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Porsche says Panamera avoids gas-guzzler tax

Few expenses were spared in conceiving the Porsche Panamera, but consumers will avoid at least one cost of ownership: the ignominious gas-guzzler tax. Porsche has announced ratings for the 2010 sedan; it will get a combined figure of 18 mpg or 19 mpg from the EPA, depending on the model. This means Porsche’s four-door foray will avoid a fairly substantial cost of ownership--a tax of up to $7,700 is levied on the most prolific guzzlers.

Update: Google self-driving car is really just a transportation pod

Google will launch its own fleet of autonomous vehicle prototypes – with no steering wheels and no gas or brake pedals – as the technology giant begins a new phase of its self-driving car project. Google designed the car and plans to have about 100 test vehicles that are fully autonomous with extra safety features, company co-founder Sergey Brin said during a conference Tuesday hosted by technology blog Re/code in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. > See how Google's autonomous car navigates city streets here The New York Times reported Tuesday night that a Detroit-area manufacturer is building the cars for Google, which declined to name the manufacturer, according to the Times' story.

Saab Museum reopens & Saab back in production – sort of

Saabs are being built and the Saab Museum re-opens. The Saab Museum has reopened after Saab’s bankruptcy problems and a Trollhatten dealer is to ‘build’ the last 100 Saabs. We’re still waiting for a decision from Saab’s administrators about which – if any – of the bids they’ve received for what’s left of Saab are solid enough to pursue.