We Obsessively Cover the Green Scene…

While we had been told it was coming in 2014, the exact release date of the production version of the Infiniti LE concept might just might hinge on something you can't see and that the Japanese automaker can't control: wireless charging infrastructure. That's the word from Autocar, which talked to Nissan executive vice president Andy Palmer, who admits that wireless charging "is this technology we want to shine a light on, so while there is no world standard on methods, the rollout will be dependent on region." In other words, if you want the latest luxury EV, you'd better hide those wires. They're so gauche.

There's a good chance Infiniti will be the first OEM to sell a production inductive charging vehicle (companies like Mitsubishi and Audi are also working on the technology), which is likely to be a double-edged sword. Yes, it'll have bragging rights, but the wired infrastructure is proving difficult enough to put into place, and having the coolest tech doesn't mean much if you can't put it into use. Thankfully, the LE (or whatever it will be called) is also expected to come with conventional wired charging capabilities. Also, Infiniti is, at this point, trying to get induction charging technology to be open source, which could help a lot of players in the industry.

The LE concept, based on the Nissan Leaf, has the same 24-kWh lithium-ion battery pack but a more powerful 100-kw electric motor good for 134 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque.

We're willing to bet there are bottles of champagne popping all the way from Washington, DC to Palo Alto, CA today with the announcement that Tesla Motors has, as suspected, paid off the entirety of its $465-million Department of Energy loan.

"I hope we did you proud" - Elon Musk

As far back as July 2012, Tesla began talking about paying the US government back early, but it was apparently the tremendous rise in the company's stock value recently that prompted CEO Elon Musk to push for the immediate repayment this week. From a price of $33.87 on January 1, TSLA has climbed to $87.24 today (down a bit from the recent highs of over $92). Last week, Tesla sold enough stock to raise over a billion dollars to repay the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) loan, with interest. This makes Tesla the first automaker to pay the DOE back, and it did so nine years ahead of schedule. In a prepared statement, Tesla CEO Elon Musk thanked the DOE and Congress and "particularly the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate. I hope we did you proud."

The DOE is certainly proud, issuing a release that said the repayment "shows the strength of energy department's overall loan portfolio." The DOE has come under fire recently for the loan it gave to Fisker Automotive. Two other ATVM recipients, Nissan and Ford, have not yet paid all theit money back, but there are no apparent worries there, either. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a statement that, "not every investment will succeed" but that the DOE's overall $34-million loan portfolio of more than 30 loans "is delivering big results for the American economy while costing far less than anticipated." Details in the press releases below.

According to a report from Autoweek, Volkswagen has plans in place to retrofit a quarter of a million 2009-2012 model-year TDI-engined cars with a system that will prevent misfueling with gasoline instead of diesel. In a notice sent out to VW dealers, the company specified that affected models will include the 2009-2012 Jetta and Jetta Sportwagen TDI, as well as 2010-2012 Golf TDI models.

Volkswagen claims that the increased popularity of TDI diesel models has resulted in more incidents of damaging and potentially very costly misfueling mishaps. To address the issue, the company will front the cash for dealers to retrofit a fuel filler neck cap that can recognize the smaller nozzle of a gasoline pump and keep the fuel tank gate closed.

Autoweek also reports that the move might be slightly defensive in nature; VW has blamed misfueling on the wave of high-pressure fuel pump failures that has recently been the subject of an investigation by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

It's official: A123 Systems Inc. is passing through its final phase. The bankrupt lithium ion battery maker, now going by the name B456 Systems Inc., has won court approval for its plan to exit bankruptcy that pays off creditors from proceeds gained by selling off virtually all of its assets.

Objections previously made by creditors had been resolved prior to the hearing where US Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey approved the company's plan. Creditors had voted "overwhelmingly in favor of the plan," Caroline Reckler, a lawyer for B456 Systems, told the Washington Post.

Now that the plan has been court approved, B456 expects to exit court protection in about three to four weeks. This will complete bankruptcy proceedings started by A123 last October, and which was the source of political jabs by then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The Republican candidate had condemned the Obama administration for failed attempts at financially supporting alternative-energy industries.

The A123 name was removed in bankruptcy proceedings, which was required by the court in order to be purchased by Chinese company Wanxiang. The changeover to the B456 corporate identity was made in March as part of a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission when the company declared that its old assets were liquidated. The good parts of the old A123 live on under Wanxiang's new A123 Venture Technologies division.

As the recovery plan was being executed, plug-in hybrid carmaker and former partner Fisker Automotive came to a settlement with former A123. Fisker agreed to reduce about $140 million in claims by 89 percent to $15 million.

With a great soundtrack – Patty Griffin's Heavenly Day – Chevy is once again using robot dogs and real deer to tell us how eco-friendly the Volt is. The new Volt commercial, called "Silent Anthem," is basically an expanded version of the Volt's snippets from the Find New Roads commercial from February, but this time we see how wind power is the new gasoline (as you can see in the fictional "Instant History" iPad app used in the spot). Nice.

Sure, the ad doesn't really say anything new about the Volt, but it certainly gives off an idealized vibe, and is a far cry from the way most automakers try to sell most of their cars. Just compare this spot (of Nissan's polar bear ad for the Leaf a few years ago) with most of the car-alone-on-the-highway ads that are apparently filmed after the apocalypse. What's the real message here?

You can chime in after watching below.

Looks like 3rd of June will be a red-letter day for electric motorcycles. Not only are we to have our hearts unbroken by Mission Motors, but it is also the exact same day that another of our two-wheeled favorites will ride into the spotlight. Moto Electra Racing has announced it will begin a journey from coast to coast with its Norton-styled retro-electro machine in a bid to make the record books for the quickest continental crossing by an electric vehicle.

The team will set out from Florida and drive to Santa Monica in about 3 days, with an estimated 20 stops for charging and cat-napping.

Inspired by a film about the first gas-powered automobile cross-country trip in 1903 – a time before gas stations and, for the most part, paved roads – the team plans to set out from the beach in Jacksonville, Florida and quietly hum their way to the Santa Monica Pier in California in about 3 days. That's about 2,500 miles along Interstate 10 at, or slightly below, the 70 mile-per-hour speed limit with an estimated 20 stops for charging and cat-napping.

In the saddle will be team stalwart Thad Wolff. The former AMA Superbike racer has lots of experience with the bike, having raced it in the TTXGP and claiming 2nd place overall in the North American 2011 season. He will be supported by team principal Brian Richardson and a group of students from James Madison University who will bring along a portable generator. The general strategy is to ride for two hours, then charge for one, being careful not to tax the batteries.

The bike itself is one sweet piece of work. Built around the famous Norton featherbed design, it is powered by an air-cooled AC motor and holds a battery pack which, while somewhat old, still holds an amazing 19 or 20 kilowatt-hours of energy (most comercially-available electric motorcycles offer about half that capacity, it's more than the 16.5-kWh in the Chevy Volt). While copies are not yet officially offered for sale, the team hinted in an email that it may be a possibility in the future

You can follow the effort on the Moto Electra Facebook page where it will post plenty of photos and keep fans abreast of its progress. You can read the official press release by simply scrolling below. Godspeed.

Three-year-old peer-to-peer car rental service Relay Rides has run into a rough ride in New York, accused by the state's Financial Services Department of "repeated false advertising and violations of insurance law."

The two sides present different takes on what's happened – a state official makes it sound like Relay Rides willfully misled consumers when it told them "that they would not be liable for out-of-pocket expenses in the event that their car was stolen or involved in an accident," because the company's insurance isn't approved by New York. Relay Rides, which operates nationwide, has said that it works to make sure it abides by state laws but learned from the Financial Services Department that there was "noncompliance with certain unique aspects of New York insurance law."

While the quarrel is sorted out, Relay Rides has said it will discontinue the service in New York but that any existing reservations will be honored.

Before you head to the pharmacy to refill your Lipitor prescription, check this out. The American Heart Association's journal on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology has concluded that high levels of vehicle emissions can cause high cholesterol in mice, which could indicate that air pollution is a contributing factor in high cholesterol or vascular disease.

In the study, mice were exposed to diesel exhaust for two weeks "at a particulate mass concentration within the range of what mine workers usually are exposed to" (according to UCLA), which, not surprisingly, had a negative effect on the bloodstream. First, the air pollution altered the HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein, a.k.a. "good cholesterol") to the point that the positive properties of the protein were reduced and could lead to high levels of LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein, "bad cholesterol") and hardening of the arteries. While this seems like a study related to extreme pollution, it draws yet another linkage between our environments and our health.

Chinese company Wanxiang was in the news earlier this year, as it moved to acquire bankrupt automotive battery company A123. Turns out, while that was taking place in the public eye, Wanxiang was also working with VL Automotive – of Bob Lutz and Destino fame – to try and buy out Fisker Automotive.

According to unnamed sources speaking to Reuters, VL and Wanxiang made Fisker an offer earlier in May to buy the troubled plug-in hybrid automaker through a "prepackaged bankruptcy deal." The talks are apparently ongoing and could well fall through, but it certainly makes sense for both Wanxiang and VL to want Fisker to survive in some manner. A123 supplied the Karma's battery cells and VL needs Karma bodies if it's going to build more than a small number of V8-powered Destinos.

At the end of April, Lutz wrote an article about Fisker's DOE Loan in which he called the Karma, "quite possibly the most beautiful four-door sedan ever." In that article, he also wrote, "The green craze is, frankly, ebbing, and interest in conventional cars remains strong." He's also called his gasoline-powered Destino the Karma that people will actually want to buy.

Reuters also notes there is another deal in the works from European and Hong Kong investors that would buy Fisker's $171-million debt that it owes the US DOE.

With company cousin Hyundai busy working on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, Kia has said it will bring a battery-powered EV to market some time in 2014. We've seen the Ray EV (above), but that was a limited-run production vehicle destined for fleets in Korea. The follow-up is the electrified Soul, and if you're looking for some completely unverified rumors about what the Soul EV will be packing under the hood, Kia World has got you covered.

Kia World says the "mass produced" Soul EV is due in the first half of 2014 for around $35,000 and will be "the very-first electic vehicle to be sold in the global market, including the US, Europe and China." Nissan might take offense at that, but technically, the Leaf will be reworked as the Fengshen E30. As for performance, the Soul EV is supposed to have a range of about 120 miles and a top speed of 87 miles per hours. The 0-60 time will be nothing that impresses ("under 12 seconds" is the rumor) but at least it beats the Ray's time by four seconds.

We've asked Kia for confirmation or denial on these figures, and will let you know if we hear anything substantial.

For lovers of electric bike racing, director Mark Neale's documentary about the first-ever electric motorcycle competition that started on the Isle of Man TT course June 12, 2009, Charge, is now in theaters. The updated film chronicles racing teams preparing for the 2009 race, and their return in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

The film was released for theater showings in 15 US markets on May 20. It's part of Cinedigms's new DOCUDRAMA film screening events. We've got the trailer, and a list of cities where the movie will be screened below. Charge is narrated by British film star and motorcycle enthusiast Ewan McGregor.

The trailer shows one of the longtime TT race fan who was deeply offended by the classic racetrack being switched over from the roaring motorbikes to quiet, hissing e-bikes. "This is the TT," he says in the video. "It's recognized throughout the world. They come to see our event race our motorbikes – not piss about on battery-powered scrap."

For fans of electric bike racing, it's a different story. A year after the start of e-bike racing in 2009, the 2010 TT Zero saw a huge leap in performance. "Proof that racing really does improve the breed and that maniacs on motorcycles can be a force for global good," according to the press release.

You can make a coherent, logical argument for cars that don't burn gasoline without once mentioning global petroleum supply. You can talk about international relations and the power of gasoline exporters (just read the first three paragraphs of this for a bit of history). You can talk about climate change. You can talk about the health effects of CO2 in the air. But the fact remains that gasoline (or diesel) remains the go-to fuel for almost every passenger vehicle on the planet, so the question of how much black gold is out there is an important one. The answer, though is not so clear.

Despite some claims that peak out has already happened, a new study (PDF) by the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that increased energy production in North America means that, between now and 2018, global oil production capacity will increase by 8.4 million barrels a day. Since this is "significantly faster than demand," Time says peak oil is dead, with perilous consequences. As the chart above shows, the IEA's predictions are that OPEC will have spare capacity for years to come.

On top of North American production, crazy new energy sources are being investigated (like methane hydrate, or crystalline natural gas. See video below). These require incredibly expensive research and exploration efforts, but the end result could be, as The Atlantic so provocatively puts it, "infinite fossil fuel?" The magazine has a detailed debate on the subject between Charles Mann and Amory Lovins here, here and here. Well worth reading.

The Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid has had a charmed life so far. Qualifying for California HOV lane status and getting impressive range and miles per gallon equivalent numbers are all bound to help its market image. Now, the 2013 Ford Fusion Energi has earned a five-star Overall Vehicle Score, the highest possible, from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

NHTSA tests measured vehicle performance and safety in frontal and side-impact crash test, along with resistance to rollovers. The plug-in hybrid follows the Ford Fusion and Fusion Hybrid, which already received five-star safety ratings. Ford highlighted another safety perk in its press release (see below) – the Personal Safety System with safety belt technologies and advanced front impact airbags.

So far, the Ford Fusion Hybrid has sold ten times more units than the Fusion Energi. The April sales total for the Fusion Hybrid was 3,625 units sold versus 364 for the Fusion Energi. But it's still very early in the game, and the Fusion Hybrid has a potentially huge problem to deal with that could hurt sales.

Despite the company's recent string of successes, there's still a lot of skepticism about Tesla out there. Some of the negativity focuses on the lack of recharging infrastructure, some on the company's expensive cars and how it'll be difficult to make a mass-market car. And when it comes to the company's stock price – TSLA is currently at around $90 – the predictions are all over the map. Some say it's still worth shorting (that is, predicting it will drop). Some say it could reach $200 before too long; others warn it will fall to somewhere in the $20-$40 range.

"There is a fundamental view of a scenario where Tesla becomes the next GM or Ford."

Still, the big news – that is, something that's actually happened, not just bloviations about the future – is that Tesla raised more than a billion dollars in cash last week by increasing the amount of debt and equity it was offering. Instead of selling a total 2.7 million common shares, CEO Elon Musk put up 3.39 million, and bought $100 million himself. This showed confidence, which was admittedly already there, and Tesla raised far more than the $830 million originally expected. The money will be used, in part, to pay back the US government for the $465-million Department of Energy loan.

The good news prompted an unnamed banker to tell IFR what it looks like on the other side of the skepticism spectrum: "[CEO Elon] Musk has a vision of creating a $50 billion-plus company in five years," adding, "There is a fundamental view of a scenario where Tesla becomes the next GM or Ford."

*UPDATE: Musk just Tweeted that Tesla will likely pay back the DOE loan Wednesday.