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CAR scoop: BMW and Toyota's joint sports car plot

BMW is buddying up with Toyota on an all-new sports car platform, set to underpin the replacements for the Z4, 6-series and GT86. The unlikely collaboration stems from an alliance that began in 2011, where BMW and Toyota agreed to co-develop next-generation lithium ion batteries, and for Toyota to use BMW’s fourpot diesels in its European cars. An engineering team is beavering away on the project, with the clock ticking: the suits want to outline the car’s specification before the end of 2013. What does BMW get out of the bargain?

Driving the Chevy Volt isn't special, and that's good

We've had our first taste of the drive system under development for General Motors' pioneering Chevrolet Volt, piloting a test mule based on the Chevrolet Cruze at the company's Warren (Mich.) Technical Center, and it left us hungering for more. Yes, it's an electric car, but mostly, it's a car--one you could imagine driving every day without feeling as if you were engaged in a lab experiment. Frank Weber, vehicle line executive for the Volt, gets his nose out of joint if you call the drive system a hybrid.

Nissan Helps World's Strongest Man Set New World Record

THE WORLD'S strongest man, Zydrunas Savickas, set a new Guinness world record for the Most Cars Pulled By One Man when he towed 12 Nissan Notes weighing a total 12,941kg. Savickas, five-times World Strongest Man champion and widely regarded as the one of the greatest strongmen of all time, only had one attempt to set the new record. Wearing a specialised pulling harness and rope arrangement he pulled the 12 Notes over five metres, accomplishing the feat in 32.9 seconds.