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Capitol Hill notebook: Obama defends autos, Akerson defends the Chevrolet Volt

Less than 10 hours after President Barack Obama wrapped up his third State of the Union address, manufacturing and automobiles continued to command the spotlight on Wednesday in Washington. The day began with General Motors CEO Dan Akerson defending the Chevrolet Volt before a U.S. House committee hearing, saying he didn't want it to become a "political punching bag," according to testimony provided by the company.

Renault confirms electric car production for 2011

It's hardly kept it a secret, but now Renault has officially announced that it will be putting its electric car range into production come 2011. You can read the full story on Renault's electric vehicle range in CAR’s December 2009 issue out on 18 November, in which Chris Chilton drives the mad concept cars. Yes.

BMW’s one-off M5 CSL (2009) – a helluva way to go

This is a one-off BMW M5 with close to 600bhp. Built to commemorate the 25th anniversary of BMW’s iconic M5 super-saloon, it’s a stripped-out lightweight special that shows what M Division could have done if it hadn’t built the X5 M and X6 M. Let’s start with the engine.