Volkswagen Passat Engine Brain Box Electronic Control Module; 1.8l (turbo Gas) on 2040-parts.com

VW Design Vision GTI gets 500bhp: Worthersee

The Design Vision GTI is built to show what a Golf built for racing would look like – and perhaps point to future evolutions of VW’s most successful car – and is built on the same MQB platform as the regular GTI. It’s a bit shorter (15mm) than a regular Golf, a chunk wider (71mm) and a lot lower (57mm) which conspires to make the Design Vision GTI much more aggressive looking than its mainstream sibling. Power comes from a 3.0 litre V6 with two turbos – good for 500bhp and 413lb/ft of torque – which is driven to all four wheels through a DSG ‘box and can scoot to 62mph in a supercar-like 3.9 seconds on its way to 186mph.

Chevrolet to market diesel-powered Cruze in U.S., report says

General Motors has decided to sell a diesel version of the Chevrolet Cruze compact in the United States, the Associated Press reported today, citing two people familiar with the plans. Sources told the AP the car would get about 50 miles per gallon on the highway and help GM address stricter government fuel economy standards. The diesel-powered Cruze is at least two years from U.S.

New technology combats drowsy driving

Auto supplier Takata is introducing a new driver-alertness warning system to the commercial trucking industry to keep drivers awake. The SafeTrak electronic vision system sounds an alert if a trucker is driving erratically or unintentionally drifting from a lane. A recent AAA study for traffic safety found that drowsy driving is a contributing factor in 16.5 percent of fatal car crashes in the United States.