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Better Place EV Battery Swap business goes bust

It seemed like a good idea: take the cost of batteries out of the cost of buying an electric car and instead charge EV owners to use ‘Battery Swap’ stations where depleted batteries could be swapped for fully charged ones in the time it takes to fill an ICE car with petrol. But it’s all gone a bit Pete Tong. Better Place – which partnered with Renault in 2009 to make the battery swap technology viable – has failed to find anyone to add to the $750 million already involved in the project and has filed for bankruptcy.

Ford begins building 1.0 Ecoboost, a microsized 3cyl

Ford chief exec Alan Mulally was in Essex today to launch the first 1.0-litre Ecoboost engine, which was developed by powertrain engineers at Dunton and Dagenham. The new 999cc triple will be built at Cologne in a new ￡110m production line – and will first be seen in the new Ford Focus in 2012. How powerful is Ford's new 1.0 Ecoboost?

Lamborghini Aventador deliveries may be delayed

Lamborghini's factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, survived the recent earthquakes in the region undamaged. Production at the factory has resumed but deliveries of Lamborghini's 691-hp Aventador may be delayed because of supplier troubles. The initial sequence of earthquakes struck the Modena province of northern Italy on May 20 and was followed by another series of tremors on May 29.