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SAE approves new fast-charging standard for EVs, plug-ins

SAE International said it has approved a new technical standard that will dramatically reduce charging times for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. The global engineering group said the new charging standard, developed with the cooperation of more than 190 automakers, utilities and equipment builders, will allow charging times to be reduced from as long as eight hours to as short as 20 minutes. Automakers want DC direct charging to take less than 10 minutes, or roughly the time it takes to fill a tank with gasoline.The goal is to accommodate currents as high as 500 volts distributed from public charging stations.

Audi plays paintball with RS4 Avants

The latest generation of cars from Ingolstadt has finally mitigated the nose-heavy feeling we didn't enjoy in previous automobiles from the company. Now they've mitigated the lack of paintball guns, adding them to a pair of RS4 Avants -- done up in Spy-vs.-Spy black and white, natch -- and setting them loose in a hangar, framing the whole shebang with a smidge of Super Nintendo-vintage video-gaminess. Still no dice on getting one in the states, though.

U.S. seeks 5 percent annual fuel-economy gains through 2016

The Obama administration today proposed gasoline mileage and greenhouse-gas pollution standards for new vehicles for model years 2012 to 2015, filling in the blanks for manufacturers en route to a 35.5 mpg national target in 2016. The Transportation Department and EPA proposal calls for fuel economy to increase by about 5 percent each year, starting from an average of 27.3 mpg for the 2011 model year, the agencies said in a statement. The average car buyer would save more than $3,000 in fuel costs over the life of a vehicle, the statement said.