1957 Chevy Bel Air Project Car on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: BYD unveils 60-ft electric bus, Honda sticking with hybrids in Europe

BYD has debuted a 60-foot electric bus at the American Public Transportation Association Expo in Houston, TX. The Lancaster bus, as it is called, has a 120-passenger capacity and can drive over 170 miles on a single charge. The articulated bus features low floors and no steps, thanks to in-wheel hub motors. BYD also displayed a 40-foot electric bus that drove the 1,500 miles to the show under its own power (recharging along the way, of course). Read more in the press release below. Honda says it will continue to sell hybrids in Europe, despite the fact that it has stopped selling the CR-Z and Insight due to slow sales. "Our focus at the moment is on our 1.6-liter diesel but we haven't forgotten about hybrid technology," says Honda Europe's Philip Ross. Honda will sell the next-generation Fit (badged as the Jazz) in Europe when it launches next summer, and will sell the next-gen hybrid version beginning in 2016. Honda sold 4,500 of the Jazz hybrid in Europe last year. Read more at Automotive News. XL Hybrids is selling its XL3 Hybrid Electric Drive System in California. The news comes after the California Air Resources Board issued an executive order allowing the aftermarket hybrid conversion for 2012-2014 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans. The XL3 Hybrid regenerative braking conversion increases real-world mpg by about 25 percent. Read more in the press release below. NRG eVgo has finished installing 60 charging stations at the Sony Pictures Entertainment studio lot and offices in Culver City, California. The Level 2 chargers, which will be managed by NRG eVgo, allow employees to charge their EVs during the workday. An average of 90 EVs and PHEVs park at the studio headquarters every day, thanks in part to Sony Pictures' Alternative Vehicles Incentive program for its employees. Learn more in the press release below. Pennsylvania's Public Utility Commission will allow operators of EV charging stations to set prices based on kilowatt hour usage. This change ensures that drivers pay for the actual energy they use, rather than the time they spend charging, since different cars can charge at different speeds. Car Charging Group has already begun using the per-kWh fee structure at its charging stations throughout the state. Other states that allow kWh pricing are California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington. Read more in the press release below.

Chevy Corvette is latest car breached by hackers

UPDATE: This story has been updated with comment from General Motors. In the latest car-hacking exploit in a summer full of them, researchers from the University of California-San Diego say they've found a way to manipulate braking in a 2013 Chevrolet Corvette. The vulnerabilities may not be limited to that model. Cyber-security researchers breached the car's security systems via a device they had plugged into the Corvette's OBD-II port, and through that connection, they sent messages that could turn windshield wipers on and off and tamper with the brakes as the car drove at low speeds. It's the latest in a series of car hacks that involve access to critical systems obtained via the OBD-II port, where drivers can plug in devices that provide anything from diagnostic information for mechanics to driving information for insurance companies. Last November, cyber-security engineers from Argus Cyber Security remotely controlled vehicle functions in a car that had a OBD-II dongle called a Zubie installed. In January, researchers from Digital Bond Labs found security holes in an information-tracking dongle popular with more than 2 million Progressive Insurance customers. Those came before prominent hacks unveiled in recent weeks, in which researchers remotely commandeered control of a Jeep Cherokee and, separately, showcased problems with GM's OnStar infotainment system. Regarding the dongles that plug into the OBD-II ports, Stefan Savage, a Cal-San Diego professor involved in the research, tells WIRED that, "we acquired some of these things, reverse-engineered them, and along the way, found that they had a whole bunch of security deficiencies." Savage and others unveiled the latest study at the Usenix security conference Tuesday. In a video of their exploit entitled "Fast and Vulnerable," they show how they sent SMS messages from a smartphone to the dongle plugged into the car's OBD-II port. From there, their messages accessed the CAN bus, a network on the car that connects individual electronic control units, which control dozens of vehicle functions. As they send the commands to brake the car, the driver of the Corvette notes "the pedal doesn't react to any pressure." General Motors issued a written response Wednesday, warning drivers to be careful with third-party devices they plug into their OBD-II ports.

1956 Corvette SR-2 factory racer profiled

The Chevrolet Corvette has earned its place as America's sports car, capable of taking on the best the world can throw at it. Much of that winning reputation was earned with victories on the track. Now, there was a chance to own an early piece of the nameplate's motorsport history in the form of a 1956 Corvette SR-2 racer, but some deep pockets were necessary to get it, with an estimate of $6.885 million. The story behind the SR-2 is fascinating. In 1956, famous General Motors designer Harley Earl's son was racing in a Ferrari. Obviously, that wasn't going to work given his father's position within the automaker, and Harley and Corvette engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov got to work on a faster racecar. Three were made. This one was reportedly the first, and for 1957 it also received a fuel-injected V8 making a claimed 331 horsepower and four-speed manual gearbox, according to "Corvette Mike," the owner and seller. The SR-2 went on display in Scottsdale, AZ appropriately timed to coincide with the big Barrett-Jackson auction there that wrapped up this weekend. The car wasn't part of that event; instead marque specialist Mike Vietro sold the racer as a private treaty sale. Company spokesperson Troy Worrell told Autoblog both the bids and identities of the bidders will remain undisclosed. The video above goes into even deeper detail about this rare, finned Vette or check out the car's full description for even more info.