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Electric cars have been getting plenty of buzz lately, but the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is still going strong. The California Fuel Cell Partnership, along with Powertech Labs, National Hydrogen Association, and U.S. Fuel Cell Council, will seek to regain the spotlight with a road trip to demonstrate the practicality of these vehicles.

Twelve fuel cell cars from seven automakers will drive from Chula Vista, in Southern California, up to Vancouver, Canada, a trip of 1,700 miles. Vancouver was chosen for the destination because it will play host to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, where a … Read more

GM touts its six-speed-automatic transmissions in video and blog form today, highlighting the kind of power train technology that should keep the company competitive. Engineer Jeff Lux provides some insight into GM transmission advances in his blog entry, and another transmission engineer, Scott Damman, narrates a video with some interesting animations showing how these transmissions work.

The blog points out the four percent fuel efficiency that can be gained when using a six-speed transmission over a four speed. GM has nine different six-speed transmissions, and is working on a 10th, with 40 models using them. Those numbers are likely to … Read more

Microsoft employee David McLauchlan posted photos of how the Zune integrates with the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. The news releases about the car from GM already confirmed that its stereo would feature iPod integration and a USB port, but this is the first we've seen about the Zune integration.

The pictures show a nice image of a Camaro appearing on the Zune's screen when it is connected to the car, along with the various play and navigation screens that show up on the car's radio display. We've never liked the aqua electro-fluorescent radio displays used by GM, … Read more

We spend a lot of time evaluating the electronics in new cars, digging through navigation system menus, hooking up phones and iPods, and listening to audio systems. But occasionally we get to put these very same cars on the track, to find out how their performance technologies work under stress.

This year, we drove a wide variety of cars on the track at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. There was the new Hyundai Genesis Coupe and Chevrolet Camaro. We had familiar rides such as the BMW M3 and Acura TL SH-AWD. Then there were the race-bred cars, the Audi R8 and … Read more

In its PR efforts around the Chevy Volt, GM is doing something unprecedented, letting journalists get a sneak peak at how the power train drives in a test mule, absent the actual car in which it will be deployed. One of these lucky journalists, Jeff Gilbert of WWJ radio, made a video of his test drive. The test mule uses the Chevy Cruze, a new model, as a platform for the Voltec power train. The video lacks specifics about how the car drives, except that Gilbert says he loves it. There are interviews with GM personnel, good information about how … Read more

General Motors is recalling nearly 1.5 million midsize cars from the 1997-2003 model years have a defect that lets oil drip onto the exhaust manifold and flame up, potentially leading to an engine fire, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The recall includes 1997-2003 Buick Regal and Pontiac Grand Prix, the 1998-1999 Chevrolet Lumina and Oldsmobile Intrigue; the 1998-2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo; and the 2000-2003 Chevrolet Impala equipped with the naturally-aspirated (without a supercharger) 3.8-liter V6.

According to the recall notice, if the manifold is hot enough and the oil runs below the heat shield, it … Read more

DETROIT--The Chevrolet Camaro, which started production last week in Canada, carries a best-in-class fuel economy rating of 29 mpg on the highway--2 mpg higher than General Motors had estimated. The EPA has certified the base model V-6 Camaro at 17 mpg in the city and 29 on the highway, putting the Camaro ahead of its two rivals, the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger. A version of the 2009 Mustang comes close at 26 mpg/highway.

The V-6 model could broaden the Camaro's appeal among buyers who like the car but worry about $4-a-gallon gasoline.

(Source: Automotive News)

The third car with GM's Voltec series hybrid power train was announced at the Geneva auto show, the Opel Ampera. The two cars preceding it were the Chevrolet Volt and the Cadillac Converj. The Opel Ampera shares a platform with the Volt, and the cars are nearly identical. Where the Volt has horizontal slits at the front corners for headlights, the Ampera has big gouges going down from those headlight slits to the fog lamps, but the roofline is basically the same. The Opel badge, looking kind of like a lightning bolt, is probably more representative of the electric … Read more

Chevrolet has partnered with Goodyear to provide maximum energy efficiency on the road, company representatives say. The extended-range electric vehicle has been designed to make every amp count, this also means lowering rolling resistance by using the best tire possible.

The partnership with Goodyear was announced at the Chicago Auto Show, where Chevy fans got a peek at the electric car.