Auto News 5

Nick Reilly, the new head of Opel/Vauxhall, promised investments in new models and pledged to put an end to business as usual at the General Motors Co. unit -- addressing two key grievances by unions. Full story...

The door is open to Kimi Raikkonen's signing with Citroen in 2010 to becoming more than a temporary sabbatical from formula one. Full story...

Despite years on sale, the Acura TL has only just this year become truly competitive in its marketplace. It was a worthy machine to be sure, but for most of its life it was available with one engine, one transmission and as a front-wheel drive. Full story...

Having bid farewell to Formula One, BMW will intensify its involvement in GT and touring car racing in the forthcoming year. The company released details of its 2010 motorsport programme on Saturday at the BMW Sports Trophy Award Ceremony in Munich. Full story...

Sauber's 2010 driver lineup may feature a veteran alongside an inexperienced youngster. Full story...

DETROIT, Mich. - General Motors will invest $336 million in the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant to begin production of the Chevrolet Volt electric car, with extended-range capabilities, in 2010. Full story...

ZENN Motor Company Inc. ("ZMC" or the "Company") (TSX-V ZNN), a leading developer of zero emission transportation solutions and technologies, wishes to update its stakeholders regarding its ZENNergy(tm) drive solutions development and low-speed vehicle (LSV) operations . Full story...

Less than 24 hours before the opening of the Copenhagen summit on global warming, the first race of zero-carbon vehicles was held in France as part of the prestigious Trophee Andros ice racing series. Full story...

Today at the LA Auto Show, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger paid a special visit to the Audi booth to review firsthand the Audi e-tron fully electric concept study model firsthand. Earlier this week at the LA Auto Show, Schwarzenegger had expressed his support for automakers raising the bar on environmental responsibility and acted upon that enthusiasm today by visiting the Audi booth to learn more about e-tron. Full story...

Tesla Motors will host test-drives and lead informational sessions about electric vehicles during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change this week in Denmark. Full story...

In little more than two years Fisker Automotive has established itself as a force in the automotive industry. Full story...

The operators and owners of the Silverstone circuit on Monday jointly revealed that an agreement to host the next 17 British grands prix has been reached. Full story...

The remarkable blind Turkish artist Esref Armagan was invited to Volvo Car Corporation in Sweden to paint the as yet unseen all-new Volvo S60. His work was documented on film - Volvo S60 Blind Preview. The film was featured on blogs, YouTube, Facebook and other media and became a huge success. From December 7th, 8 p.m. CET to December 17th the painting will be auctioned on eBay. The proceeds will be donated to the World Blind Union. Full story...

Motor sport's finest up and coming drivers sampled Bridgestone's Potenza Formula One tires in the final group test of 2009 at the Jerez racing circuit in southern Spain on December 1-3. Full story...

Eurosport Events, the promoter of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, is delighted to announce that Subaru will join the Intercontinental Rally Challenge next year with the aim of supporting its customer competition business with the Group N Impreza. Full story...

Honda announced that it has become one of only four car sponsors of the COP15 Climate Conference, which takes place in Copenhagen from 7th December to 18th December 2009. The announcement comes after Honda successfully met a series of strict environmental requirements set by the Danish Foreign Ministry. Full story...

The Schaeffler Group will present the CO2ncept-10% vehicle at the ATZ/MTZ Congress focusing on "Friction Reduction in the Powertrain" to be held on December 9-10 in Esslingen. CO2ncept-10% is an advance development project that was carried out jointly by Porsche and the Schaeffler Group and involved the use of novel and optimized components to achieve an overall reduction of ten percent in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Full story...

(TORONTO) - With a choice of 4-cyl or V6 and FWD or AWD, the versatility of an SUV and the comfort and drivability of a passenger car, the 2010 Toyota Venza is fresh yet sophisticated in design - leaving it in a class by itself. The latest Venza starts with an MSRP under $30,000 and includes new standard convenient and fun features. Full story...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) is pleased to announce that its Turanza EL400 Run-Flat tires featuring the company's latest "3G RFT" technology will be fitted as standard equipment on select models of Toyota's new 2011 Sienna minivan. Full story...

Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft has today taken a 49.9 percent stake in Porsche AG. The next important step on the way towards the integrated automotive group with Porsche has therefore been completed, as announced, before the end of the year. The price for the stake is E3.9 billion and is based on the enterprise value for Porsche AG calculated under a careful due diligence and valuation procedure. Full story...