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GM board will again delay decision on Opel's future, report says

General Motors Co.'s board will again postpone a decision on Opel's future at a two-day meeting starting today despite pressure from Germany to accept an offer for the European unit from Magna International Inc, a newspaper reported today. GM's board will delay a decision until October at the earliest, the German business daily Handelsblatt said, citing company sources. The paper said the board favors keeping Opel or, as a second choice, selling a majority stake to Belgian investment group RHJ International, which is offering 300 million euros ($433 million) in cash for a 50.1 percent stake in Opel.

Design Contest: LA Design Challenge 2008

The entrants for the fifth annual Design Challenge, part of the Design Los Angeles automobile designers' conference, have now been announced. Nine Southern California automotive design studios - including Audi, BMW, GM, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volkswagen - have been pitted against one another and asked to develop a concept which best answers a brief entitled 'Motorsports in 2025'. "Automotive designers have always been fascinated with motorsports and this year's Design Challenge has provided them with the opportunity to use their creative talent to look at these cars with new eyes, using innovative technologies and approaches," said Chuck Pelly, director of Design Los Angeles and partner in The Design Academy, Inc.

Automotive X Prize teams begin performance testing in Michigan

The 28 teams competing in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize will begin performance testing this week at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. The teams are vying for $10 million in prizes, which will be awarded to consumer-friendly vehicles that exceed 100 mpg. This week begins the first of the three on-track performance testing stages: shakedown, knockout qualifying and finals.