Powering Chicago

Powering Chicago

Episode 4134 , Episode 4148
Auto Value and Bumper to BumperTire Rack "The Way Tire Buying Should Be"

The demand for electric vehicle infrastructure is growing nationwide. But meeting that demand will require more than just equipment to deploy and funding to install it. We’ll need qualified contractors and electricians to do the actual work. 

We met up with an organization that is powering Chicago’s EV charging future and setting an example for cities across the country.

Illinois is going all-in on promoting electric vehicles, with a goal to increase EV registrations from 37,000 currently, to over a million electric vehicles on the road in Illinois by 2030. To help achieve this goal, the state is providing a $4,000 rebate for select EV’s on top of existing federal incentives, along with a rebate of up to 80% for the cost of installing a charging station. Federal funding is expected to add 500,000 new chargers nationwide over the next few years.

In addition, a 2020 Chicago city ordinance requires all new residential buildings with five or more units, and commercial properties with 30 or more parking spaces, to have 20 percent of onsite parking be electric vehicle ready.

With thousands of charging outlets to be installed over the next decade, where now you typically see clusters of two to four chargers in a store parking lot, there might be dozens of units lined up in the not-so-distant future. That creates a daunting task for electrical contractors, who will need  a larger skilled workforce to install them all. 

Powering Chicago is the entity that bridges the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134, with the Electrical Contractors Association, through classroom and on-the-job training and community outreach.

ELBERT WALTERS III: The contractors serve as management, so they do the hiring of electricians and managing electricians on the jobsites. The relationship is that powering Chicago and the IBEW Local 134, the labor portion, actually provides the manpower-- the qualified workforce.

JOHN DAVIS: The IBEW/NECA Technical Institute, in the Chicago suburb of Alsip, is already one of the most forward-thinking and well-regarded electrical training centers in the country, with a history going back more than 100 years. And there is no shortage of applicants testing for admission to the union’s 5-year paid apprenticeship training program.

GENE KENT: Our current enrollment of apprentices in the entire apprenticeship is about 1300. Right now, in school, we have about 200 apprentices every quarter, come through for their quarterly education.

JOHN DAVIS: In 2015, In-Tech debuted this renewable energy training field: a fully-functional microgrid with a wind turbine, solar arrays, a bi-directional 100-kilowatt power inverter and a battery energy storage system. These are active training aids for the students that also harness and use renewable energy within the school building.

GENE KENT: What we like to do is make sure that our apprentices are taught foundational knowledge. And then we build knowledge of the industry throughout their entire apprenticeship, so that when those new cutting-edge things come into play, they only have to learn the very end-user component.

JOHN DAVIS: Reaching beyond the in-tech campus, this demonstration trailer travels to area schools and events, serving as a mobile classroom and EV ambassador. At the recent Chicago Auto Show, thousands of show visitors stepped up to ask the experts about adding EV charging equipment to their own homes or businesses. 

Powering Chicago has also produced this downloadable e-book, full of information on how to plan, install and maintain electric vehicle service equipment. Car dealerships are among the many types of businesses expanding their EV charger inventories, anticipating the influx of new electrified models soon to be hitting their showrooms and service areas.

GINA DOLLEY: The typical layout is that there’s several in service, three to four, in service. Um, one in the back for delivery of the vehicles, and then eventually you’re going to see them coming out front for customer-facing, customer use.

I only see it growing from this point on. Right now, it’s-- I’m doing one to two a month. I think it’s going to be more. I have a feeling that we’re going to open up an EV division, and I just have guys dedicated to the installation for these units.

JOHN DAVIS: The winds of change are a’ coming, and forward thinking, like that shown here in the Windy City, is what it will take to keep us all charged up for the road ahead.

 

1994 Audi RS2 3/4 Front

1994 Audi RS2

One Truly Amazing Avant

by Roger Mecca
Episode 4328
Auto Value and Bumper to BumperTire Rack "The Way Tire Buying Should Be"

For years, America’s Audi fans could only dream of owning one of the sporty station wagons only available to the Quattro faithful across the Atlantic. Finally, in 2021, Audi brought the 591-horsepower RS6 to our shores, and this year, they’re sending an even faster version. But as our Roger Mecca is going to show us, Audi’s history of lightning-quick wagons under the RS name are what US car fans have been lusting for, for more than 20 years.

ROGER MECCA: In the early ‘90s, Audi was living in the shadow of its German peers Mercedes and BMW, and considered an alternative, quirky option like Saab or Volvo- not the premier luxury brand they are today.

Audi was eager to be taken as seriously as its Bavarian brethren and needed a big splash with a halo car that could not be ignored.

The result was the RS2, the first Audi to ever carry the RS badge and the world’s first truly fast station wagon. And it helped Audi succeed in getting the attention of serious car fans. But they didn’t do it alone. They had help from another very iconic German brand.

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In the early ‘90s, Porsche was in deep financial trouble, but still carried respect as a premier performance brand. Though Audi knew plenty about making fantastic racecars, with their storied rally racing history, they didn’t have the cache or recognition as a company that made sports cars.

So, when Audi approached them with a proposal to collaborate, Porsche was happy to take the engineering fee. Using the existing Audi 80 wagon as the base, the RS2 was developed over 18 months, and roughly 2900 of them rolled off the line at Porsche’s Stuttgart factory from 1994 to 1995. The very same line where another legendary four-wheel drive turbocharged car was produced, the Porsche 959.

So, just how much Porsche is there in the RS2? A lot.

Starting in the front, you got the badge that says Porsche, the front fog lights are from a 911; the sideview mirrors are from a 911; these wheels are from a later 911, but they rolled off the factory with a 968 club sport wheels. I think the rear taillight bar looks a lot like a 911 from the time. The suspensions tuned by Porsche, the brakes are from Porsche, the calipers say Porsche, and then we haven’t even gotten to what Porsche did under the hood.

The engine started out as Audi’s stalwart, if odd, 2.2-liter turbocharged five-cylinder. But then Porsche added a bigger turbo, a larger intercooler, a new ECU and a new camshaft. Porsche also added a six-speed manual gearbox, the only shifting option available for RS2 buyers. As you might expect, the results of Porsche’s tinkering were remarkable.

The engine puts out 315 horsepower and goes to 60 in 4.8 seconds. Now, that does not seem super fast today, I know, but back in 1994 that was faster than Ferrari’s flagship V12 coupe, the 456. In fact, Audi would not make another car that was faster to 60 for 10 years.

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Unfortunately, that power isn’t nearly as immediate or available as Ferrari’s grand tourer, and the addition of the RS2’s bigger turbo came at a price that was all too familiar in the 90s- turbo lag. To get everything out of this car, and the engine, you need to keep the exhaust pressure up and the turbo spinning. Let them wind down and the performance goes with it, along with the excitement- until the RPMs climb back into the fun zone.

But once it hits, oof, it is intense! You go from no drama at all to being thrust into the back of your seat like you’re on a rocket.”

In terms of how it rides, it feels wonderfully civilized and firmly planted at speed. Though the RS2 has a reputation for not being a great car in the twisty stuff, I found it to be a ton of fun to power into a corner, have it confidently hold its line, and shoot out the other side. Porsche’s work on the suspension is evident and there’s great steering feel and feedback. Plus, you get all of this excitement in a car with terrific visibility, comfort and practicality.

The RS2 was the best of both worlds. You could pack the whole family up for a wonderful vacation, but you could go 100 miles-an-hour down the Autobahn to get there.

Since the RS2, Audi has introduced a plethora of cars, wagons and SUVs with the RS name, all of which could easily leave the RS2 in a cloud of dust and smoke. But none of them made as much of an impression as this unassuming station wagon, the car that helped Audi grab the world’s attention.