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Former General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre has served up a few revelations about his time at the automaker in his new memoir, American Turnaround: Reinventing AT&T and GM and the Way We Do Business in the USA. Among the choice tidbits is word that in August of 2009, Whitacre says he blocked a plan that would have seen GM workers abandon their downtown Detroit Renaissance Center global headquarters just one week before the move was to be set in action. The whole operation was to be relocated to Warren, which would have allowed GM to either lease or sell the Ren Cen outright. Oddly enough, GM apparently planned to keep the company's CEO and a few others on the premises, which would have put management some 30 minutes away from the rest of the company.

Whitacre says the move would have cost around $100 million to implement. The city of Detroit eventually offered GM substantial tax incentives to stay put, and the automaker announced its plans to stay in the Ren Cen in August of 2010.

The memoir also touches on Whitacre's successor, Dan Akerson. Whitacre says Akerson called GM "one of the worst companies he'd come across in his entire life" and notes that he admitted he didn't like GM vehicles.

Jay Leno's Garage very frequently features cars that are old, interesting and even low-tech. Two of those three have been thrown out the window (or out of the removable polycarbonate roof panel) for this episode, wherein our intrepid host puts the spurs to a 1200-horsepower Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse. (For those of you that have trouble keeping track of your Veyrons, that's the targa-topped one that costs about $2 million).

While Mr. Leno doesn't set any land speed record on the California interstate system, he does have a bit of fun taunting his camera car while giving us a very thorough walk-around of one of the most exotic new cars in the world today.

Scroll down to hear some big Bugatti turbos spinning.

Entering Its Fifth Year Enhanced With A Fresh New Face



The full-size crossover segment is chock-full of many decent players, and for good reason. For most buyers, the big vehicles deliver enough of the off-road and towing capabilities of a traditional sport utility, the roominess and high driving position of a minivan, and increasingly, the driving dynamics and fuel economy of a big sedan.

Unfortunately, getting noticed among the growing crowd is a problem.

Chevrolet is hoping to conquer this dilemma by introducing its 2013 Traverse with a fresh new look (both inside and out), innovative new safety technology, a new ride and some new equipment – keep in mind that "new" entices buyers into the showrooms.

We recently spent a day with the improved Traverse in San Francisco. It's a family hauler, with "convenience" as its middle name, and in keeping with that mission, our drive was leisurely and comfortable. As testing this category of crossovers is more about discovering the annoyances than identifying segment-leading qualities, we found ourselves pleasantly content when it came time to hand back the keys.

It's been a couple of years since Chrysler first kicked off its popular "Imported from Detroit" tagline, but the automaker's hometown rally cry is about to make the move from advertising to special-edition models. According to The Detroit News, Chrysler will introduce the Chrysler 300 Motown and Chrysler 200 8 Mile special editions confirming our previous report, and these new models are only two of 66 new models expected out by 2014 that Chrysler previewed to its dealers recently.

The article states that the new 200 package will mark 10 years since Eminem's 8 Mile movie first hit the big screen, and while there are sure to be many jokes about a special-edition car named after the city's historic yet poverty-lined road, it is one of many "buzz packages" that Chrysler hopes will continue its upward sales trend. With filming already complete for the 300 Motown commercial, it is likely that this will be the next buzz car we will see from Chrysler, as it will coincide with the new Broadway show called Motown: The Musical opening next spring. The 300C John Varvatos and 300 Glacier are new additions for Chrysler as well and special edition packages are also planned for the Ram 1500 and Dodge Dart.

Scroll down to see Chrysler's original "Imported from Detroit" ad with Eminem's Lose Yourself which received plenty of buzz when it aired during Super Bowl XLV in 2011.

Coming into the last event of the Formula Drift season no less than seven drivers had a chance at winning the championship. Vaughn Gittin Jr., the 2010 champion, was the odds-on favorite, entering the final with a size points lead gained from back-to-back wins earlier in the season, but other drivers like veteran Rhys Millen, last years champion Daijiro Yoshihara, rookie Daigo Saito and Gittin's fellow Mustang driver Justin Pawlak were all in the hunt.

It was a packed house at Irwindale Speedway in Southern California to watch the finale – for the first time in the event's history all tickets were sold out before the competition even began.

The drivers put on quite a show for the capacity crowd, and Vaughn Gittin Jr. made things interesting by getting knocked out early in the competition. That left the door open for Rhys Millen and Daigo Saito to take the overall points lead. While Millen managed to make the semi finals, it was Saito who took full advantage, beating out every driver he faced in heads-up competition in his 1,200 Lexus SC430. The first place finish not only gave him the most coveted win in the Formula Drift schedule, but the overall championship as well in his first season. This perhaps makes him the most highly rated drifter in the world, having already won the Formula Drift Asia championship as well as a D1 championship.

You can read the official press release below or check out our photos from the event in the gallery above.

According to a Reuters report, the Japanese government and several of the country's largest manufacturers are joining forces to rescue troubled electronics manufacturer Renesas Electronics. Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Panasonic, Canon and Denso are set to contribute a combined $637.9 million to a $2.55 billion deal that will see the group gain control of the company. Robert Bosch GmbH is also considering investing in the electronics manufacturer.

Why are so many varied corporations interested in Renesas' future? The company is the world's leading supplier of microcontroller chips. Even so, the strengthening yen and heavy competition from South Korea's Samsung Electronics Company has seen Renesas suffer through five years of financial losses. As a result, the company has laid off 12 percent of its workers and currently has plans to either sell or consolidate more than half of its domestic manufacturing facilities.

The Yeongnam track that hosts the Korean Grand Prix sees action just once a year, that being the Formula 1 race it was built to host. This year the word "action" is a barely accurate descriptor of what happened during the 55 laps, the suspense after qualifying and what the race result meant for certain drivers proving far more entertaining. But Ferrari's Fernando Alonso said after last week's Japanese Grand Prix, having had his once double-digit lead cut to four points, that we could look forward to a mini-season over the last five races between him and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.

And what better way to start one than by having the top two title contenders, two title hopefuls and four world champions in the starting five on the grid? If the grid positions meant it was game on, however, Alonso might be hoping that for the next three races he and Ferrari can play the game a little harder. Make that a lot harder.

Honda and Hyundai have both had some pretty big recalls recently, and according to a The Detroit News, there could be more on the way. The report indicates that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the 2005 Honda Pilot and the 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe for unrelated safety issues that could affect braking and/or steering.

So far, the article says that NHTSA has received 185 complaints on the 2005 Pilot for unexpected heavy deceleration or steering pull during braking. The cause is said to come from faulty software controlling the brake assist that is supposed to aid the driver in panic stops, but in the case of an estimated 87,000 Pilots, it is incorrectly detecting a panic stop during normal braking and causing the vehicle to stop harder than the driver expects. In about 20 cases, the hard braking is also causing a steering pull since the brake assist is integrated with Vehicle Stability Assist that also controls anti-lock brakes, traction control and stability control. It sounds like a quick software update could be the fix for this concern.

As far as problems related to the Santa Fe, NHTSA has received a single complaint about a steering column shaft failure that could potentially affect around 70,000 of the crossovers. The one incident involved a Santa Fe with relatively low mileage where the steering column failed causing the driver to lose all ability to steer. The report seems to indicate that Hyundai reported an instance where a bolt could loosen causing the steering column to separate, but it's unclear if this is the same issue that affected the customer's vehicle.

Right now, both vehicles are just being investigated for these issues, but if you own one of these popular crossovers, keep an eye out for a recall.

The Porsche 962 dominated racetracks, and you'll be pleased to see that it's equally at home on public roads. The video above shows a street-legal Porsche 962C prototype acting like just another daily driver in Japan.

Despite looking bouncy on the surface streets, the driver states that it's fairly easy to live with behind the wheel. To illustrate this, we're treated to the sight of a 962 tackling day-to-day mundanities like filling up at a gas station, then heading to a convenience store for a Red Bull. (Note the parking spot that's chosen.)

As is the case with most auto enthusiasts, the owner of this 962 fell in love with the car while watching it race. The video, beautifully produced, delves into some of that history as well as the backstory for this particular car. It's a fun watch, so check it out below.

BMW is getting ready to launch the third-generation X5 next year, and not wanting to make performance-minded customers wait too long, the X5 M is expected soon after the standard models. As seen in the video we posted last week, the new M-powered X5 is putting down some punishing laps at the Nurburgring. Now we're happy to supplement that video with some new spy photos of that test car.

The shots show more detail of the souped-up crossover, such as the cross-drilled rotors, the blue brake calipers and the signature quad exhaust. We can't tell much about the new X5 M's design, but we expect the front fascia to have massive intakes to feed air to the twin-turbo V8 that's likely to be found underhood. Figure on least 560 horsepower - the power rating of this engine in the new M5.

A pair of head-turning high performance cars are catching some attention off a different kind, in the form of safety recalls. Aston Martin and Lotus have issued recalls for the V12 Vantage Coupe and Evora, respectively.

Aston Martin's affects 169 examples of the 2009-2012 V12 Vantage Coupe. It concerns the tire-pressure monitoring system, and is less a malfunction than it is a compliance issue. The TPMS does not alert the driver until the front tire is more than 25 percent below the recommended cold tire pressure. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 138 states that the alarm must sound when tire pressure is "equal to or less than either the pressure 25 percent below" the recommended cold inflation pressure. To address the issue, Aston Martin will notify owners and reprogram the software, free of charge.

As for Lotus, 80 supercharged Evoras have been recalled, all built between February and September, 2011. The problem involves an engine-mounted oil feed pipe, which could rupture, causing loss of engine oil or a possible fire if the oil sprays onto a hot engine.

Lotus will notify owners and repair the problem, free of charge. NHTSA invites anyone who owns these affected vehicles to contact its safety hotline or go on its website for additional information. To find out more about these recalls, refer to the press release posted below.

As soon as the Williams Formula 1 team inked an engine supply deal with Renault in 2011, auto journos salivated at the thought of a new Renault Clio Williams. (This was after the return of Gordini, during the rumors of the return of Alpine, before the rumors of the Initiale brand, and long before the new Clio was introduced.) The original Clio Williams arrived in 1993 to celebrate Nigel Mansell's 1992 F1 World Championship in his Williams-Renault. In fact, Williams had nothing to do with the hatchback other than donating its name, but the public couldn't get enough of its performance. There were only supposed to be 3,800, but Renault eventually produced 12,100 Clio Williams' in three series.

Renault hasn't publicly said a word about the possibility of a new version of that legendary hot hatch, but Autocar says "well placed sources" have assured it that a new Clio Williams is on the way. A raunchier take on the Clio RenaultSport 200, the Williams edition is rumored to get 220 horsepower from its 1.6-liter four-cylinder, a bump of 20 hp over the RS 200.

Autocar goes on to say that the Clio Williams is around 18 months away, slated to arrive after the RS 200 completes its run. It's unclear whether Williams will assist with its development – the RenaultSport division created the original on its own – but Autocar suggests that Williams' forays into customer-car applications might give it a way in. An announcement from Renault could come as early as this year.

There are publicity stunts, and then there's using a Toyota Tundra to tow the 145-ton Space Shuttle Endeavour across interstate 405 in Los Angeles. That's exactly what happened Saturday night when Toyota lent a hand pulling the retired spacecraft over a bridge en route to the California Science Center. As it turned out, the Manchester Boulevard Bridge couldn't stand up to the weight of both the shuttle and the traditional tow vehicle, which sent organizers searching for something a little lighter to cover the five-minute drive across the bridge. As a 20-year sponsor of the science center, Toyota stepped in to help out.

The company developed a special tow dolly with Sarens Group, an engineering and heavy-lifting firm, just for the effort. A bone-stock 2012 Toyota Tundra CrewMax 4x4 did the deed, though something tells us this little stunt greatly exceeded the machine's tow rating. You can check out a video of the pull for yourself as well as the full press release below.

When it was confirmed earlier this year that Nissan wiil resurrect the Datsun brand for emerging markets, the numbers provided the reason. Nissan sold 60,000 vehicles in Indonesia alone last year, and CEO Carlos Ghosn wants to increase that figure to 250,000 units by 2014. Even then, that would mark just a fraction of that market's exploding growth. Renault-Nissan also has its successful Dacia brand in emerging markets as well as Europe.

Volkswagen is paying attention. A spokesman for the automaker told Der Spiegel that an inexpensive line of cars has intrigued VW "for quite some time." The German brand sniffed around Proton for years and tried to get into low-cost models with Suzuki, but the Suzuki affair has probably seen more money spent on legal bills and arbitration than an actual product. According to Der Spiegel VW is looking at how to do it alone, and the launch of a range – perhaps a hatch, sedan, wagon and SUV akin to the Dacia lineup – could begin as soon as 2015. Pricing would need to come in at €6,000 to €8,000 ($7,784 to $10,379 U.S.). The new Dacia Sandero starts at €6,790 in Germany, a VW Up costs €9,975.

The major considerations are what to call it and how to build it. It would be tough for VW to stick to that price point and its current brand values, so it needs to figure out whether it should call such a line something else entirely or try and expand the customer perceptions of what "Volkswagen" means. After that, the automaker would need to determine whether any current factories and tooling could be repurposed, or if the cost involves building new operations. Unlike the acquisition of a new brand, however, the plan for a cheap car has the support of the head of the labor board, who told Der Spiegel "For emerging markets we need a car cheaper than the VW Up."