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Recharge Wrap-Up: LAPD gets Zero MMX, Chevy's new inverter, Hyundai Tucson's new powertrains

Some police in Los Angeles will be riding Zero MMX electric motorcycles on duty. The LAPD is adding the fully electric police/military all-terrain bikes to its patrol fleet. According to Officer Steve Carbajal of the department's off-road unit, "It costs less than 50 cents to charge compared to using gallons of gas, maintenance is simple, and the community appreciates how quiet they are." The electric bikes, with their lack of noise and a headlight the rider can turn off, also have the benefit of stealth, giving the officers what Carbajal calls "an added tactical advantage." The MMX also has swappable batteries, is designed for quick ignition and has power reserve capabilities so the rider won't be caught with a dead battery while chasing down a perp. Read more at Ride Apart. Remember when it seemed like we'd never run out of oil, and giving your buddy five bucks for gas was actually a worthwhile gesture? Drivers of classic cars in Detroit were able to fill up their tanks at gas prices corresponding to their model year, thanks to a promotion by Hagerty Insurance for National Collector Car Appreciation Day on July 11. That meant prices from 21 to 90 cents a gallon, as the cars that showed up ranged from the years 1929 to 1989. That's about as affordable as charging your EV. Head over to Autoweek for more details and some photos from the event. The next-generation Chevrolet Volt will likely benefit from a new inverter being developed by General Motors. GM is about two-thirds of the way through the development of the new inverter, which should be ready in January 2016. The inverter, which has a peak output of 55 kilowatts a continuous output of 33 kilowatts, will be adaptable for use in other GM vehicles. Chevrolet is working to reduce the Volt's production costs by $10,000 per vehicle, which should make it more affordable, and the new inverter could help reach that goal should it make its way into the car. Read more at Green Car Reports. Hyundai is likely planning some interesting powertrain changes for the 2016 Tucson, says Green Car Reports. Plug-in hybrid? Maybe. Diesel? Probably not. "We are covering the waterfront on all alternative fuel strategies, from standard hybrid, to plug-in, battery-electric, and fuel cell," says Hyundai's US Chief Dave Zuchowski.

Consumer Reports declares most and least loved cars [w/video]

Consumer Reports is crunching the numbers from its annual owner-satisfaction survey, and part of that process is finding out how attached drivers are to their cars. CR simply asks readers of models up to three years old if they would buy the same vehicle again in light of their entire ownership experience, and tallies the results. After looking at the responses for about 350,000 vehicles, it turns out that people really love a certain California-built, electrically powered luxury sedan. That's right, this year's the overall winner was the Tesla Model S with a whopping 98 percent of owners saying they would purchase another one (the Model S also won this award last year, with 99 percent satisfaction). The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray came in a close second with 95 percent of drivers hoping to park another one in their garage. A few models weren't quite so favored, though. The Nissan Versa Sedan was the least loved model among its owners; a mere 42 percent said that they would purchase another. The aging Jeep Compass didn't do much better, with just 43 percent of drivers willing to buy the softroader again. On average, about 70 percent of owners say they would buy their car again, and only four cars ranked below 50 percent in CR's findings. Check out the video above to see some of the winners and losers in a few of CR's categories. If you're a subscriber, you can check out the full list on its website. Related Gallery Consumer Reports Most Loved Cars 2014 Related Gallery Consumer Reports Least Loved Cars 2014 News Source: Consumer Reports - sub. req., Consumer Reports via YouTube Chevrolet Ford Mazda Mercedes-Benz Porsche Subaru Tesla Ownership Videos car ownership

Trucks and tidbits from GM's earnings report

General Motors announced this morning that 2018 was a good year for it financially, thanks in large part to the company's performance in North America, which was predicated, according to the company, on "strong pricing, surging crossover sales, successful execution of the company's full-size truck launch, growth of GM Financial earnings, and disciplined cost control." GM reported full-year income of $8.1 billion and EBIT-adjusted income of $11.8 billion. Crossover sales in 2018 were 1,034,808, an increase of 7 percent compared to 2017 deliveries. Throw in the body-on-frame SUVs and the ute number is a total 1,295,700. But let's face it: It is the trucks that really matter. The Chevy Silverado and Colorado, the GMC Sierra and Canyon. Altogether, GM sold 973,463 pickups in the U.S. in 2018. Although Ford gets bragging rights for F-Series sales, GM gets to point out that it has a greater aggregate number. An important factor regarding the trucks and the reported income is that during the last quarter, more than 90 percent of the new 2019 trucks were crew cabs (which have a higher sticker), and at GMC more than 70 percent were Denali and AT4 models (which have even higher stickers). According to reporting by Bloomberg, GM's pickup trucks combine for $65 billion in annual revenue. Clearly when the 2018 sales of the Silverado — 585,581— dwarf the combined sales of both Buick (206,863) and Cadillac combined (154,702), pickups are what matter to the overall health of the company in a way that it is difficult to otherwise achieve. The "disciplined cost control" is something that is very much in the public eye right now, as the company is taking out thousands of its workers, and there is still the "unallocated" plant situation and other plants that will remain under capacity. The numbers in GM's earnings report probably made Unifor members' heads explode in consternation, coming fresh off their Super Bowl ad: " GM, you may have forgotten our generosity, but we'll never forget your greed." But there are a couple of curiosities in the full GM earnings release. One is that so far as its autonomous efforts go, it mentions only that (1) in the first quarter of 2018 Cruise introduced a production-ready autonomous vehicle, and (2) Cruise attracted $5 billion in external capital from SoftBank and Honda. Not a whole lot of love for autonomy. Good thing they have the trucks to fund the program, to say nothing of the external capital.