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Recharge Wrap-up: BMW Next 100 video, how Nissan "tops off" battery

BMW explains the ideas behind its Vision Next 100 concept car that debuted at the Geneva Motor Show. As BMW celebrates its 100th birthday, it wants to look into the future rather than dwell on its past. This involves the digital and analog worlds working together "to create a seamless experience." Hence the "live geometry," wherein physical parts of the car move to translate digital information to the driver. The video also gets into the future of driving modes, like "Ease," for more autonomous driving, and "Boost," for when the driver wants to take control to enjoy some motoring the good, old-fashioned way. Check out the video above, and read more from Hybrid Cars. Nissan has managed to find a way to boost the range of EV batteries inspired by pouring a glass of beer. The automaker has found that after a full charge, one can wait a few minutes for subsequent "minicharges" to "top off" the battery. The voltage dips slightly, much as the foam does on a pint of beer, allowing the battery to accept some more juice. The result is an extra 0.7 percent of energy, which could mean just enough extra range to reach the next charging station. Read more from Automotive News. Hyundai has delivered its first Tucson Fuel Cell in Ontario, Canada. The lucky recipient is Joseph Cargnelli, Chief Technology Officer of Hydrogenics Corporation, a company based on hydrogen technology. The expansion into Ontario follows Hyundai's trial of six Tucson Fuel Cell vehicles in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Read more at Green Car Congress. Toyota has entered a public-private partnership to test an end-to-end hydrogen supply chain in Japan. The collaboration with the Kanagawa Prefectural Government, the municipal governments of the cities of Yokohama and Kawasaki and three private companies to create renewable hydrogen to power forklifts. It will use wind energy to electrolyze hydrogen, which will then be shipped to a factory, a vegetable and fruit market and two warehouses to be used in the fuel cell-powered vehicles. This supply chain is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 80 percent compared to traditionally fueled forklifts. Read more from Toyota. Related Gallery BMW Vision Next 100 Concept News Source: Hybrid Cars, YouTube: BMW, Automotive News, Green Car Congress, Toyota Green BMW Hyundai Nissan Toyota Concept Cars Electric Hydrogen Cars Videos recharge wrapup

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla will sell Model S on Alibaba in China, Wrightspeed electrifies garbage trucks

Tesla will sell cars in China using Alibaba's Tmall website. Customers will be able to use the Chinese shopping site to place an $8,200 deposit toward a Model S. Tmall will feature 18 preconfigured versions for customers to choose from, which won't offer quite the level of customization as Tesla's US site. Bloomberg's Jamie Butters calls it a "defensive move" on Tesla's part, and still expects the company to sell cars in China the traditional way. Watch the video at Bloomberg or read more at Bidness Etc. Tesla co-founder Ian Wright's company Wrightspeed is converting garbage trucks to EVs. The same brand that created the exciting X1 EV is making trash collection much cleaner. "Garbage trucks are the perfect driving cycle for us: they get two or three miles per gallon, drive 130 miles a day with 1,000 hard stops that chew on the brakes," says Wright. The system puts an electric motor at each of the truck's drive wheels, and includes an on-board generator that runs on diesel or natural gas to extend driving range. Read more at Xconomy. British company Hillside Leisure is converting the Nissan e-NV200 into a camper van. The electric RV, called the DalburyE, debuted at the UK's Motorhome and Caravan Show in Birmingham. It sleeps up to four people, and features a pop-up roof, a gas stove, fridge, sink and other amenities. It's a great way to take full advantage of an RV park's electrical outlet to charge the van while camping in it. Read more at Transport Evolved, and see more photos at Hillside Liesure's blog. Featured Gallery Tesla Model S View 10 Photos Related Gallery Nissan e-NV200 Electric Van View 24 Photos News Source: Bloomberg, Bidness Etc, Xconomy, Transport EvolvedImage Credit: Tesla Green Nissan Tesla Electric recharge wrapup

Workers at Mississippi auto supplier protesting low wages

Workers at an automotive seat factory in Mississippi are protesting what they say are low wages and poor working conditions as they attempt to unionize in what could become a new front for the United Auto Workers in the state. A group of workers and supporters at the Faurecia SA seating plant in Cleveland plans a Tuesday march. "We work an auto job and we're getting paid like Wal-Mart wages," said Jamarqus Reed, a 32-year-old Pace resident who has worked at the plant for almost 10 years. "We're trying to better ourselves." Nationally, the UAW has staked its future on unionizing Southern auto factories, with limited success so far. The union has been trying to organize Nissan Motor Co.'s Canton, MS, plant for years, and lost a 2008 worker vote at a Johnson Controls plant in nearby Madison that French-based Faurecia bought in 2011. The UAW narrowly lost a unionization vote at the Volkswagen AG plant in Chattanooga, TN, last year, but the union has since qualified for a new labor policy at the plant that grants access to meeting space and to regular discussions with management. The policy stops short of collective bargaining rights. The union is also trying to organize Nissan's assembly plant in Smyrna, TN, and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, AL. Protesters say Faurecia employees make a top wage of $11.64 per hour, while contract workers make $7.73 an hour. Company spokesman Tony Sapienza said that with overtime, the typical Faurecia employee makes more than the $27,000 a year that is the median wage around Cleveland. Wages are often low in the heavily impoverished Delta. "We are very confident that we are offering a very competitive wage," Sapienza said. Organizers criticize use of lower-paid contract workers Shannon Greenidge, a 44-year-old Cleveland resident, said she worked for a labor agency for more than two years before being hired directly by Faurecia. Greenidge said she makes $9.29 an hour, and can't save for retirement or to send her 11-year-old daughter to college. "That's not going to help me down the line in life," she said. Union supporters say as many as half the workers at the plant work for a contract-labor agency. Sapienza said that while the number varies, the company expects 15 percent of its workforce will be temporary employees this year. The UAW has organized some Southern auto parts plants in recent years, including Faurecia plants in Cottondale, Alabama, in 2012 and Louisville, Kentucky in 2013.