Five for Friday: Five Thoughts About the Auto Industry for January 27, 2012

Chevrolet will be the first brand in the General Motors portfolio to gain new labeling designed to inform potential buyers as to the green quotient of individual vehicles. The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic will be the initial recipient of the 'Ecologic' labels, which will discuss not just how fuel efficient an automobile is but also go deeper into the nuts and bolts of how that automobile makes use of recycled materials and how it will be reprocessed at the end of its lifespan. The idea behind the Ecologic program is to expand how new car shoppers perceive the environmental impact of an automobile past a viewpoint that is focused almost exclusively on tailpipe emissions and fuel consumption.

BMW's new i range of electric vehicles, which thus far consists of the tiny BMW i3 city car and the exotic BMW i8 supercar is set to gain a much more pedestrian family member. Autobild has spilled the beans that the upcoming BMW i5 might take the form of a minivan. Yes, that's right - a BMW minivan. Although these small people movers are dubbed 'multi-passenger vehicles' in Europe (or MPVs), there's no hiding the fact that the mid-size BMW i5 will be a van in all but name, putting an exclamation point on the formerly sport-oriented brand's transition to a much more practical lineup aimed at filling all possible niches. The BMW i5 will resemble in large part its i3 stable mate, with a taller roofline, more interior space and a similar all-electric drivetrain.

General Motors has partnered with a company called PJM Interconnection in order to create a program wherein Chevrolet Volt owners can schedule their battery recharging so that it makes exclusive use of renewable energy sources. The concept takes data forecasts that track what percentage of a power grid's electricity production is derived from renewable sources and then makes use of the OnStar telematics system to communicate dates and times that this energy will be available to Volt owners so that they can plug in and take advantage of 'cleaner' charging.

The technology, which also promises to help Volt owners spend less money on charging by connecting them with special dynamic pricing from utilities, is currently being tested on a fleet of Chevrolet Volts operated by internet giant Google.

Distracted driving continues to draw significant attention from the media, parents and legislators intent on protecting the safety of those traveling America's roadways. A new device called cellCONTROL by Scosche is now available to help silence cell phones and other mobile devices while an automobile is underway. According to The Detroit Bureau, Scosche's cellCONTROL works by plugging directly into a vehicle's OBD-II port and then connecting to an app that is downloaded to the devices that need to be disabled. With the automobile in motion cellCONTROL can be configured to block text messages, emails and phone calls, unless these are accessed via a hands-free system.

Although cellCONTROL seems like a potentially useful tool for parents concerned that their teenage drivers are not being as safe as they could be when behind the wheel, the requirement that an app be installed on each blocked device seems like a fatal flaw when taking into account young, tech-savvy motorists.

The BMW ActiveE pure-electric edition of the 1 Series entry-level luxury sedan is nearing deployment in seven test markets split between both the east and west coasts of the United States. BMW is hoping to find 700 'Electronauts,' or drivers for the North American arm of its three-continent ActiveE launch program. The cost to participate is $499 per month to lease the electric 1 Series, as well as a $2,250 down payment. Applications to become part of the Electronaut experience can be filled out online at the BMWUSA.com website, and there is a requirement that each participant's home be able to handle the installation of the charging equipment necessary to operate the automobile.

The BMW ActiveE will most likely never be offered for direct sale to the public, as the vehicle is intended to serve as a bridge between the German automaker's current electric car program and its upcoming i lineup of battery-powered vehicles.