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General Motors fires back at Volkswagen

General Motors issued a terse response this week to published comments by Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who suggested to the German press that Opel could be sold to a Chinese competitor. Detroit-based GM called Winterkorn's comments “regrettable” and accused him of “fanning speculation.” Opel was nearly sold to Magna and Russian investors in the wake of GM's 2009 bankruptcy. But then-CEO Ed Whitacre and the corporate board reversed that decision, igniting controversy from German political and labor leaders who have long chafed under American oversight.

MINI Soho: MINI’s next ‘London’ Limited Edition

MINI Soho, photographed in…Soho In case you’d forgotten, MINI decided earlier this year that all their Limited Edition would be named after London Boroughs, districts and landmarks. Hence the new Limited Edition MINI arrival gets the MINI Soho moniker. And actually – although MINI has in fact used the Soho moniker before (on the MINI Soho Clubman last year) - it’s a perfectly good name for the MINI, a car that still evokes the swinging sixties and all things London.

GM expands brake-override safety feature

General Motors is significantly expanding the use of a brake-override safety feature in its cars through the end of 2012. GM announced on Monday that it will add the software, which it also calls “enhanced smart-pedal technology,” in all of its passenger cars with automatic transmissions and electronic throttle control. The change will reduce power to the engine when both the throttle and brakes are pressed at the same time.