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Car-sharing programs hit the big time

Rental-car company Getaround introduced its business plan for “peer-to-peer car sharing” on May 24 at the Tech Crunch Disrupter conference in New York City. Unlike other car-renting and car-sharing companies such as ZipCar, Getaround works by connecting potential car renters with willing car owners via an iPhone app. All Getaround vehicles are privately owned.

Cloud rises over diesel plan for Nissan Maxima

Nissan North America may postpone a V6 diesel engine planned for the Maxima sedan in 2010. Since the company revealed its Maxima diesel plan two years ago, gasoline prices have fallen dramatically, auto sales have collapsed and Nissan has begun reviewing product plans as it scrambles to restore profitability. "We haven't reached a decision on the diesel yet, but we have to consider where we want to put our capital investments," says Larry Dominique, North American vice president for product planning.

Video: Autoweek tours the Tesla EV factory

Our own Mark Vaughn recently took a tour of the sprawling California plant where Tesla is gearing up to build as many as 20,000 electric cars per year. Formerly part of the General Motors/Toyota New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. joint venture, the vast space allows huge swaths of factory floor--all newly painted--between each of the machines.