Opel recently took the covers off its new Insignia sedan, the replacement for its aging Vectra (Saturn Aura), and now we have an early look at one of the first variations of the car, a new hatchback model. A prototype has been spotted testing at GM’s proving grounds in Germany ahead of the car’s official reveal latest this year.
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Felipe Massa became the first driver since his former Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher to win three consecutive races at the same circuit with a first place title at this weekend’s Turkish GP. Kimi Raikkonen’s run to third place closes his championship lead to Hamilton, and now Massa, to 7 points. Carrying wing damage after a first corner tap with compatriot Heikki Kovalainen, he narrowly missed beating Hamilton to second place at the end of a lacklustre weekend, although he did set the fastest lap of the race.
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Presidential candidate and longtime activist Ralph Nader has once again voiced his objection to proposed vehicle roof-safety standards from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), telling reporters the standards should be much tougher.

Current regulations require vehicles sold in the United States to withstand 1.5 times the weight of the vehicle without collapsing more than five inches into occupancy space. The NHTSA proposal would increase the requirement to 2.5 times the vehicle’s weight, however Nader and other advocates want vehicles to withstand at least 4 times their weight, reports Consumer Affairs.
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With plans for similar emissions-based taxation schemes like London’s congestion charge as well as tough new low CO2 emissions regulations planned for Europe from 2012 onwards, carmakers are focused on cleaning up tailpipe emissions as well as offering more models with lower CO2 levels than currently provided. One of the most active is BMW, which has already shown a 119g/km of CO2 1-series and is now reportedly set to release a sub-120g/km 3-series saloon.
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The Detroit 3 are hoping to change their reputation for chiefly supplying petrol-thirsty SUV’s, with a view to getting small and mid-sized vehicles onto the market as soon as possible and one of the most active among the trio is Chrysler. The carmaker’s co-president and former CEO, Tom LaSorda, has echoed this view, stating that Chrysler is engaged in building a new global mid-sized vehicle under its Project-D program.
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The UK government has offered Jaguar-Land Rover funding in order to speed up the development of emissions reducing technologies. The funding comes from the Technology Strategy Board, which is spending around £23 million ($45 million) on 16 various low carbon projects ranging across a field of industries and represents a little under half of the projects’ total worth.
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Ford has told its shareholders to hold out for an official appraisal from the Blue Oval before taking action in regards to a tender offer from the Tracinda Corporation. The investment firm, belonging to billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, is offering to purchase 20 million shares at a price of $8.50 each, 41c greater than the stock’s closing price on Friday.

Tracinda already owns 100 million shares of Ford, and the acquisition of 20 million more would give the company a 5.5% stake in the Blue Oval. Tracinda has stated that they are also open to purchasing more shares, and under the move may even offer Ford business strategies after an evaluation of the company’s operations.
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Fisker Automotive is keen to launch its Karma plug-in hybrid by the end of the next year and is hard at work testing prototypes of the upcoming eco-saloon in Southern California. Less than five months out from the concept version’s debut at the Detroit Auto Show, the new prototype reveals Fisker is keeping its promise that the production version will be almost identical to the original concept.
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With the GT-R’s recently lowered Nordschleife lap time set at 7m 29s, a drop of nine seconds from its previous 7m 38s lap, General Motors responded with speculation that the ZR-1 would handily take the production car lap record at any track in the world. While we have yet to see the General prove that claim, the latest showing from the upcoming CTS-V lends some credence to its possibility.
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The price penalty for the added complexity of a hybrid drivetrain has always been a bit of a concern for those looking to not just save fuel, but to save money. In some calculations from a decade ago, popular hybrids would have taken as much as eight or ten years to repay in fuel savings the cost of the car over an equivalent non-hybrid model. But today’s fuel prices are closing that gap - in some cases down to just 18 months.
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Despite its position at the apex of consumer and motorsport automotive technology, Ferrari has largely shied away from doing serious business via the technological medium of the new millenium: the internet. That’s all changing, as Ferrari has launched a preview website for a new Grand Tourer model to debut at the Paris Motor Show, with previews due in ten days’ time.
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Aston Martin teased us with a V12-powered concept version of its Vantage coupe late last year, which officials claimed was built only as a styling and engineering exercise to promote the opening of a new dedicated design center, however in the months since the unveiling a number of Vantage prototypes have been spotted on German streets and on the Nurburgring. This latest spy video shows what appears to be a regular V8 Vantage, but the tell tale sign of a big rear-diffuser reveals the massive power underneath the prototype’s bonnet.
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If you’re tired of paying through the nose at the bowser, a new U.S. company may have the answer for you when it comes to reducing fuel costs. E-Fuel Corp unveiled its latest creation, dubbed the MicroFueler, that allows consumers to produce their own ethanol and pump it into their car from home.
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Automotive parts suppliers 3M and Visteon recently held an event where they previewed a number of new vehicle interface technologies – 40 new features to be exact – in front of vehicle designers, engineers and employees from three different continents. Two different concept interiors where showcased, one for North America and one for Europe, and while the styling was different on each model the underlying technology remained similar. The focus of the futuristic interiors lay in the center panel, which served as a base of operations for the vehicle.
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The electric vehicles market has become one of the most watched segments as the world begins to favor fuel economy over other more speed-related aspects of a car. While start-ups such as Tesla and Fisker are already offering electric sports cars, other segments of the electric vehicle market remain wide open. A new Northern Californian company going by the name of Green Vehicles is set to enter the burgeoning market, having developed a range of new electric vehicles in secrecy.
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