Plug-ins, the Electric Grid and You, Part II

Yesterday, we shared two divergent opinions from electric utility execs about how prepared the infrastructure may be for the proliferation of plug-in cars. Now we'll reveal how different car types and buyer expectations may dictate what owners and utilities will encounter.

Peter Darbee, who heads Pacific Gas and Electric Corp., based his worst-case prognostications on the assumption that consumers will demand 240- versus 120-volt charging. If what we’ve seen so far is an indication, the assumption is a sound one for battery-electric cars, but not necessarily for plug-in hybrids.

The issue is charging speed. Higher voltage and current — measured in amperes, or amps — make for faster charging. Logically, if you want to fill a larger battery, you need more juice or more time. Battery-electric vehicles rely on large battery packs to provide a viable range. The best examples today are the Tesla Roadster and the electrified Mini Cooper, the latter of which has been leased to 450 individuals in California, New York and New Jersey for a yearlong Mini E Field Trial. The first Mini E recipient, Peter Trepp of Pacific Palisades, California, is shown above.

Both of these plug-ins have lithium-ion batteries and require 240 volts, known as Level 2 charging. Mini and Tesla allow for 120-volt Level 1 charging, but the rate is, uh, problematic: At 120 volts, recharging a depleted Mini E battery to its full 100-120 miles of range takes 26.5 hours. The Tesla Roadster needs 30-plus hours for its claimed 244 miles of range when charged at 120 volts.

Personalized Ferrari a Mere $4 Million

Most people are probably familiar with the trend of customizing cars. Some people put on new wheels, upgrade the engine or get a flashy paint job. Well-to-do New Yorker and former movie director James Glickenhaus, though, took customizing to the extreme. He had Ferrari's design group — Pininfarina — tailor a bright red sports car just for him. The price tag: $4 million.

Pininfarina used computer scans of Glickenhaus' body to get the driver's seat just right. No need for a power adjustable seat in this car. It fits like a glove every time. The Ferrari is called a Ferrari 612 P4/5 and is based on the Ferrari Enzo supercar, which makes 650 hp and hits 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. Glickenhaus fully intends to drive his custom car when it returns to New York from the Paris auto show circuit. 

[$4M Buys New York Man a Ferrari Built for Him, USA Today]

Paris Motor Show: What You Won't See Crossing the Pond

The reason we’re not in Paris right now is because a majority of the cars on display will never be seen on U.S. streets. Sure, some from Audi and Volkswagen are coming over, but there are a number of vehicles with familiar nameplates designed just for Europe. Here are a number of production-ready vehicles that were displayed in Paris that we’d like to see make it here but probably never will, like the Honda Civic Type-R.

Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG Debuts at Paris Motor Show

A few weeks back, Mercedes-Benz announced a high-performance variant of its still-unreleased, all-new CL coupe, the CL63 AMG. At the Paris Motor Show, the company unveiled the S63 AMG, which has specs almost identical to the coupe. The main highlight is the 525-hp, 6.3-liter V-8. That’s a huge improvement over the base S550’s 382-hp V-8 and narrowly edges the more expensive S600’s 510-hp V-12. Don’t worry, an even more powerful AMG will be added down the line to boost the V-12’s numbers. The S63 should arrive in the U.S. in 2007. 

Paris Motor Show: Those Crazy Concepts

Even though the Paris Motor Show isn’t as significant as the upcoming American auto shows, the past two days have seen some outlandish concepts, like the Peugeot 908 RC shown above. Many of the companies showing off these concepts don’t even sell cars in the U.S., but since these are mostly flights of fancy with no plans for production, why not take a look anyway?

The 2007 Hyundai Tiburon's Face-lift

A few weeks ago, we got an early look at the new 2007 Hyundai Tiburon and showed you how the exterior had changed slightly from the 2006 model. Now we have a handful of new photos of the sports coupe to show you. There’s still not much in the way of information on the car itself, other than it will carry over most of the same mechanics and trim levels from 2006, with minor updates. It’s not a mind-blowing debut, but unlike a lot of others in Paris, it will be on sale here in the U.S.

An Audi S3 in Paris

Another cool car we won’t see make the jump from Europe to the U.S. is the new Audi S3. The S line of vehicles is well known for performance, and Audi has brought many to market in the U.S., including S versions of all its sedans and convertibles. But one vehicle we don’t have here at all is the two-door hatch version of the A3, and that’s the basis for this all-new S model.

You can buy a four-door A3 at your local Audi dealership right now, and perhaps Audi will make an S version of that model. Until then, be jealous of the 265-hp turbo S3 with those two doors that just debuted in Paris. It can get to 62 mph in 5.7 seconds, has 258 pounds-feet of torque and sports all the spiffy S line body panels and interior trim. Sorry we keep teasing you in this way with cars you won’t have a chance to buy, but there is a shot at that four-door S3 … at least, we hope so.

Ford Iosis X Concept Updates the SUV for Europe

Fords you'll find in Europe aren’t the same as those in the U.S. Designs over there aim at different customers, and many European Fords are more upscale than those here — and they cost more, too. The same could be said for the concepts Ford is showing off in Paris, like this stunning iosis X. Ford’s European design team has been heading in the direction of this crossover for the past few years, and the first iosis concept — a sedan — has already had its design utilized in new production offerings over there.

European shoppers will probably see a production version of the iosis X in the near future, as Ford tries to explain the need for crossovers in a wagon — and hatchback — ruled market. That makes us a little sad here in the Cars.com office. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with the new Ford Edge, but this concept is stunning.

All-New Volvo C30 Hatch Coming to U.S.

It’s no surprise that the Volvo C30 two-door hatchback is coming to the U.S. as a 2008 model. Volvo unveiled the C30 concept last year at the Detroit auto show and today introduced the production version at the Paris Auto Show and made future stateside sales official. Based on the S40 sedan, the C30 looks to compete with the Volkswagen GTI in the European compact sport race. While that may be a hot segment across the pond — Volvo expects to sell 75% of the 65,000 C30s produced annually in Europe — U.S. buyers have been choosing from just the GTI and the Mini Cooper. We’re not sure if there’s room for a Volvo, but at least the company is delivering a good-looking offering.

Expect prices to be in the low to mid $20,000 range when the C30 arrives here sometime next year. There will be just one engine, a 218-hp turbo inline five-cylinder also used in the S40 T5. Volvo hopes the C30 will attract younger buyers otherwise unimpressed by the company’s “safety first” image. Keep reading for more pictures.

Related:
First Look at Volvo's C30 Sport Hatch

More on the Audi R8

We don’t have much more information from Paris other than what we reported yesterday. But we do have more photos including interior shots. Click below for the rest and enjoy.