1941 Packard One-eighty Lebaron Sport Brougham on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Porsche adds third 919 Hybrid for Le Mans, Audi to heat factory with geothermal

Porsche will be running a third 919 Hybrid LMP1 car in the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. The extra Porsche will race in the six-hour May 2 WEC race at Spa-Francorchamps as a lead-up to the legendary 24-hour race on June 13 and 14. Porsche hasn't announced the driver lineup for the third 919 Hybrid, but drivers will remain the same for the other two cars. Including the third car is meant to help further test performance and efficiency as part of development for future hybrid systems. Read more at Green Car Congress. BMW i Ventures is investing in Zendrive, a driving focused data and analytics company. The cooperation of the two companies is meant to help advance safety and efficiency by making the "in-car mobility experience even smoother by optimizing commuting and driving patterns," according to BMW i's Ulrich Quay. The venture capital arm of BMW's i brand also invests in JustPark, Chargepoint, Life360, Chargemaster and MyCityWay, and says it will have more strategic investment announcements in the coming months. Read more in the press release below. The Audi Hungaria factory in Gyor, Hungary will soon be getting geothermal energy from a nearby plant being constructed in Per. When the facility is finished, Audi expects to source 82,000 megawatt hours of geothermal energy per year from it, or about six percent of its total heating needs. The clean energy helps Audi move "step by step along a path to developing a CO2-neutral production plant," says Audi's Dr. Hubert Waltl. "The mobility of the future must be CO2-neutral – and that applies not only to the use of our vehicles, but also to their production." Read more in the press release below. Supporters have begun a petition drive for the passage of an E15 ordinance in Chicago. Despite pushback from oil companies, the city council is close to passing the "Chicago Clean Air Choice Ordinance," which includes the requirement by retailers to sell the 15-percent ethanol gasoline blend in the city. The ordinance includes an exception for stations selling less than 850,000 gallons of fuel per year. More than 4,000 people have signed the petition so far, with others leaving messages to voice their opinion on the matter in opposition to Big Oil's attempt to block it. Read more at Domestic Fuel. BMW i Ventures announces strategic investment in Zendrive. - Further Increasing safety and security through innovative mobility services. New York City, NY.

Porsche to replace chassis components in 918 Spyders

The entire production run of the Porsche 918 Spyder is completely sold out, but 205 of them need to make a trip to the dealer for a repair estimated to take about two days. According to Porsche, it found quality problems with unspecified "chassis components" on the hybrid supercar and has instituted a plan to fix them as a precautionary measure. There were no reported breakages of these parts or complaints from customers. The German automaker already contacted all of the affected owners directly to have the 918s repaired in 2015. When reached for comment, Porsche Director of Corporate Communications Achim Schneider told Autoblog via email that "due to the supplier relationship we did not announce further details regarding the components so far." He also said that 43 vehicles are affected in North America, which includes the US and Canada. The 918 Spyder was affected by a small recall in the US earlier this year when Porsche found that the rear-axle control arms could potentially break. The campaign covered only five cars, though. Porsche replaces chassis components in 205 vehicles worldwide Atlanta. As a precautionary measure, Porsche will replace chassis components in 205 vehicles of the 918 Spyder model worldwide. The reason for this is that for vehicles that were manufactured in a certain time period defective parts were used from a delivery batch, whose functionality cannot be permanently guaranteed. No complaints have been made known (such as a break of a component) from customers up till now. The problem was identified during in-house quality inspections and remedied immediately. The owners of the vehicles, which could be exactly traced, were contacted directly by their competent Porsche representatives. The workshop visit, which will take place by appointment at the onset of 2015, takes about two days to complete at no charge. Featured Gallery 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder: First Drive View 51 Photos News Source: PorscheImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Michael Harley / AOL, Porsche Green Recalls Porsche Hybrid Supercars porsche 918 spyder porsche 918

Someone burnt the schnitzel out of this trio of Porsches

Every vehicle has a story, and right now, we're wondering about the tale of three extra crispy Porsches – listed as a " 1963 Porsche Porsche" (a 356), a 1970 914 (we're pretty sure it's probably a 912, not a 914), and a 1996 911 – stuck in a Woodhaven, MI salvage yard. Yes, salvage. Fire has consumed all three cars from stem to stern, the 914 looks partially flattened and, along with the 356, has part of a tree growing out the back. Shockingly, no one's bid yet. But right now, we just want to know what happened. Obviously there was fire. A lot of fire. But beyond that, we don't know. Autoblog called the salvage yard, located in southern metro Detroit, and couldn't uncover any information – a customer service rep told your author that the company doesn't have "the story" on the cars and doesn't staff mechanics at the facility. Perhaps it's this lack of mechanics that explains the outrageous prices the salvage yard listed on its website. The repair estimate on each car should read "Never," but instead, a six-figure appraisal accompanies each car. They're probably low-balling. The lowest estimated retail value, meanwhile, is $75,000. At least the primary damage – "Burn" – is correct, albeit something of an understatement. Check out the images of each car up top. And if you want more information – or God forbid you're actually considering bidding on one of these – you can click over to the salvage yard's website. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery Burnt Porsches in Michigan View 9 Photos News Source: Copart [1, 2, 3]Image Credit: Copart Auto News Porsche Auctions Coupe Performance Classics fire porsche 356 salvage porsche 912