AutoWeek Daily Drive — Tuesday, July 7, 2009

HOME   |   CAR NEWS   |   CAR REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   AUTOSHOWS   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   MARKETPLACE Tuesday, July 07, 2009 Mercedes-Benz's newest Experimental Safety Vehicle is a showcase for 27 innovations.... Mercedes touts future safety with research vehicle In 1980, when several automakers began to use airbags, there were people who thought that cars couldn't possibly get any safer. Karl-Heinz Baumann, a safety researcher at Mercedes-Benz AG in Stuttgart, was not one of them. "We said, 'No, it cannot be all,' and we kept doing more research." The results of that research are presented on the company's most recent Experimental Safety Vehicle...   GM confirms plug-in crossover remains on track for 2011 A plug-in electric powertrain once destined for a Saturn crossover will live on at General Motors and will arrive in 2011 in another vehicle. GM vice chairman and product chief Tom Stephens confirmed to wire service Reuters that the project remains on track. The automaker was scheduled to...   Rare Ferraris head to Pebble Beach Two collections of eye-catching and rare Ferraris will be reunited in August at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The Monterey event will play host to 10 1949 166 MM Touring Barchettas and the only four TR 59 race cars believed to be in existence. The significance of the 166 MM Touring...   Jacques Villeneuve wants another shot at Formula One Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 world champion, says he wants back into the sport that turned its back on him in 2006. Speaking to Autosprint, Villeneuve--who reportedly has attended Formula One races this year in an effort to land a drive--declared that he would be a solid asset for an F1...   No more Formula One races at Fuji, track confirms No matter how Formula One looks next year, one thing is certain: Fuji International Speedway won't play host to the Japanese Grand Prix, circuit representatives confirmed Tuesday. Fuji--owned by Toyota--has hosted the past two Japanese GPs and was set to alternate with Honda-owned Suzuka, the... You May Have Missed...   Russian Lada brand makes its racing debut in WTCC The latest round of the World Touring Car Championship, held on the Portuguese street circuit of Porto, boasted an eye-catching new arrival--Russian manufacturer Lada. The Lada Priora made its series debut over the weekend, in the hands of two-time British Touring Car champion James Thompson....   Former Ford exec McNamara dies Robert S. McNamara, a former Ford Motor Co. president who later served as defense secretary during the Vietnam War, died in his sleep Monday at his home. He was 93. McNamara--Berkeley- and Harvard-educated--joined Ford in 1946 as one of a group of 10 Whiz Kids. Henry Ford II hired those men, who ... CLICK HERE TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the AutoWeek Daily Drive E-mail or to sign up for other AutoWeek e-mail products. IMPORTANT: Please add AutoWeek.com to your E-mail Address Book to ensure you will continue to receive our newsletters. Please DO NOT reply to this e-mail. You will not receive a reply if you use this e-mail address. Crain Communications, 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207.