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Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla details factory expansion; Ford and SunPower raise money for Sierra Club

Tesla has revealed the details of the upgrade of its Fremont, CA factory. One major change is the addition of a dedicated production space for the dual-motor P85D version of the Model S. Robots will be doing the battery installation on the Model S to save some time, and new export docks allow Tesla to get the cars out the door and on the way to their new owners more quickly. The new robots that move the cars around the factory have been named after X-Men characters, which makes our inner geeks smile. Check out the factory upgrade in the time-lapse video below and read more at Teslarati or at the Tesla Motors Blog. A program in Beijing for privileged registrations for EVs hasn't had much success. Of the 1,424 lottery winners, only about 30 percent went on to register an electric car despite a two-month extension of the deadline to do so. Buyers are likely discouraged by the lack of charging infrastructure, which the city hopes to ameliorate with the addition of 1,000 new charging stations by the end of the year, and by requiring new and renovated developments to set aside parking specifically for EV charging. Read more at Green Car Reports. The UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies suggests that laws designed to protect dealers and consumers are stymieing the adoption of EVs. Laws like the ones certain states have in place that block or otherwise restrict Tesla's direct-to-consumer business model are not helpful for companies that want to introduce new products to the market. They prevent companies from passing on savings to customers for whom they would likely make the difference in a purchasing decision. One possible solution would be to allow exemptions to certain selling restrictions for a certain number of vehicles sold. "This could give automakers the degree of control needed to work out kinks with early customers, develop scalable processes for supporting PEVs, and ensure that effective dealer performance standards are in place before handing the reins over to wholly independent retailers," according to UC Davis ITS. Read more at the UC Davis website. Volkswagen says its environmental program, called "Think Blue. Factory," is meeting the automaker's own sustainability targets. The main purpose of the program is to move toward eco-friendlier carmaking at each of its plants worldwide.

VW recalls another 6,700 vehicles over fuel leak [UPDATE]

UPDATE: An earlier version of this post suggested that the expanded recall involved an additional 44,658 units, when VW tells us that is in fact the total number - adding a further 6,679 to the original recall of 37,979. The text below has been updated accordingly, with our apologies for the confusion. It was a little over a month ago that Volkswagen issued a recall for some 38,000 vehicles over a potential fuel leak. Now the German automaker and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have expanded that recall, affecting even more vehicles for the same issue. The problem revolves around a sealing cap at the fuel rail, which could fail and cause fuel to leak into the engine compartment, thereby increasing the risk of a fire. This time around, VW is calling in a selection of Jettas, Passats, Golfs, GTIs, Beetles and Beetle Convertibles, all of them from the 2014 and 2015 model years (except the Golf and GTI, of which only 2015 models are being recalled). The recall now affects an estimated additional 6,679 units, which (in addition to the 37,979 recalled previously) brings the total up to 44,658 vehicles across the United States. RECALL Subject : Fuel Leaking Into Engine Compartment Report Receipt Date: JAN 23, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V028000 Component(s): FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Potential Number of Units Affected: 44,658 Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. SUMMARY: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Jetta vehicles manufactured March 28, 2014, to November 24, 2014, 2014-2015 Passat vehicles manufactured April 7, 2014, to November 18, 2014, 2015 Golf and GTI vehicles manufactured July 1, 2014, to November 20, 2014, and 2014-2015 Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles manufactured March 31, 2014, to November 27, 2014. A sealing cap at the fuel rail may fail, allowing fuel to leak into the engine compartment. CONSEQUENCE: A fuel leak, in the presence of an ignition source, can result in a vehicle fire. REMEDY: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel rails with new parts, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in early February 2015. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 24BL. Note: This recall expands and supersedes recall 14V-809 (Volkswagen recall number 24Bi) and only affects vehicles not previously repaired under that campaign.

VW Golf R, Ram Power Wagon and Subaru Forester | Autoblog Podcast #591

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and Road Test Editor Reese Counts. After some talk about sponges and other randomly received oddities, this episode is all about the cars we've been driving, including the new Subaru Forester, VW Golf R (which is going on hiatus), BMW M340i xDrive and Ram Power Wagon. Then, they take to the mailbag to help a listener pick a sporty new car in the "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #591 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Sponges, really? 2019 Subaru Forester Sport 2019 Volkswagen Golf R 2020 BMW M340i xDrive 2019 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: