Autos

To celebrate their third Formula 1 Constructors’ world title, Renault and Red Bull Racing have released the new limited edition Mégane RS Red Bull Racing RB8. Painted in the exclusive Crépuscule Blue color used by the Red Bull F1 team, the limited edition Mégane RS sports Red Bull's colors for the second year in a row. Read more »

Aston Martin of New England held its annual Cars & Coffee two Saturdays ago. It was a gorgeous day out in Boston, which brought out all the nice cars. Several BMWs were in attendance, including a Lime Rock Park M3 and Brilliant White Individual F10 M5.

Detroit area teens looking for a summer job can now get a paid internship with GM, and will recieve education, training and service projects to carry out over the summer. Sure beats my prior summer jobs as a carnival barker (I’m not kidding). According to the Wall Street Journal The students will develop and implement service projects in the Detroit area under the guidance of 60 GM retirees and other volunteer employees.  Potential service projects range from painting and cleanups at local parks, planting and tending a community garden, setting up food banks or meal programs. Students will also be taught such “life skills” career development, banking and finance, and health and safety. Not to take away from what GM is doing (hey, maybe what’s good for GM is good for America after all) but I can’t help but think that this sort of program should be implemented in schools as well as by private corporations. A personal finance course on its own would be a tremendous benefit for young people.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation, in partnership with FTS International (FTSI) and Caterpillar Global Petroleum, is using Marcellus Shale natural gas to fracture wells via dual fuel technology. This marks the first time “field” gas has been used in northeastern Pennsylvania for this purpose. The process of using clean-burning natural gas can displace up to 70% of the diesel fuel traditionally used to operate fracturing equipment. Use of dual fuel technology, where the engines operate on a mixture of natural gas and a small portion of diesel, provides several benefits: Reduced air emissions due to a reduction in diesel usage; Reduced truck traffic when field gas at or near the well site is used due to a reduction in the transportation of diesel fuel to site; and Reduced costs, as natural gas can be a less expensive fuel option than diesel. We are already converting our vehicle fleet and currently have a drilling rig using natural gas as well, so the next step is to utilize the technology on a hydraulic fracturing site.—Dan O. Dinges, Chairman, President and CEO for Cabot In order to operate using natural gas, FTSI’s mobile pressure pumping unit at the site was retrofitted with a Dynamic Gas Blending (DGB) kit from Caterpillar. The system enables substitution of diesel fuel with natural gas during high pressure pumping operations and is compatible with field gas, compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). FTS International is a leading provider of well completion services for the oil and gas industry. Caterpillar Global Petroleum is Caterpillar Inc.’s oil and gas division with headquarters in Houston, Texas. Since the 1930s, Caterpillar has manufactured engines for the oilfield and today provides power solutions with outputs from 31 to 16,000 kW.

Three former executives of the now bankrupt Swedish automaker Saab have been arrested on accounting fraud charges, an Associated Press report announced later this week. According to Swedish prosecutor Olof Sahlgren, the three, which have not been identified, are suspected of “aggravated attempts to avoid tax controls” by allegedly falsifying parts of Saab’s accounts between 2010 and 2011. If found guilty, the... (continue reading >>)

One day on and we have a better view of the “MPV” that BMW is developing. Yesterday, our European spy pixmen – for the first time – saw a longer version of the BMW 1 Series GT hatchback that has been previously caught testing at the Nurburgring. It had an MPV-like shape, leading us to believe that BMW could be coming out with its first MPV. Today’s set of pics feature a mule without camo on the rear glass, giving us a tiny glimpse of the car’s cabin. Are those shadowy things head rests for a third row of seats? If they are, we could be looking at a three-row, seven-seat BMW MPV. Yes, an ultimate driving multi-purpose vehicle! Will such a car be a runaway success or a niche too far for Munich? Only time will tell. Click here to see a video and pics of the shorter BMW 1 Series GT hatchback, which should be making its debut this September in Frankfurt. The front-wheel drive Mercedes-Benz B-Class rival is based on the BMW Concept Active Tourer from last year. The post BMW 1 Series GT – third row seats for the MPV? appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News. Related posts: SPIED: Longer BMW 1 Series GT – is it a seven-seater? SPY VIDEO: BMW 1-Series GT on test at the ‘Ring SPYSHOTS: BMW 2 Series Coupe, including interior All-new Range Rover Sport loses 420 kg, adds 2 seats Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale – seats four now SPIED: BMW F10 5-Series LCI caught undisguised! More AMG models to get 4MATIC all-wheel drive, plus hardcore E 63 AMG Black Series under consideration Acura RLX – Japan’s new 5-Series fighter debuts Volkswagen Passat Sport rolls in – 18in rims, sunroof, 12-way electric seats, sports suspension, RM190k BMW 1 Series and 3 Series – line-up expanded and upgraded, 114d and 316i new entry-level models

Here at autoevolution, we're pretty sure we know what cars got get in case of a zombie apocalypse, but we're not exactly sure what to do if aliens came. Thankfully, Dodge has us covered, and has created this alien invasion special edition Charger for this occasion, complete with guns, shields and all the latest hardware. The Dodge brand is extending its partnership with Syfy and Trion Worlds on the &am... (continue reading >>)

Ford plans to launch more than 15 new models in Europe within the next five years, the company’s executive vice president Stephen Odell revealed. Speaking at the Future of Manufacturing summit held at Cranfield University in Oxfordshire, England, Odell said that most of Ford’s new vehicles will be powered by British-built engines. In addition, he said that UK-assembled mills could power about one third of all Fords glo... (continue reading >>)

A New Jersey senator's plan to drop gas tax and charge all vehicles a per-mile fee has already been scrapped, according to reports. Instead, Asbury Park Press reports the state is now looking towards a flat fee of $50 for electric vehicles. The state is one of several exploring ways to account for electric cars not paying any gas tax to contribute...

Martin Whitmarsh says McLaren is actually retaining more of its focus on its 2013 car than it had originally planned at the start of the year