Terra Marker Beacon Receiver on 2040-parts.com

GM stops Chevy Volt production to trim inventory

General Motors will idle the Detroit-area assembly plant that builds the Chevrolet Volt for more than a month to curb rising inventories of the plug-in hybrid. On March 1, GM told 1,300 workers at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant in Michigan that it will shut down production for five weeks, starting the week of March 19. GM plans to resume production on April 23, spokesman Chris Lee said.

BMW Group unveils in-car G-force and tea-drinking engine

BMW AND Mini have today unveiled pioneering new technologies that produce artificial G-force and even let an engine run on tea leaves. BMW has revealed plans for a system called Force Injection Booster (FIB), which when activated fires artificial gravity at the driver and passenger through the air conditioning vents. But the style-conscious needn’t worry, because the German firm has also patented AirNet, the world’s first in-car hair protection technology.

New car emissions lowest ever

THE AVERAGE CAR in the UK now emits an average of 128.3g/km, the lowest ever and almost 30% less than in 2000. This means the UK has exceeded the target set by the European Union for average CO2 emissions of 130g/km by 2015. The next target is 95g/km that is set for 2020.