Toyota and Mazda to expand their partnership to hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, says reports coming out of Japan.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, insiders claim that a deal is being currently being discussed that would supply Toyota’s fuel cell and plug-in hybrid technology to Mazda, says Automotive News.

For years, Mazda has been trying to develop the emissions-free technology on their own, including even a hydrogen-powered rotary engine. Now it seeks to acquire Toyota’s fuel cell expertise, which has come to market in the Mirai, the only mass-production hydrogen FCV currently on the market.

Toyota believes that expanding hydrogen FCV development in other automakers will relieve what it has identified as the technology’s biggest current bottleneck, infrastructure. Earlier this year, Toyota released 5,680 of its fuel cell patents royalty free to spur development.

In return, Toyota would gain Mazda’s know-how in building fuel-efficient and lightweight powertrains, the SkyActiv development process underpinning everything from the next MX-5 Miata to the Mazda 6.

Toyota and Mazda already share a production facility in Mexico, where Mazda build the Mazda2, recently revealed as the Toyota’s Scion iA.

Japan’s Nikkei business journal says the companies ” intended to reach an agreement on the partnership soon,” though neither company has made an official statement regarding the matter.

Last week Sergio Marchionne coyly stated that he was “open” to a partnership with tech giants Apple or Google. As it turns out, the CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has already met with several rock star CEOs Silicon Valley, including Tesla.

Marchionne has made no secret about looking for a partner to merge with in an effort to consolidate the auto industry. His first and second choices, Ford and GM, have politely declined the courtship.

It’s not clear whether the meetings took place before or after Marchionne’s previous statements, but upon returning from California he expressed some of his opinions to the Automotive News. Regarding Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk: “I’m incredibly impressed with what that kid has done.”

When asked about a meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Marchionne said he was “interested in Apple’s intervention in the car, that’s his role,” but would not elaborate. It should be noted FCA and Apple already have a relationship, albeit indirectly. Fiat cars use audio systems branded by Beats Electronics, a company that was purchased by Apple in May 2014 for $3.2 billion.

Marchionne reportedly also took a ride in Google’s self-driving car but did not comment on it. Apple, for its part, is also working on an autonomous vehicle.

In the same interview, Marchionne reaffirmed his goal to develop luxury-branded SUVs under the Chrysler nameplate: “When I see a Range Rover on the street, my blood boils, because we should be able to do a thing like that, and we will.”

Fiat has published a dark teaser image that previews a brand new sedan designed to replace the Linea.
The image hints the yet-unnamed sedan will look considerably more modern than the aging Linea, a model released in 2007. More curvaceous than the outgoing model, it will feature elongated headlights, sculpted flanks, C-shaped tail lamps and a discreet spoiler integrated into the trunk lid.

The sedan will be slightly bigger than the Linea in all directions. The extra sheet metal will allow it to offer more space for the passengers riding in the back and a noticeably bigger trunk.

Built on the same Small Wide platform as the Fiat 500X and the Jeep Renegade, the sedan will be offered with a long list of four-cylinder gasoline- and diesel-burning engines borrowed from the Fiat parts bin. Specifications will likely vary from country to country; for example, in Brazil the Linea will feature a market-specific Flex engine that can run on either gasoline or ethanol.

Stay tuned, Fiat’s upcoming sedan will be introduced at the Istanbul Motor Show that will open its doors on May 21st. Like the Linea, the sedan will be sold in a number of global markets including eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa, but it will not join the Fiat lineup in western Europe and in North America.

Dodge showed the world the new 2016 Viper ACR today at a special event at its Conner Avenue Assembly plant in Detroit.
The ACR has always taken the traditional Viper formula to the next level, and the 2016 is no exception. While the existing TA (“Time Attack”) Viper package may seem like a track star, the ACR is just that much more extreme.

The tradition of the Viper ACR dates back to 1999, when the second-generation GTS was the first to bear the name. Modest by today’s standards, the old 8.0L V10 boasted 465 horsepower (up a few ponies from the base car’s) and efforts were made to drop weight and improve track handling. The 2008 ACR was the first to be offered without any engine upgrades, and a well-prepped example went on to set records at the Nurburgring.

Eight years later, Dodge still believes the heart of the beast beats strong enough as it is. After all, no naturally aspirated engine in the world makes more torque than the Viper’s 8.4L, 645-horsepower V10. Emphasis has instead been placed on handling and aerodynamics, with the entire package revolving around the ability to customize both to achieve the fastest lap times on the track of the owner’s choosing.

Exclusive to the ACR are 15″ carbon ceramic matrix, two-piece rotors clamped by six-piston Brembo calipers. All four corners of the suspension are equipped with adjustable coil-overs based on Bilstein racing shocks. Owners can adjust the ride height by up to 3″ for corner-balancing or aerodynamic needs.

Key to the new ACR’s performance are its race-ready tires. Dodge opted for Kumho Ecsta V720s in 295/25/19 up front and 355/30/19 in the rear. They were engineered specifically for the ACR and Dodge says that they’re good for 1.5 g of sustained lateral grip (and at least 1.5 seconds off a lap time, depending on the circuit).

For those who simply must be able to customize it all, Dodge is offering the ACR Extreme Aero Package. Capable of delivering nearly 1 ton of peak downforce at top speed (177 mph), this package includes a massive adjustable dual-element carbon fiber rear wing, a rear carbon fiber diffuser, a unique hood with removable louvers, a detachable extension for the front splitter and additional dive planes. The Extreme Aero package delivers more than three times the downforce of the Viper TA 2.0 package.

Inside, minimalism is the story of the day. To save weight, Dodge went with a simple, three-speaker stereo system with few extra features. Everything from the seats to the carpeting was selected with weight savings in mind.

“The Viper has always been more of a street-legal race car than a track-capable streetcar, and the new 2016 Dodge Viper ACR is the fastest street-legal Viper track car ever,” said Tim Kuniskis, President and Chief Executive Officer – Dodge Brand and SRT Brand, FCA – North America, in the ACR’s announcement. “Our goal is to arm our enthusiasts with the ultimate Viper track car to dominate road courses around the world.”

Expect firm specifications and pricing information to come as the ACR begins to arrive in the hands of customers later this year.

General Motors currently relies on thirsty trucks and SUVs for the bulk of its profits, but the Detroit-based automaker believes that electrification is the future of the auto industry.
“The company believes the future is electric, with billions (of dollars) of investment to support an all-in-house approach to the development and manufacturing of electrified vehicles,” GM said in its annual sustainability report.

GM currently has about 180,000 vehicles on the road with some form of electrification. That figure pales in comparison to the 235,000 full-size pickup trucks the company has delivered during just the first four months of 2015. Still, GM says it is committed to going green.

“GM will take a leading role in the auto industry’s transformation as it undergoes an unprecedented period of change,” said Bob Ferguson, GM senior vice president for global public policy, said in the report.

GM’s electric charge will begin later this year when it introduces the second-generation of its Chevrolet Volt. A hybrid version of the new Malibu is also on the way. In 2016 the company will launch its all-electric Chevy Bolt with a range of 200 miles.

Despite those new models, GM concedes it will miss its goal of having 500,000 electrified vehicles on the road by 2017.

Although GM is planning more electric and hybrid vehicles, the company isn’t giving up on its highly profitable trucks and SUVs any time soon. In fact, GM recently announced that it will spend $1.2 billion on its full-size SUV plant in Arlington, Texas.

GM doesn’t break down profitability by model line, but it is believed that the company is losing money on every electrified vehicle it sells while trucks and SUVs make up the lion’s share of its profits. Because of that fact, gas guzzlers aren’t in danger of being phased out by EVs any time soon.

Federal regulators were forced to halt trading of a penny stock this week after a Tesla acquisition announcement artificially sent shares of the defunct company soaring.
The financial confusion erupted shortly after Tesla announced plans to acquire Grand Rapids-based Riviera Tool LLC. Investors scrambled to invest in Riviera, but ended up dumping money into the wrong company.

As it turns out, investors were snatching up shares of Riviera Tool Co., which actually went out of business in 2007, according to the Detroit Free Press. Riviera Tool Co. eventually resurfaced as Riviera Tool LLC (which is the company Tesla is buying) but the two firms are not linked in any legal way. Think of it as the new GM versus the bankrupt entity of the automaker.

Despite that small fact, investors still scooped up as many shares of Riviera Tool Co. as they could find. Although the company was delisted from the American Stock Exchange eight years ago, shares of the company are still available on the so-called “pink sheets” market.

As a result of that sudden interest, shares of Riviera Tool Co. shot up from $0.00006 to 60 cents per share, marking an incredible 10,000 percent gain. The stock closed on Thursday at 22 cents, up a still astounding 4,400 percent.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority put a stop to trading on the defunct company, but it remains to be seen what will be done about all of the bogus trades.

This isn’t the first time Tesla’s name has been tied to a stock controversy. On April Fool’s Day Tesla issued a fake press release claiming that the company was launching an all-new model, which was simply a parody of the Apple Watch. However, some news agency picked up on the headline, sending Tesla’s stock artificially higher for a brief period.

It’s only two months removed from the McLaren 675LT‘s world debut at the Geneva Motor Show, but the British automaker has already sold out the entire production run of its heritage-inspired super car.
McLaren spokesman Wayne Bruce confirmed to Autoblog earlier on Friday that all 500 units of the 675LT’s planned production run have been spoken for. Bruce added that half of all 675LT buyers are new to the McLaren brand.

Although not cheap with an asking price of £259,500 (which converts to about $401,000), 675LT buyers are getting a heck of a machine. Powered by McLaren’s 3.8L twin-turbocharged V8, the 675LT develops a stout 666 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. Those figures net a 0-60 time in less than three-seconds and a top speed of 205mph.

Although a thoroughly modern machine, the LT, which stands for “Longtail,” is a throw back to the F1 GT McLaren produced in 1997. The rarest of all F1 models, McLaren built just three examples of its F1 GT Longtail for road use.

Live images by Ronan Glon.

Nissan has released a new video explaining why it decided to go front-wheel drive with its latest GT-R LM Nismo race car.
When Nissan announced earlier this year that it planned to attack the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans with a front-wheel drive racer, many were left scratching their heads; throughout history the vast majority of race cars have relied on rear-wheel drive to maximize handling.

As Nissan explains it, FWD afforded some packing advantages over the typical RWD setup. The GT-R LM Nismo uses a long hood, which allowed engineers to maximize the car’s aerodynamics, netting better stability and fuel economy. By placing the engine over the drive wheels, Nissan was also able to give the GT-R LM Nismo added grip for acceleration.

Nissan concedes that FWD does make the car understeer more than its RWD counterparts, but the automaker was able to overcome that pitfall with traction control management and specially tuned aerodynamics.

It remains to be seen if the unique layout will help Nissan reach the podium on race day, but the company did have success with a front-wheel drive racer in the late 1990s.