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Heightening speculation that BMW and Toyota are about to announce an expanded partnership involving fuel cell technology, the German automaker confirmed today that it is no longer talking with General Motors about a similar research arrangement, reported a Bloomberg article.

On Friday, BMW and Toyota will hold a press conference announcing the details of a closer working relationship. Last December the two companies penned an agreement that gave Toyota access to BMW's small diesel engines to sell in its European line up of vehicles, and in return, Toyota would help BMW play catch up in the hybrid market by … Read more

Apple announced last week at the 2012 WWDC that many automakers have signed on to integrate Apple's Siri in their vehicles, but few have said which cars or when. However, two compacts from General Motors may be among the first to include the new "Eyes Free" feature in its vehicles, reports blog GM Authority.

The Chevrolet Spark and Chevrolet Sonic will be the first GM vehicles to get this latest infotainment feature. The two vehicles are already available with MyLink, an infotainment system that integrates with the driver's smartphone. MyLink leverages the handset's Internet connection … Read more

This year's International Engine of the Year Awards saw many repeats from 2011, but stealing the show was a new sub-1-liter engine from Ford. Using direct injection and a turbocharger, this 999cc engine manages to generate 123 horsepower, enough for most subcompact and compact cars. And in European test cycles, the engine manages well over 50 mpg.

Despite the economy of Ford's engine, the Green Engine Award went to GM for the range extended electric power train in the Chevy Volt and Opel Ampera.

Here are the various … Read more

Among the deluge of new features Apple talked up in the keynote for WWDC, integrating Siri with cars, in conjunction with automakers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Honda, and GM, generated a lot of buzz. Siri has proved a popular voice command feature in the latest iOS, and so naturally users would want that functionality integrated into their cars.

But, knowing how the auto industry works, I was skeptical about a number of aspects of this announcement. I could not believe automakers would actually put dedicated buttons just for Siri in their cars. They would also not necessarily want to … Read more

The Chevrolet Volt has been on sale in all 50 states for around a year, but General Motors' engineers are still perfecting the extended range electric vehicle. Using driving data from existing owners, they have improved the fuel efficiency of the 2013 Chevrolet Volt, according to GM.

Engineers tweaked the 2013 Chevrolet Volt's battery cell chemistry to increase the battery pack's capacity from 16 kWh to 16.5 kWh. They also reduced its energy storage buffer, and the changes increase the new model's electric range from 35 miles to 38 miles. The EPA fuel economy also gets … Read more

Perhaps you've never thought about what is inside your airbag, other than air.

This story might make you wonder.

In 2010, Ronald Smith of Scotland, was involved in a six-car accident, during which his airbag deployed successfully. He wasn't hurt, even though he had been hit from behind and had struck the car in front.

The crash was of sufficient force that his car window broke and pierced the airbag of his Vauxhall Insignia. (Vauxhall Motors is owned by General Motors.) After the crash, Smith, an engineer, reported seeing white powder emerge from the airbag. His face was … Read more

In each of the three years of EcoCar2 Challenge, General Motors will give away approximately $100,000 in prizes to the students participating in the alternative fuels vehicle competition. But for some students, the real prize will be a steady paycheck.

Headliners GM and the Department of Energy, along with 25 suppliers, sponsor EcoCar2, a three-year alternative fuels vehicle competition, as a way to encourage college students to enter the automotive industry. It provides a chance for young engineers to apply the theoretical education they gain in the classroom in the lab, giving them an advantage when it comes to … Read more

It seemed that the progression of automotive engineering would eliminate the rear-wheel-drive car by 2020, but GM believes the architecture still has life enough for a limited production run. Next year the company will make a Chevrolet SS with rear-wheel drive and a V-8. We can only hope a manual transmission might be part of the mix.

In the Chevrolet SS announcement, GM noted there has not been a rear-wheel-drive Chevrolet sedan for 17 years. Has it really been that long?

The new car will be based on the same platform as the Camaro, and it seems likely it would … Read more

Rather than sending Volt battery covers to the landfill, General Motors is sending them into the wild. The company is repurposing the scrapped parts as habitat for Michigan wildlife.

The old Volt battery covers came from prototype vehicles, were damaged in assembly, or were used during training exercises. The company's quality requirements mandate that they can't be used in cars, and due to the type of plastic used to mold the cover, can't be recycled.

However, John Bradburn, manager of waste-reduction efforts for GM, is an avid outdoorsman and found a second life for these parts as … Read more