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GM spending $336 million on plant upgrades for Volt production

General Motors on Monday said it would spend $336 million on upgrades to the Hamtramck plant near downtown Detroit to build the Chevrolet Volt hybrid car. The plant will begin building Volt prototypes next spring, using the Hamtramck plant's existing production line. Production of saleable vehicles begins next fall.

Mazda's rotary engine stalled, not forgotten

Development of the next-generation rotary engine from Mazda Motor Corp., first unveiled three years ago, is making slow progress despite missing emissions targets. A top Mazda powertrain executive said today that the 1.6-liter rotary engine, called the 16X, is about 30 percent more fuel-efficient than the current rotary engine used in the RX-8 sporty car. In fact, the 16X so far performs slightly better than Mazda's standard two-liter gasoline engine, said Mitsuo Hitomi, general manager of the Japanese carmaker's powertrain division.

Ferrari adds Apple executive to board

Ferrari has tapped a high-ranking Apple executive responsible for iTunes and the App Store to serve as a new member of its board. Eddy Cue has worked for Apple for 23 years and reports directly to company CEO Tim Cook. He serves as senior vice president of Internet and software activities for the Cupertino, Calif., company.