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GM to double size of battery lab

General Motors says it will spend $8 million to double the size of its Global Battery Systems Lab, which the company claims is the largest and most technologically advanced automotive battery lab in the United States. GM says the expansion will speed up the development of hybrid and electric vehicles, such as the upcoming Chevrolet Volt, by improving on-site testing of battery cells and systems. When finished, the lab will be 30,000 square feet bigger than it is now, for a 63,000-square-foot total.

Council Street Light Switch Off Policy Challenged

THE AA has raised concerns over the practice of turning off street lights at night, saying that councils are "ignoring the findings of road-accident inquests" in their bid to save money. The motoring organisation cited the fact that at least five pedestrians and a cyclist have been killed since 2009 because, according to accident investigators at inquests, drivers had little or no chance of avoiding the collisions on blacked-out roads with speed limits of 40mph or higher. The AA added that although some councils have recognised the danger and turned their street lights back on, others were "ignoring inquest findings".

Royal ride--Aston Martin DB6 Volante

We promise this will be the only mention of the royal wedding you'll see on autoweek.com, but we just can't resist a beautiful car. Prince William and Catherine Middleton, newly the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, drove away from their humble nuptials in an Aston Martin DB6 Volante with the top down, license plate reading "JU5T WED." Ignore the royals. Check out this car.