Some Chevrolet dealerships halt Volt sales due to tool costs

Some Chevrolet dealers have stopped carrying the Volt after deciding that their sales didn't justify an additional $5,100 for tools to service the plug-in hybrid. Last month, General Motors notified Chevrolet dealers of the added cost for tools, among other requirements, to keep selling and servicing the Volt. The math didn't work for Allyn Barnard, owner of Jim Barnard Chevrolet in Churchville, N.Y., near Rochester.

Bentley Continental Estate – Carrazzeria to make a Bentley Shooting Brake

The Bentley Continental Shooting Brake by Carrozzeria A week or two back we got the sniff that Italian Coachbuilders Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera where planning on building a limited run car based on the Bentley Continental. The rumours were vague – even from Carrozzeria who simply stated “Inspired by the success and the extraordinary characteristics of Bentley automobiles, Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera of Milan, with the support of Bentley Motors Limited, developed and built a fascinating new coach built Bentley, faithful to its long tradition of Italian coach building.” Which told us not a whole lot. But we now know that what Carrazzeria are planning is a Bentley Continental Shooting Brake – effectively a Bentley Continental GT Estate.

How CATIA for Creative Designers helps to keep Recaro in the hot seat

Dassault Systèmes' latest release, CATIA for Creative Designers, is a software solution that bundles applications to help designers imagine, create, share and experience their product designs, virtually. Johnson Controls division Keiper, is using Dassault Systèmes' latest CATIA software in the design process of its new Recaro vehicle seating systems. Mathias Gischke, Head of the Style and Surfaces department at Johnson Controls' Technical Center in Kaiserslautern, says: "13 years ago we decided to use ICEM Surf, the Class-A leading software at the time.