credit: Paul Sakuma / AP Green Chevrolet Tesla Electric recharge wrapup portland silicon valley parking ticket

NHTSA probes 2010 Chevy Tahoe for side airbag issue

After a person was killed in a rollover accident in a 2010 Chevrolet Tahoe in Texas in 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is considering whether to conduct a deeper investigation into a potential problem with the model's side airbags. According to the petition filed with the government agency, the SUV's rollover side curtain airbag deployed in the accident, but the design allegedly still allowed some of the occupants in the second- and third-row seats to be ejected from the vehicle. One of them died in the crash. Based on NHTSA's preliminary review, this is the only report of this type of incident happening in a 2007-2015 Tahoe or GMC Yukon. "GM investigated the complaint that is the basis of the petition and found no defect trend," company spokesperson Alan Adler said to The Detroit News, and said the automaker will cooperate with the feds. Still, "a defect petition has been opened to evaluate the issue and make a grant or deny decision," according to NHTSA. Depending on the agency's findings, this could lead to a full investigation and possible recall affecting an estimated 58,000 vehicles. INVESTIGATION Subject : Rollover Side Curtain Air Bags Date Investigation Opened: JUN 11, 2015 Date Investigation Closed: Open NHTSA Action Number: DP15004 Component(s): AIR BAGS All Products Associated with this Investigation Vehicle MakeModelModel Year(s) CHEVROLET TAHOE 2010 CHEVROLET TAHOE HYBRID 2010 Details Manufacturer: General Motors LLC SUMMARY: The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received a petition requesting an investigation of alleged defects that can cause occupant ejections during rollover crashes in certain General Motors vehicles. The petition alleges the defects allow second and third row occupants to be ejected despite the deployment of rollover side curtain air bags. The petition cites a 2011 Texas crash involving a model year 2010 Chevrolet Tahoe, which allegedly resulted in multiple occupants to be ejected. One of the ejected occupants was fatally injured. ODI's preliminary review of its consumer complaint data found no similar reports of occupant ejections on 2007-2015 Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon vehicles. ODI also reviewed Early Warning Reporting data submitted by General Motors. A defect petition has been opened to evaluate the issue and make a grant or deny decision.

BMW, Hyundai score big in JD Power's first Tech Experience Index

While automakers are quick to brag about winning a JD Power Initial Quality Study award, the reality, as we've pointed out before, is that these ratings are somewhat misleading, since IQS doesn't necessarily distinguish genuine quality issues. JD Power's new Tech Experience Index aims to solve that problem. The new metric takes the same 90-day approach as IQS but focuses exclusively on technology – collision protection, comfort and convenience, driving assistance, entertainment and connectivity, navigation, and smartphone mirroring. It splits the industry up into just seven segments, based loosely on size, which is why the Chevrolet Camaro is in the same division (mid-size) as Kia Sorento and the Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class is in the same segment as the Hyundai Genesis (mid-size premium). It makes for some screwy bedfellows, to be sure. Still, splitting tech experience away from initial quality should allow customers to make more informed and intelligent decisions when buying new vehicles. In the inaugural study, respondents listed BMW and Hyundai as the big winners, with two segment awards – the 2 Series for small premium and the 4 Series for compact premium, and the Genesis for mid-size premium and Tucson for small segment. The Chevrolet Camaro (midsize), Kia Forte (compact), and Nissan Maxima (large) scored individual wins. Ford also had a surprising hit with the Lincoln MKC, which ranked third in the compact premium segment behind the 4 Series and Lexus IS. This is a coup for the Blue Oval, whose woeful MyFord Touch systems made the brand a victim of the IQS' flaws in the early 2010s. But Ford and other automakers might not want to celebrate just yet. According to JD Power, there's still a lot of room for improvement – navigation systems were the lowest-rated piece of tech in the study. Instead, customers repeatedly saluted collision-avoidance and safety systems, giving the category the best marks of the study and listing blind-spot monitoring and backup cameras as two must-have features – 96 percent of respondents said they wanted those two systems in their next vehicle. But this isn't really a surprise. Implementation of safety systems from brand to brand is similar, and they don't require any input from users, unlike navigation and infotainment systems which are frustratingly deep.