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BMW M5 manual mess-up

By Chris chilton Motor Industry 27 January 2007 01:34 North American customers were delighted when BMW bowed to their demands for a full three-pedal manual version of the current V10 M5 super saloon, but aren’t quiet so enamoured with the finished product. The issue is not with the gearbox itself – BMW successfully replaced the European model’s seven-speed SMG box with the old-shape M5’s six-speed manual – but with the compromises that were needed to get there. Without the benefit of computer control for the opening and closing of the clutch plates, M division’s engineers couldn’t eliminate axle tramp under hard take-offs.

General Motors board recommends selling Opel to Magna-led group

General Motors Co.'s board has decided to support selling a majority stake in Opel to a group led by Canadian auto parts giant Magna. The move caps weeks of high-stakes maneuvering on both sides of the Atlantic that saw nationalism, labor issues and--perhaps most critical to GM, the use of its technology--all come into play. Magna and Russian lender Sberbank will get a 55 percent interest in Opel, the linchpin of GM's European operations for 80 years, as well as its British sister brand Vauxhall.

Acura retools lineup to put the focus on mpg

Honda will overhaul and reposition its Acura lineup over the next 18 months and abandon its long pursuit of top-tier luxury-car status for the brand. After years of trying to propel Acura into the front ranks with Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus, Honda says it will settle for offering mid-level premium vehicles that favor fuel economy over performance. With one exception: At the Detroit auto show in January, Honda will bring back the Ferrari-fighting Acura NSX--a new version of the mid-engine supercar that disappeared in 2005 after a 15-year run.