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GM cancels Opel Vauxhall sale to Magna

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 03 November 2009 22:59 General Motors tonight surprised the world by pulling its proposed sale of its European division – Opel and Vauxhall – to Magna. In a dramatic U-turn, Detroit said 'an improving business environment for GM over the past few months' had made it reappraise its spin-off plans.The 11th hour switch means that GM will still retain full ownership of Opel and Vauxhall, which will now 'be restructured in earnest'. Canadian parts giant Magna had won the race to buy a controlling stake in GM Europe, as a newly relaunched Detroit sought to shore up its finances.

Solar car built by Cambridge University crashes

The annual World Solar Challenge is taking place right now. 38 teams from all round the globe are racing 3,000km (1,864 miles) across Australia using energy from the sun alone. Unfortunately, the planned entry from the UK’s very own Cambridge University isn’t amongst them – because five days before the start the above happened.

AW Design Forum: Style remains key as transportation systems evolve

The entire way Americans view transportation is going to change, predicts industry expert David Muyres, and designers will be key in making new methods of mobility desirable. Speaking at the AW Design Forum on Thursday morning in Detroit, Muyres said transportation needs to be looked at as a complete system, where cars, cities and technologies--such as the electrical grid--all interact. But for this to work, the cars need to remain exciting, said Muyres.