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Strong results for Maserati

By Chris Hope Motor Industry 27 July 2007 02:27 This week has thrown up some surprising financial results for struggling car manufacturers from all corners of the industry. Last February, at the release of the Quattroporte Automatica saloon, chief exec Roberto Ronchi promised an end to Maserati’s financial woes. Five months later, the Italian supercar maker sees black for the first time in its 17-year Fiat stewardship.

Tesla expands electric-car charger network

Tesla 20-minute “superchargers” will blanket the U.S. and Canada within two years, CEO Elon Musk said Thursday. Musk announced plans to greatly upgrade and expand the number of its superchargers in and between population centers of the United States and Southern Canada to link major cities via free electricity.

Bentley uses 3D printing to prototype new designs [w/Video]

3D printing is changing the way the world makes things by helping people of all disciplines to enhance and refine their ideas cheaply, quickly and effectively.  Bentley is the latest carmaker to utilize the technology to fabricate and prototype different parts to see how they'll look and work on the finished design. Using 3D printers, designers can produce parts from the exterior and interior such as the grille, tires, headlamps and door handles as well as combine different types of contrasting materials, ranging from hard plastics to rubbers of different tensile strengths.  The technology allows the user to create a solid 3D object straight from a digital model by printing layers of material on top of each other. This process rapidly decreases the delivery time, as parts can be printed overnight, and allows designers to be more creative in their ideas because of the reduced cost. Bentley isn't the first carmaker to use 3D printing technology. Audi announced last year it was beginning to prototype vehicle parts using 3D printers.