Furuno Pg500 on 2040-parts.com

Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 first of string of new Peugeot hybrids

Peugeot will launch the new 3008 HYbrid4 crossover in autumn 2011 as the world's first diesel-electric hybrid car - and it's the first in a string of hybrid cars coming from Peugeot and Citroen. The 3008 HYbrid4 will be followed by a brace of 508 hybrids in spring 2011, and engineers have told CAR that any car on the mid-sized PF2 and full-sized PF3 platforms can use the same innovative electric 4wd architecture.  Although pricey at £26,995, Peugeot expects to sell 10,000 of the 3008 HYbrid4 in its first full year and the parent group PSA Peugeot Citroen is targeting 100,000 annual sales of hybrids as soon as 2015. Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4: the lowdown Peugeot has picked its mid-market crossover the 3008 to premiere its first hybrid engine.

General Motors fires back at Volkswagen

General Motors issued a terse response this week to published comments by Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who suggested to the German press that Opel could be sold to a Chinese competitor. Detroit-based GM called Winterkorn's comments “regrettable” and accused him of “fanning speculation.” Opel was nearly sold to Magna and Russian investors in the wake of GM's 2009 bankruptcy. But then-CEO Ed Whitacre and the corporate board reversed that decision, igniting controversy from German political and labor leaders who have long chafed under American oversight.

A tribute to Jim Das

On May 15 GM Europe designer Jim Das passed away in a Wiesbaden hospital after a year-long battle with leukemia. Jim joined the Opel Design team in 1997 following the completion of his Masters degree at the Royal College of Art. In 1998-99 Jim had a stint in Italy at the Opel Advanced Studio and worked on a roadster study (currently on display at Opel Live in Ruesselsheim).