GM Claims The Volt Is Safe but Offers Free Of Charge Cars To Volt Owners

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GM tries to reduce the level of anxiety among Volt owners following last week's battery fire revelations. 

In light of the recent anxieties over potential fires in the Chevy Volt's battery, GM wants to reassure owners by offering a free replacement of their current Volt if they feel uncomfortable with it in any way. The offer comes after the investigation begun last week by the NHTSA into possible post-crash electrical fires. Mark Reuss, GM North America President and Mary Barra, Sr. VP of Product Development offered their explanation of the events in apress conference and both of them insisted that the car is safe.
None of the fires happened while drive or after an accident, but only during and after crash testing the cars and their batteries packs in a controlled situation.Mary Barra explained that the first Volt that caught fire last June, some three weeks after it was used in a crash test, was due to "significant electrical charge or energy, was left in the battery after the test. When electrical energy is left in a battery after a severe crash it can be similar to leaving gasoline in a leaking fuel tank after severe damage," she explained. "It's important to drain the energy from the battery after a crash that compromises the battery's integrity - or you risk potential fire."

Following those events, GM developed a process to depower batteries following an accident and these new procedures will be distributed to dealerships and mechanics who handle or store vehicles after severe crashes.Barra further said that a post-crash Volt initially shouldn't be at risk, but the potential for an electrical fire from this condition would likely not exist until days after the crash took place."We will take every precaution to assure our customers and the public of our total commitment to safety of anyone who drives the Volt," said Barra.Barra also correctly pointed out that battery safety doesn't only conern the Volt alone, as there are many other popular vehicles that utilize lithium-ion batteries, so there will be extensive research within the entire industry to better understand and solve this issue. "Engineers and other automotive companies will address new issues such as a process and protocol for depowering batteries," she said.

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2012 F30 BMW 3-Series Sport, Modern and Luxury Lines Detailed [Video]

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Just like the all-new 1-Series, the 2012 F30 BMW 3-Series was launched with three extra trim choices, or customized lines as they call them - Sport, Modern or Luxury. The automaker’s US division has launched a video detailing how each of these was created any how they will enhance appeal of the premium saloon that’s so crucial for their bottom line.

The Sport Line comes with a number of high-gloss black to accentuate the dynamic appearance of the BMW 3 Series Sedan. Double-spoke design 18-inch light-alloy wheels also give sport character. It also comes as standard with black painted exterior mirrors and the standard high-gloss black B-pillar and window trim.
Meanwhile, the Luxury Line is all about the chrome elements and brings more elegant and exclusive appeal. Special 18-inch light-alloy wheels in multi-spoke design are also fitted.
As for the Modern Line, this gets satin aluminum finished bits to accentuate the contemporary look. 18-inch turbine-style light-alloy wheels and an Oyster or black interior are just some of the features.

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First Toyota GT 86 Videos Released: Driving Footage, FT-86 Evolves

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Toyota Europe has decided to enhance the appeal of the recently revealed production version of the FT-86 sports coupe, which has been renamed as the GT 86. We have a couple of short and sweet videos to bring to your attention, one covering the evolution that took place from the FT-86 concepts and the other how the new 2+2 looks going down the road.

The new “GT 86” name is derived from the legendary Corolla GT from 1986. Cue AWD Subarus and the mighty RX7 on the winding roads of Mount Fuji... or something like that.
ust like the old Corolla GT, the GT 86 should play the underdog really well in the real world, because it’s only got 200 horsepower coming from it’s 2.0-liter engine that’s fitted with Toyota’s advanced injection technologies. That only as much as a Clio RS, but the GT manages to sprint to 100 km/h in just 6 seconds, thanks in part to its low weight and focused chassis.
The power is sent to the back via a six-speed manual or the optional six-speed auto that use paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. The budged sportscar also comes with a limited slip differential as standard and its center of gravity is impressively low at just 475mm (18.7-inches).

autoevolution will be attending the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show, so stay tuned for some real up close and personal shots of the vehicles, as well as for first-hand details of the motorized contraptions presented at the event.

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The First Photos of the Voice-Commanded VW eT! Van in Action

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Former Ferrari Designer To Lead Lancia-Chrysler Integration

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Lorenzo Ramaciotti to lead design team that will establish a common design language for the two brand

What is the common denominator between Fiat Group and Chrysler LLC? So far it was only Sergio Marchionne, the architect of Fiat's takeover ofChrysler and who also serves as the CEO of both companies.There are also a few Lancia models based on Chrysler cars and Chrysler cars based on Lancia's. However Marchionne is not satisfied with that level of integration, that is only badge engineering.

Now he aims to create stronger links and more substantial integration between the two nameplates in order save costs and double sales.In order to achieve his goal he chose Lorenzo Ramaciotti, Fiat Group's chief of design since 2007 is to lead a design team that will develop cars for the two brands."We are trying to find an international language, which could have a place both here in Italy and in the U.S.," said Ramaciotti to Bloomberg.com. "If you put all the models into the showroom, they must fit together. It's a delicate problem."
Before joining Fiat, Ramaciotti had worked for Pininfarina, the Italian coachbuilder, for 32 years. He was involved in the design of Ferrari cars, among them the 612 Scaglietti. He headed Pinifarina Design for almost 20 years and under his watch the company created some 20 concept cars for various customers.However his latest mission, to combine the two worlds, that of European car design with that American car design is going to be his toughest task, as Marchionne's ambition is to sell 800,000 Lancia-Chryslercars by 2014, more than double the current sales volume.

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Range_e Concept wins the 2011 British Automotive Innovation of the Year

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Range_e Concept wins the 2011 British Automotive Innovation of the Year 

Land Rover's Range_e, a plug-in hybrid diesel-electric powertrain concept, has been crowned as the Automotive Innovation for 2011 by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders in the UK (SMMT). The concept was first shown at the Geneva Auto Show last March.It is powered by a plug-in hybrid system with an overall CO2 output of 89 g/km and 85mpg. The hybrid system made up of a 3.0-liter 245hp TDV6 diesel combined with a 93hp electric motor powered by a 14.2 kWh lithium-ion battery.

The Range_e can be driven more than 20 miles on its electric power alone and its maximum range is 690 miles.The diesel hybrid drivetrain engages seamlessly as the system's combined 339hp delivers a top speed of around 120mph. Battery recharging can be accomplished simply and efficiently by connecting the system to an external 240V power source.The Range_e is engineered with the same full-time 4WD capability as the standard Range Rover Sport, with high and low range in the transmission, front and rear differentials and a mechanical locking center differential. Dependent on the driver's demand, the car's system decides the most efficient method to deliver the power required, whether this is by electric, diesel or both.The Range_e also features regenerative braking to capture energy usually wasted in heat energy via the brakes. This energy can then be redeployed to drive the vehicle, further reducing fossil fuel consumption.

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Toyota Fun-Vii Concept Coming to Tokyo

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Toyota today announced that it will use the upcoming Tokyo Auto Show to give us the Fun-Vii concept, a development that can be described in one word: interactivity.

The exterior of the car can be used as a display space, so the driver can change the color and the message(s) shown on the vehicle, while the interior offers a similar feature, aiming to match the mood of the passengers and also uses augmented reality to introduce navigation information to the occupants
The Fun-Vii has the following dimensions: Length 4,020 mm; Width 1,745 mm; Height 1,415 mm and Wheelbase 2,750 mm and can seat three. Toyota brags that the vehicle can also communicate with surrounding cars and infrastructure.

autoevolution will be attending the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show, so stay tuned for some real up close and personal shots of the vehicles, as well as for first-hand details of the motorized contraptions presented at the event.

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Formula 1 Became More Exhilarating in the 2011 Season

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Due to changes in technical regulations this season, there were more many overtakes than ever before. 

Over the last few years, overtakings on the race track became the main worry for Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula 1 racing series boss. As his show gained popularity around the world it also attracted criticism for the lack of overtakings, and the subsequent bore that millions of viewers had to suffer.As a result, a few technical working groups were established in order to find a solution to that problem. And fortunately, it now appears that a solution has been found.

At the beginning of the current season that will come to a close on Sunday at the Brazilian Grand Prix, a new tire supplier, Pirelli,has been drafted to replace previous supplier Bridgestone. Before Pirelli started developing the new tires, Ecclestone gave them a short brief: make the tires last for the least amount of time as possible and make it so drivers will have to change tires at least two or three times in a race.Pirelli took notice and produced soft tires even on the hard compound (two tire compounds are mandatory for each race meeting) and the result was that we saw many more overtaking maneuvers in the first 18 races of the 2011 season.

Not only are the less durable being tires credited for this phenomenon, but also are the DRS mechanism and KERS system.DRS is a mechanism that allows a chasing car open up the rear wing on certain sections of the track in order to reduce drag and increase its speed and to complete the overtaking maneuver before the designated straight's end.And there was also the KERS system, which accumulates electricity during braking and can feed it back to an electric motor for a few seconds every lap and supplement the engine's output with an additional 80hp. 

As a result of all these combined measures, overtaking became a common occurrence during the races. From the data summary, it's been found that there have been 1,436 overtaking maneuvers in all categories.When excluding overtakes categorized as 'Lap One' or because of damage, there have been a total of 1,180 maneuvers.The combined total of 'Normal' and 'DRS-assisted' moves - the indicator of what most observers consider to be 'clean' overtaking - is 804 overtakes. This gives an average of 45 normal and DRS overtakes per race. There have been 441 normal overtakes this season and 363 DRS overtakes; from the total of 804 clean overtakes, 55 percent were normal and 45 percent were DRS. 300 overtakes were on the three slowest teams by faster cars, with passes between team-mates accounting for 76 overtakes.The highest number of clean overtakes were recorded in Turkey (85), Canada (79) and China (67). The races with the fewest were Monaco (16), Australia (17) and India (18).

 Formula 1

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BMW X6 Car CLP Bruiser View

We would hardly call the BMW X6 crossover it looks good, which may explain the abundance of packages available from independent style tuners. But something tells us that last CLP offers the automotive called “Bruiser” will not help change the idea that the X6 is a failure when it comes to appearance.

The package does not show Bruiser and go, as it is limited to a range Aero kit and new tires.

The cosmetic makeover includes a new front bumper with massive air intakes are covered with a mesh grille, headlights eyelashes [sic ...], front grilles painted in the same color as the rest of the car, extended front and wings back associated with a prominent side skirts and a new rompers with integrated diffuser and four exhaust tips.

A rear spoiler and starting small solid deep dish alloy wheels 23 inches in a round two-tone finish black and bronze on the changes CLP style automobile.

The complete kit is priced at € 10,000 or U.S. $ 13,500 on today’s exchange rates, including German VAT, but not installation.

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