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Battery Show 2015: Genovation GXE Corvette EV designed for the 'Ring

The Genovation GXE all-electric Corvette has broken cover. At the Battery Show 2015 in Novi, MI, this week, the converted C6 Z06 Corvette that we first heard about back in August was tucked into a booth along the back wall. Don't let the demure location fool you. This is a muscle-y electric vehicle, ready to roar into the limited-run, expensive EV game. The Genovation GXE Corvette can go from 0-60 miles per hour in three seconds and has a top speed of 200 mph. The powertrain was designed and built in the US, and offers over 700 horsepower and over 600 pound-feet or torque. With a near 50/50 weight distribution, this is "a real driver's car," Genovation CEO Andrew Saul told AutoblogGreen. Saul said that the GXE was designed to do two hard laps at Nurburgring thanks to a 44-kWh battery pack uses the same sort of cylindrical 18650 cells that you can find in a Tesla. That translates to about 40-50 miles of fast, on-road driving, Saul said, or 150 miles on the New York City test cycle. That particular test, "simulates low speed urban driving with frequent stops," according to DieselNet. The car also has a 6-kW charger and a six-speed manual transmission and the adjustable regenerative braking levels can be controlled by paddles on the steering wheel. Of course, none of those performance figures have been proven yet because the GXE hasn't had a chance to hit the road. Saul said that it will take another three-to-four weeks to finish the build and then, finally, there will be a few weeks of road testing. This will include a quarter-mile run on a track as well as a trip to Nevada to do a several-mile top speed test. If all of that sounds like something you're interested in, then get ready to open your wallet wide and wait. Saul said that buying one will set you back $330,000 (just $290,000 if you bring your own C6 Z06). Genovation also won't be making all that many. Saul said he expects to put the GXE into limited production of under 200 units, starting off at maybe five or 10 a year. Featured Gallery Battery Show 2015: Genovation GXE All-Electric Corvette View 14 Photos Green Chevrolet AutoblogGreen Exclusive Electric exclusive corvette genovation

The Tesla Model S was the best-selling EV of 2015

According to numbers crunched over at Hybrid Cars, the Tesla Model S was the best selling pure electric vehicle last year with 50,366 deliveries. These numbers might not tell the whole story, since Tesla reports deliveries made in 2015 that might have been sold in a different calendar year, while other makers are tallying sales. However, it's inarguable that the Model S ended up in more worldwide driveways than the second-place Nissan Leaf, which did about 43,000 sales. In the US alone, Leaf sales were down 42.8 percent year-on-year, from 30,200 in 2014 to 17,269 last year, and that decline also increased throughout the year. That marks a great finish to a great start to 2015, when Tesla took the lead in EV sales in the US for the first quarter. On top of that, as of last year the Model S becomes the second-best selling EV ever, with 107,148 deliveries since the middle of 2012. It trails the Nissan Leaf, with well over 200,000 worldwide sales. The Chevrolet Volt/Opel Ampera combo takes a close third, with about 106,000 sales. The Nissan and Chevy rivals both launched at the end of 2010, a 16-month head start on the Tesla. Down the charts, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV which continues to be forbidden fruit for our market notched 39,000 sales. The BYD Qin PHEV sold 31,898 examples in China, and BYD would take the overall victory from Tesla with 58,728 deliveries if you counted all of its EV and PHEV production, such as its electric buses. The BMW i3 nabbed fourth place with 24,057 global sales. In 2011 the Munich automaker said it wanted to sell 30,000 i3s annually by 2014, but by the time the car launched the company considered 15,000 annual sales 'great for now,' so the 2015 number seems a fine place to wind up. Related Video: News Source: Hybrid Cars Green BMW Chevrolet Mitsubishi Nissan Tesla

Surprise! GM putting aluminum in next-gen pickups

Last month, General Motors launched a series of ads touting the benefits of steel over aluminum – specifically, with regard to the Chevy Silverado versus the Ford F-150. (Kind of. We're not sure what a grizzly bear has to do with anything.) We took issue with the ads, with editor in chief Mike Austin saying they "reek of insecurity, and distract from the Silverado's strengths that could be used for positive advertising." But what bothers us more, is that yet another report surfaced claiming anti-aluminum GM will indeed use the weight-saving material in its next-generation fullsize trucks. On Tuesday, GM announced a $877-million investment for its truck plant in Flint, MI. But Reuters says that huge overhaul is because the trucks will use "substantially different equipment than the tools GM uses today." The report specifically states, "People familiar with the company's plans say GM's next-generation pickups and SUVs will make use of various materials, including aluminum and lightweight steel, to shed weight and gain fuel efficiency to meet tougher federal standards." The Silverado already uses a few aluminum components in the engine and hood, and if more widespread use will help GM build its best fullsize trucks ever, then that's great. Honestly, we have no reason to doubt that aluminum will be used in the next Silverado and GMC Sierra. We just hope GM remembers that nothing is ever truly deleted from the bowels of the Internet when it launches the subsequent "look how great aluminum is!" campaign. Related Video: News Source: Reuters Green Plants/Manufacturing Chevrolet GM GMC Truck aluminum steel