Ordinary people must consider which truck they should buy, a new one or an old one. These motor-mobiles consume a big money and make a significant impact on the pocket of the user. There is a wide variety of benefits to buying an old truck from a used truck dealer tempe. It is significantly less expensive, comfortable to wear and tear, produces an equal return while reselling, and many more.

It is suggested that if one offers an old automobile in excellent condition, they must buy it if needed. Buying a new transportation mode is very expensive, and one has to pay a significant amount at once or go for EMI with is also deemed as expensive as paying the whole amount at once.

Advantages of purchasing an old motor-truck

There is a wide diversity of plus points about this and some of them are discussed with explanation in the following segment.

• Cheap cost of buying

It almost cost around less than half of a new automobile's price, about 30-50 percent. One can get such motor vehicle from a used truck dealer tempe only by visiting them. It would take much paperwork to purchase the newest one and many types of taxes they have to pay with that in the bill whereas, in the used one, you do not have to pay such extra charges and taxes.

This cost factor is significant to be thought several times because it will consume big money for the user or the buyer. However, a used truck may be seen as old and dull, but one can revive such features and improve the automobile's condition by putting them in a service center and maintaining their proper condition. However, including the service charges, it is still a beneficial deal for the buyer to invest.

Before purchasing a used vehicle, one must look forward to the vehicle's market, such as its real market value, resale price, service cost, and many more. Purchasing a well-used mode of transportation will be vital in developing a business and advantageous for personal use.

• Good resale rate

Suppose a user had purchased an old truck from a used truck dealer tempe at a specific price and used it for their desired purpose. And if they are in the mood to resale the truck, they can do it at any time. Users can sell their truck to the same agency they had bought it previously and any other person or company.

You will be stun to know about the truck's resale price, as it will produce reselling money almost near to the buying cost of the vehicle and sometimes more than it according to the market demand and its conditional value. This factor is one of the best critical elements in the truck resale business. And many people have chosen such a business as their primary source of income as well.

However, this is not possible with buying and reselling the new one. If one person wants to resale its newly purchased truck, they will get almost half of the money they spent in buying the automobile, and that will be a deal of loss. This is why people are advised to buy an old motor vehicle.

• Diversity of trucks

There are many trucks in the market, and people are allowed to buy any type of this. Here motor-trucks are categorized according to their sizes like ultra-light, very light, light, medium, heavy, off-road, etc. if one is considering to buy an ultralight mode of transportation, first they must possess the knowledge about it. An ultra-light version is used to carry less heavy items and most probably used on the golf course and run on electricity.

Whereas light automobiles are a car-sized truck and can be used for personal use, this type is mostly purchased most by the families and best suitable for traveling and small items transportation. Other than that, a medium motor vehicle will be used in the market delivery of the products and used by various wholesalers and retailers for moving the products in the market and used for the home delivery also. In simple words, this type is mostly utilized for business purposes.

Whereas the heavy ones are used to transport ample material from one place to another, and such type requires a talented driver to drive. Other than that, off-road trucks are utilized in carrying oversized items and products like cars, equipment, machinery, etc., to move them from city to city and from country to country. A user can purchase any motor-vehicle according to their need and desire from used truck dealer tempe.

• Restoration charges

It takes a considerable amount for a new vehicle's maintenance services when sent to the official brand's service center. And it will cost a significantly less amount in the restoration and maintenance of an old truck, and they are not needed to send back to the company's service center. They can be restored in any ordinary garage. It will significantly impact the user's bank account, and they can save their money here in this way.

Although if a user has the skills and knowledge of wear and tear, they can do it at their garage too. Over-haul garage workers of a used truck dealer Tempe company will provide efficient services to the buyer and keep their happiness at the priority and deals with their satisfaction. It is not much expensive when a user sent their second-hand truck for maintenance at such recognized garages.

In the above section, the advantages of buying an old truck are very well discussed with elaboration and it will help a person to get the best-used mode of transportation.

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New Delhi: People participate in Statesman Vintage Car Rally 2016 in New Delhi, on Feb 28, 2016. (Photo: IANS)

New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) Sleek vintage beauties, including a 1919 Citroen, a 1920 Willy Overland and several Buicks, Austins and Dodges, were the focus of attention as they drove down Connaught Place here at the golden Statesman Vintage and Classic Car rally on Sunday.

Among the other rare cars on view were a 1930 Stutz, a 1942 Packard, a 1947 Buick, an exquisite 1949 MG, a 1936 Plymouth, a 1936 Cadillac, a 1939 Bentley -- all in perfect condition and sheen intact -- as they drove to the National Stadium, where the rally ended. There were some old Fiats, Fords and Mercedes Benz too.

The 50th edition of The Statesman Vintage and Classic Car rally, flagged off by Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, at the Statesman House on Barakhamba Road saw 88 cars participating.

The 1919 Citroen was the oldest car at the rally. Owned by Vir Srivastav, the car was one of the top winners.

Over 500 enthusiastic car lovers, including one who flew down from Kolkata, turned up to watch the event.

There were nearly 50 trophies, including in categories such as Most Elegant Car, and Best Overall Performance.

Among the winners was the 1920 Willy Overland, the 1930 Stutz, the 1939 Bentley, a 1938 Buick, a 1926 Austin, a 1929 Morris, a 1939 Hillman, a 1937 Rolls Royce, a 1934 Lagonda, a 1939 Singer, a 1942 Packard and a 1939 Riley.

The cars were in prime condition, with gleaming bodies -- highlighting the great love and care showered on them by their owners.

Some of the cars that did not make it to the winners list got commendations. Nine cars were unable to complete the rally.

A performance by the Border Security Force band rounded off the event.

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"Chennai is one of major auto hubs in India and needs efficient and cost-effective infrastructure and logistics support. Now, with the rail auto hub, it will be a much-needed shot in the arm for economical, timely and efficient transportation of our cars to the port and will aid our export strategy immensely," Nissan India president (operations) Guillaume Sicard was quoted as saying in a statement.

Nissan India is one of the largest exporters of passenger cars and has reached the landmark export figure of six lakh cars recently, it claimed.

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The rally, which is marking its 50th edition this year, is themed 'Drive in and share the Heritage'.

From a black Baby Austin of 1918, a 1938 Buick limousine, Cadillacs, Rolls Royces, Dodges, Jaguars, Chevrolet Impalas, and VolksWagen (VW) Beetle --- the vintage cars have lost none of their past sheen - just like old wine.

The rally, which will see around 100 cars participating, will be flagged off from the Statesman House on Barakhamba Road in posh Connaught Place here.

Last year, around 60 cars that participated in the rally were older than 1939, while 40 were younger -- from between 1940 and 1957.

Some of the regulars participating in the rally are the vintage possessions of the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Maharaja of Travancore. The jeep used for evergreen Bollywood number "Mere sapno ki rani", from the 1969 Bollywood movie "Aradhana" starring Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore, continues to attract car lovers during the rally, year after year.

A 1913 fire engine from Hyderabad is a regular and major attraction at the rally.

The organisers are hoping to get more spectators for the event and engage the younger generation following digital campaigns for the event.

The closing ceremony will be held at the National Stadium near India Gate, at which 44 trophies will be given out to the winners in various categories. A coffee table book will also be presented to the participants.

The cars participating at the event will have to pass close scrutiny by a panel of car experts on the state of health and vintage condition of the old beauties.

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Stockholm, Feb 21 (IANS)

Most of the faulty cars have been sold in Sweden, Britain and Germany, with 24,000 of them being in Sweden. Around 100 police cars, too, are affected, Xinhua news agency reported.

The software problem affects Volvo's 60 and 70 series of 2016 year's model, which has a five-cylinder engine. Affected car owners will receive a letter which encourages them to contact their nearest dealership for a no-charge fix.

Swedish Television cited Volvo owners discussing the faulty cars on an online forum.

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New York, Feb 20 (IANS) In a potential ground-breaking move, Swedish automaker Volvo has started testing a smartphone app that would replace physical keys making it the first auto manufacturer to offer vehicles without keys.

"The app would feature bluetooth-enabled digital key technology and would do everything the physical key does for you," nydailynews.com reported on Friday.

"It would even offer drivers the ability to receive multiple digital keys on the app, which would allow access to different Volvo vehicles in various locations. So car sharing would become a breeze, making it very appealing to families with several drivers, or even co-workers," the report said.

The app may also be able to book and pay for a rental car anywhere across the globe, and deliver the digital key right to your phone.

"At Volvo we are not interested in technology for the sake of technology," Henrik Green, vice-president, product strategy & vehicle line management said in statement, adding "New technology has to make our customers' lives easier and save them time."

The company hopes they can make this technology work by 2017.

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According to the company, the exercise is being carried out as part of Honda's preventive global recall campaign concerning air bag inflators.

The company elaborated that it will voluntarily replace the driver side airbag inflators of 57,676 vehicles of previous generation of City, Jazz and Civic.

"The replacement would be carried out free of cost at HCIL dealerships across India in a phased manner, starting from 20th February 2016, and the company will communicate with customers directly," the automobile manufacturer said in a statement.

"Customers can also check whether their car will be covered under this campaign by submitting their 17 character alpha-numeric vehicle identification number (VIN) on the special microsite which has been created on the company's website."

The company disclosed that it will replace the driver side airbag inflators of 49,572 units of its sedan City which were manufactured between January 2012 and June 2013.

Apart from City, the company will replace the inflators in 7,504 units of its hatchback Jazz manufactured from February 2012 to February 2013.

In addition, driver side airbag inflators of 600 units of luxury sedan Civic which have been manufactured between January 2012 and August 2012, will be replaced.

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(150508) -- TOKYO, May 8, 2015 (Xinhua) -- Japan's auto giant Toyota's president Akio Toyoda speaks during a press conference to announce its financial report for 2014 in the headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, May 8, 2015. Toyota reported the highest-ever profit. (Xinhua/Stringer)
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Chennai, Feb 18 (IANS) None of the India made models figure in the global recall of around 2.87 million units by Japanese automobile maker Toyota Motor Company, said Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt Ltd.

"India models are not involved in this recall," an official of Toyota Kirloskar Motor, a joint venture between the Japanese car maker and India's Kirloskar group, told IANS in an email on Thursday.

On Thursday, the Toyota Motor Company said it would recall around 2.87 million vehicles globally owing to the possibility of their seat belts being damaged in an accident.

The global recall involves Toyota's sports utility vehicle (SUV) models - RAV4 and Vanguard.

In India, Toyota Kirloskar rolls out SUVs Innova and Fortunner while Prado and Land Cruiser are imported as completely built units.

Toyota Kirloskar said that none of the above models are involved in the recall and the possibility of seat belt getting damaged in an accident as in the case of recalled models are remote.

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(150508) -- TOKYO, May 8, 2015 (Xinhua) -- Japan's auto giant Toyota's president Akio Toyoda speaks during a press conference to announce its financial report for 2014 in the headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, May 8, 2015. Toyota reported the highest-ever profit. (Xinhua/Stringer)
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Tokyo, Feb 18 (IANS) Japanese car-making giant Toyota on Thursday announced it was recalling some 2.9 million sport utility vehicles (SUVs) worldwide due to safety concerns.

The recall will include RAV4's of model years 2006-2012 and 2012-2014 and the Vanguard vehicle, EFE news reported.

In the US alone, about 1,124,000 RAV4's will be recalled, after it was found the seat belts might not properly hold passengers in case of a serious accident, the company said.

"In the event of a very severe frontal crash, the lap belt webbing could contact a portion of the metal seat cushion frame, become cut, and separate. If this occurs, the seatbelt may not properly restrain the occupant, which could increase the risk of injury," it said.

The recall applies to North America, Europe, China and Japan.

The world's largest car maker has been notified of two crashes - one in the US and the other in Canada - where seat belts in the vehicles' back seat had detached though it was not known if any casualties resulted.

Owners of those RAV4 models to be recalled will be notified by first class mail and Toyota dealers will install resin covers to the metal seat cushion frame for free, the company added.

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Mumbai, Feb 17 (IANS) The central government on Wednesday said that the on-road tests of vehicles manufactured by German automobile major Volkswagen have revealed that they exceed emission norms by over nine times.

According to a minister, the tests conducted by the Automotive Research Authority of India (ARAI) at the company's factory showed that the passenger vehicles' emissions come under the regulatory limits.

"However, the on-road tests have revealed emission in excess of nine times," said Heavy Industry and Public Enterprise Minister Anant Geete at the Make in India week being held here.

The minister said that the matter has been referred to the road transport ministry, which will take necessary action as per the law.

"We have informed the transport ministry about the factual position," the minister said.

In addition, the minister disclosed that the company plans to recall all of its cars.

"Emission violation is happening on the road and not in the lab. They have said they want to call back all the cars," the minister informed.

Geete elaborated that the company has accepted that it has used devices to manipulate emission data in the country. Similar devices were used by the company globally.

"They have accepted that they have put such a device in the car," the minister added.

On February 4, Geete had asserted that the German carmaker has admitted its cars do not comply with India's emission norms. The union minister said action will follow after a written undertaking from the company.

"They (Volkswagen) have said that they do not comply. They are also giving this in writing. We will take further action after that," the minister had said at that time.

"We have already asked them to recall the vehicles. When we will get a response in writing, we will propose further action."

The German carmaker has been maintaining that its models and others sold under Skoda and Audi brands do not violate Indian emission norms. Last December, Volkswagen Group India announced a voluntary recall of all cars with EA 189 engines in India.

Thus far, the company has decided to recall 323,700 vehicles of Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen brands.

"Volkswagen Group India will implement technical updates in accordance with the timelines presented to the authorities," it said in the statement issued on December 3, 2015.

"The 2.0-litre engines will get a software update. In the 1.5 litre and 1.6-litre engines, a 'flow transformer' will be fitted in front of the air mass sensor. In addition, a software update will also be performed on these engines. The measure for the 1.2-litre engines will be announced shortly," the company said.

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Sydney, Feb 9 (IANS) A French-made robot bus is set to be tested in Australia as part of wider preparations for the use of autonomous vehicles on local roads.

The driverless electric shuttle bus will carry 15 passengers at speeds of up to 45 km per hour in Western Australia's state capital Perth using three-dimensional sensing technology that allows the bus to avoid obstacles and detect and read road signs, Xinhua news agency reported.

Western Australia's Transport Minister Dean Nalder on Tuesday said the trial would help test the concept of automated vehicles on the state's roads.

"It is a trial, and at the end of the day trials have ups and downs. There will be things that don't work that we'll learn from, but it's all about learning so we're better prepared for the future," Nalder said.

Royal Automobile Club (RAC) of Western Australia CEO Terry Agnew said the staged trial, which is being conducted by RAC, would help lawmakers understand the legislative and practical challenges posed by autonomous vehicles.

"Not only are we thinking about regulation and how it might work operationally, but importantly we can start understanding the human factor of how Western Australians will embrace and use this innovative technology," Agnew said.

The development of self driving technology has become the latest battleground in the technology market with global automotive manufacturers snapping up software experts in the race to develop a self-driving car for the consumer market.

Many of the world's automotive manufacturers are catching up, with suggestions they will have roadworthy autonomous cars before 2020. Mercedes, Audi and Google all have working prototypes.

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New York, Feb 1 (IANS) While major auto companies are working on introducing the futuristic self-driving technology in cars soon, this threatens to open new security problems for them as hackers have sensed an opportunity here, a researcher has predicted.

"We are a long way from securing the non-autonomous vehicles, let alone the autonomous ones," said Stefan Savage, computer science professor at the University of California-San Diago, in MIT Technology Review.

Pointing out security flaws to car companies which are into driverless car technology, the researcher said that extra computers, sensors and improved internet connectivity required to make a car drive on its own increase the possible weak points.

Tech giant Google is working on autonomous cars as part of Google X project to develop technology for mainly electronic cars. The software installed in Google's cars is called Google Chauffeur.

Recently, with the help of NASA space technology, automaker Nissan successfully test-drove its all-electric, driverless car at NASA's Ames Research Centre in California.

Swedish automobile giant Volvo is also developing intelligent high bandwidth streaming capabilities in collaboration with Ericsson's cloud expertise and network to create a highway full of autonomous cars.

Tesla Motors, an American automotive and energy storage company, is also serious about self-driving car tech and hired processor design veteran Jim Keller to lead its autopilot hardware engineering team.

How this technology works?

The self-driving cars, or prototypes, rely on sensors to determine the surroundings and objects like pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles around it.

The software assisting the sensors then decides the speed and trajectory to drive safely.

How is technology a threat to security?

Savage said that it is possible to take control of conventional vehicles in various ways, for example by dialing into a car's built-in cellular connection or by giving a driver a music CD that makes the car connect to an attacker's computer.

Once inside the system, the hackers can take control of the brakes, engine or other components of a person's car remotely.

The developers are still not able to isolate these "important" parts of the car because everything must be connected to enable many functions people expect of cars.

This is also owing to the fact that carmakers do not know exactly what software is inside the vehicles they sell because the third-party suppliers guard the details of the software inside, things like the brake-control system or central locking components.

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(150508) -- TOKYO, May 8, 2015 (Xinhua) -- Japan's auto giant Toyota's president Akio Toyoda speaks during a press conference to announce its financial report for 2014 in the headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, May 8, 2015. Toyota reported the highest-ever profit. (Xinhua/Stringer)
****Authorized by ytfs****

Tokyo, Jan 27 (IANS) Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. sold over 10 million units worldwide in 2015 and the sale, beating Volkswagen and General Motors, earned the giant carmaker the world's top car-seller spot for the fourth straight year, it said on Wednesday.

The Japanese carmaker sold 10,151,000 units last year, including sales of its subsidiaries of Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. Toyota's two major rivals -- Volkswagen and General Motors -- failed to reach the 10 million-unit threshold.

Toyota's total sales for 2015 marked a 0.8 percent decline from the previous year, but robust demand overseas, such as in Northern America, helped its global sales boom, while domestic performance was weak relatively.

The Japanese company has aimed to sell 10,114,000 units worldwide, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the automaker is reportedly eyeing possible cooperation with another Japanese carmaker Suzuki Motor Corp. to meet increasing demand for compact cars in emerging markets such as India.

The two companies are exploring the possibility of joining hands in safe driving technology and eco-friendly cars, with cross-shareholdings an option, Japan's Kyodo News reported on Wednesday citing unnamed sources.

The tie-up would help Toyota boost its market share in India, said the report, but added that the two have said in separate statements that they were not discussing a potential partnership.

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Detroit, Jan 13 (AFP) Google plans to partner with automakers on its self-driving car project, but is not yet ready to announce anything concrete, the head of the project has said.

"We are going to be partnering more and more and more," Google self-driving project chief executive John Krafcik said at a conference held in the shadow of the Detroit Auto Show.

As the project evolves, Google is going to need a "lot of help" expanding self-driving cars, said Krafcik, a longtime auto executive, most recently at Hyundai.

Major automakers will be able to help it produce "at scale," Krafcik said.

Google has been testing self-driving cars in two US states, California and Texas.

Other automakers, including Audi, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes and Tesla, have also been working on bringing self-driving capacities into vehicles.

Krafcik was tight-lipped about details of the program, declining to tell a moderator how many Google staff work on the project or to estimate when self-driving cars might reach the general public.

The chief motivation is to expand mobility to more people, including the elderly and disabled, Krafcik said.

The tech giant also sees the technology as critical to addressing deadly car crashes.

Short-term goals include improving the technology's performance in bad weather and in complex traffic scenarios.

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San Francisco, Jan 8 (IANS) With the help from NASA space technology, automaker Nissan has successfully test-driven its all-electric, driverless car at NASA’s Ames Research Centre in California this week that will help scientists send self-driving vehicles on deeper space missions.

Nissan’s all-electric LEAF performed safe autonomous drives across the Ames centre on Wednesday in the presence of Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of Nissan and Jose Munoz, chairman of Nissan North America, NASA said in a statement on Friday.

The drive demonstrations were conducted with the Nissan representatives as well as Ames’ Director Eugene Tu and associate director Steven Zornetzer.

The Nissan LEAF vehicle is equipped with cameras, sensors and cellular data networking.

It uses robotics software originally developed for Ames’ K-10 and K-REX planetary rovers to operate autonomously.

“This is not only a demonstration of the transfer of space technology to industry but also the application of their research back to our space technology, with additional uses for our unmanned aircraft systems research here at Ames,” said Tu.

“This is a perfect example of technology literally driving exploration and enabling future space missions,” he added.

Last year, the US space agency and the automaker Nissan announced a five-year partnership to build self-driving, zero-emission autonomous cars for earth- and eventually space.

The partnership allows researchers to develop and test autonomy algorithms, concepts and integrated prototypes for a variety of vehicular transport applications.

Nissan is already testing cars that can navigate urban environments on their own.

The effort can develop technology that will be put to use in passenger vehicles here on Earth and rovers on planets.

In a First, Nissan Tests Self-Driving Car at Nasa Facility

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Bengaluru, Jan 5 (IANS) Swedish automobile giant Volvo on Tuesday said it is developing intelligent high bandwidth streaming capabilities in collaboration with Ericsson which can create the possibility of a highway full of autonomous cars.

"Imagine a highway full of autonomous cars with their occupants sitting back watching their favourite TV shows in high definition. This new way of commuting will demand new technology, and a much broader bandwidth to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience," said Anders Tylman, GM, Volvo Monitoring & Concept Center at Volvo Car Group in a statement.

Volvo aims to deliver a high-quality interruption-free experience in its cars using Ericsson's cloud expertise and network.

"We recently unveiled our design vision for autonomous cars with Concept 26. We are working on future solutions to deliver the best user experience in autonomous mode," the statement said.

Under the new intelligent streaming system, content will be tailored to the duration of a trip by predicting the route and looking ahead at network conditions to deliver a high-quality uninterrupted viewing experience.

Ericsson's Automotive Services head Claes Herlitz said: "Our research shows that almost 70 percent of all mobile data traffic will be from the video in the coming years."

"This requires an innovative connectivity, cloud and analytics solution that is not only capable of serving multiple moving vehicles across a highway, but also has the capacity to provide the high quality, uninterrupted video service", Herlitz added.

Future Volvo cars will provide a one-click navigation with customised media list by learning the most common routes and travel times to enable a customer to choose a route and select content tailored to the amount of autonomous time available during that commute, the statement said.

"If you want to watch the latest episode of your favourite series, the car will know how long the journey needs to take and can optimise the route and driving control accordingly. With autonomous drive it is no longer just a question of just getting from A to B quickly - it's about the experience you wish to have in the car - how you wish to spend the time you are saving," the statement added.

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New Delhi: GM CEO Mary Barra at the of launch the Chevrolet Trailblazer in New Delhi, on July 29, 2015. (Photo: IANS)

Chicago, Jan 5 (IANS) The General Motors Board of Directors unanimously elected Mary Barra as its next Chairman.

Mary Barra will succeed Theodore (Tim) Solso immediately, who will continue serving as the Board's Lead Independent Director, Xinhua cited Monday's statement published at GM's official website as saying.

Barra has served as GM CEO since January 15, 2014.

"At a time of unprecedented industry change, the Board concluded it is in the best interests of the company to combine the roles of Chair and CEO in order to drive the most efficient execution of our plan and vision for the future," Solso said.

"With GM consistently delivering on its targets and on track to generate significant value for its shareholders, this is the right time for Mary to assume this role."

Barra has set a clear vision for the organisation over the past two years, delivering strong operating results and leading the introduction of breakthrough vehicles and technologies by forming a strong leadership team from inside and outside the company, according to Solso.

Prior to being named CEO in 2014, Barra served as executive vice president for Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain since August 2013, and as senior vice president for Global Product Development since February 2011.

She began her career with GM in 1980 as a General Motors Institute co-op student and graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1985.

General Motors Co. and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries. GM, its subsidiaries and joint ventures sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands.

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San Francisco, Jan 5 (IANS) Ride-hailing application startup Lyft Inc. has received a $500 million investment from General Motors to build a fleet of driverless cars.

Lyft, based in San Francisco, on Monday said GM's investment, believed to be the biggest bet from the auto industry, was part of Lyft's fresh round of efforts to raise $1 billion needed to facilitate rapid growth, Xinhua reported.

It will earn the Detroit-based automaker a seat on the three-year-old startup's board.

A number of other investors, including Chinese companies Didi Kuaidi and Alibaba, were in the round, elevating Lyft's value to $5.5 billion.

As a competitor of Uber Technologies Inc., another startup in San Francisco, it expects revenue of about $1 billion in 2016.

While Lyft works on software to automate ride matching, routing and payments, GM was at the forefront of driverless vehicle development. The two will try together to create an integrated network of on-demand autonomous vehicles.

They will also work on a series of rental hubs in the US where Lyft drivers can rent short-term GM vehicles at discounted rates.

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New York, Jan 4 (AFP)

Civil penalties in the lawsuit, filed by the Justice Department on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, could run well above USD 20 billion, according to the suit.

The complaint alleges that the big German automaker intentionally installed "defeat devices" on its diesel VWs, Audis, and Porsches that met tough US environmental tests during official reviews, but skewed up to 40 times the legal levels of poisonous pollutants when on the road.

The Justice Department did not specify a specific overall penalty it was seeking.

But it laid out per-car penalties of up to USD 37,500, and up to USD 2,750 per defeat device, which could take the cost of the suit for VW to well past USD 20 billion.

"Car manufacturers that fail to properly certify their cars and that defeat emission control systems breach the public trust, endanger public health and disadvantage competitors," said assistant attorney general John Cruden.

"The United States will pursue all appropriate remedies against Volkswagen to redress the violations of our nation's clean air laws alleged in the complaint."

Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance at EPA, said the lawsuit would hold Volkswagen accountable and set the case on a "path to resolution."

"So far, recall discussions with the company have not produced an acceptable way forward," Giles said. "These discussions will continue in parallel with the federal court action.

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New York, Oct 8 (IANS) Getting a step closer to making hydrogen a less expensive fuel for cars, scientists have upgraded an inexpensive catalyst that can release four times more hydrogen from water than in its original form.

The upgraded catalyst -- molybdenum disulfide or 'molly' for short and nearly as cheap as dirt -- can replace the expensive platinum that costs a whopping $1,500 a gram.

"We should get far more output as we learn to better integrate molly with, for example, fuel-cell systems," said lead author Stan Chou from Sandia National Laboratories.

An additional benefit is that molly's action can be triggered by sunlight, a feature which eventually may provide users an off-the-grid means of securing hydrogen fuel.

Hydrogen fuel is desirable because, unlike gasoline, it doesn't release carbon into the atmosphere when burned. The combustion of hydrogen with oxygen produces an exhaust of only water.

Not requiring electricity to prompt the reaction may be convenient in some circumstances and also keep costs down.

"A molly catalyst is essentially a 'green' technology. We used sunlight for the experiment's motive power. The light is processed through a dye, which harvests the light," Chou said.

"A photocatalytic process stores that energy in the chemical bonds of the liberated hydrogen molecule. It's a kind of photosynthesis, but using inorganic materials rather than plants," Chou said.

"Plants use enzymes powered by sunlight to break up water into hydrogen and oxygen in a delicate process. We are proposing a similar thing here, but in a more rapid reaction and with sturdier components," he added.

However, co-author Bryan Kaehr cautioned that what has been established is a fundamental proof of principle, not an industrial process.

"Water splitting is a challenging reaction. It can be poisoned, stopping the molly reaction after some time period. Then you can restart it with acid. There are many intricacies to be worked out," Kaehr said.

"But getting inexpensive molly to work this much more efficiently could drive hydrogen production costs way down," he added.

The study is published in Nature Communications.

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New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS)

"In the context of a voluntary safety measure, Volkswagen Passenger Cars in India is calling 389 Polo cars for inspection and preventive repair of the handbrake mechanism," the company said in a statement.

"The quality assurance department of Volkswagen India has determined that under certain conditions, the handbrake mechanism would lose effectiveness."

According to the company, the analysis performed by Volkswagen India's quality assurance department has shown that a batch of handbrake cable retention levers in the rear brake liner might break under certain conditions.

"Volkswagen has already identified the cars and has published the repair instructions to the service organisation in India," the company said.

The company pointed out that the customers owning the identified vehicles will be actively contacted by its dealers to come for an inspection and preventive repair.

"This operation will start with immediate effect. The activity at the workshop will require approximately one hour and will be carried out at no cost to the customer," the company further said.

On Wednesday, the company had temporarily stopped the deliveries of a limited number of its hatchback Polo. However, at that time the company did not divulge the technical reason behind the move.

"The deliveries of the identified Polo cars in stock which had been put on hold yesterday (Wednesday) will be resumed as and when the inspection and preventive repair of each car is completed" the company added.

"Volkswagen further confirms that deliveries for the non-impacted Polo range continue as per schedule."

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Volkswagen Stops Deliveries of Its Hatchback Polo

Volkswagen India on Wednesday said it has temporarily stopped the deliveries of a limited number of its hatchback passenger car Polo due to a technical reason.

“Volkswagen India has confirmed a temporary hold on deliveries of its carline Polo due to a technical reason which is currently under evaluation," a company spokesperson was quoted in a statement.

The company did not divulge the nature of technical glitch, that has occurred in its Polo series of hatchback passenger cars.

"This concerns a limited number of cars out of a specific production period," the spokesperson said.

However, the company assured that deliveries of the non-impacted Polo range will continues as per schedule.

The company added that the temporary hold on deliveries of the select number of its Polo hatchback is not related to the ongoing diesel engine investigations being run on it by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).

"Volkswagen would like to clarify that the temporary hold on deliveries is not related to the ongoing EA 189 diesel engine topic,” the spokesperson added.

Last month, the government ordered a probe to find out whether the German car manufacturer had manipulated emission norms in India too, as it has done in the US.

The ARAI was asked to conduct an investigation into the matter after the automobile manufacturer was caught fudging emission data of its diesel-powered cars to bypass strict emission norms in the US.

The fudging scandal began unfolding in September when the European car giant admitted that it had used a software in the US to provide false emission test results.

The company said its vehicles with 1.6- and 2.0-litre diesel engines are "affected by the manipulations that are being talked about".

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