Tesla has left that nasty New York Times review so far in the rear-view mirror that it barely registers anymore. Riding enthusiasm generated by a far more important all-important evaluation of its Model S by Consumer Reports—which gave the brand its highest score ever—the EV maker now sees its stock rising and its prospects growing.

On the heels of a rosy first-quarter earnings report last week, Tesla's shares have continued surging, closing Monday at $87.80 a share, up 57 percent from $55.79 a share on Thursday before the report. "How far can Tesla go?" said Theodore O'Neill, founder of Connecticut-based Litchfield Hills Research, according to USA Today. "As far as they want to go."Continue reading...

The smog was so bad in Hong Kong last month that “people with heart or respiratory illnesses (were) advised to reduce physical and outdoor activities,” according to Radio Television Hong Kong. 

Daimler AG is looking to help ease matters by bringing a trial version of its Smart electric car (which won't be produced until next year) to the city, according to Bloomberg. The German car manufacturer has partnered with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong, and four other HK-based organizations to provide two-seater Smart cars in a trial that will last six to 12 months, as part of a bigger four-year trial for the EV.

There are currently 300 charging stations for the 170 electric vehicles in Hong Kong, but the plan is to increase the number of stations to 1,000 in the next year. Nissan and Mitsubishi are also pushing “to introduce electric vehicles in Hong Kong,” Bloomberg reports, “where pollution reached ‘very high’ levels on a record one in four days in 2010.”Continue reading...

Breaking: There is a new Microsoft Excel champion, British teen Rebecca Rickwood. And yes, there is a Microsoft Excel "championship."

TV product placement-spotting: Betty White hypes Skype for iPad in TVLand's Hot in Cleveland; while over on NBC, Chuck product places Bing in... Chuck.Continue reading...

The BMW Guggenheim Lab, which opens tomorrow in New York, gives new meaning to pop-up art.

Reclaiming a rat- and rubble-infested 2,000 square foot East Village lot between Houston and East First Street, the Lab is a social experiment in urban living — through October 16th, when the pop-up co-branded installation takes off on a six-year world tour to inspire eight other cities.Continue reading...

Not only is BMW demonstrating a new combativeness about competing for share in the recovering U.S. luxury-car market – it's now reviewing its American advertising agencies – but the German automaker also is looking for ways to extend the BMW brand as a kind of shorthand for all types of “automobility” worldwide.

Most of the latter is being done under the banner of “BMWi,” which the company launched earlier this year as a channel for a series of hybrid and electric vehicles that BMW has in the pipeline.Continue reading...

BMW today took the wraps off BMW i, its sub-brand for a new line of electric cars launching in 2013.

In an event streamed live from Munich and also promoted with a new Facebook page, the German automaker unveiled a tagline ("Born Electric") and the slanted “i” logo that will be the official mark of it electric vehicle arm, with designs for two of its planned models highlighted today.

The i3 is a four-seat, battery powered city car, while the i8 is a plug-in hybrid sports car that the company promises "will be able to reach 60 miles an hour, or nearly 100 kilometers an hour, in five seconds, while burning no more fuel than a subcompact."

"BMW i represents a new movement in premium mobility," stated Ian Robertson, the BMW executive board member responsible for sales and marketing.

"The products and services have been conceived around a revolutionary approach: purpose designed and purpose built for sustainable, premium mobility. It’s a new day in our industry; a new era for individual mobility. This is BMW i—Born Electric.”Continue reading...