Chevrolet Volt uses parts made from oil-collecting booms

General Motors is transforming about 100 miles of boom material used to soak up oil in the Gulf of Mexico into auto parts for the Chevrolet Volt. The oil-soaked plastic material collected off the Alabama and Louisiana coasts will keep more than 100,000 pounds of waste from the nation's landfills. The project is expected to make enough plastic to supply the first-year production of Volts with plastic parts for under the hood.

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG: The gullwing takes flight

Before we reveal what it is like to hot-lap a prototype version of Mercedes-Benz's 6.2-liter V8-powered SLS around the 2.2-mile Sachsenring in eastern Germany, let us tell you one thing that puts the big rear-wheel-drive coupe into clear perspective. The SLS, planned to get its first public outing at the Frankfurt motor show in September, is not based on any existing Mercedes model. Rather, it has been conceived, designed and engineered from the ground up in a no-compromise approach by the German carmaker's in-house tuning division, AMG.

Peugeot RCZ Red Carbon Limited Edition launches – price from £26,000

Peugeot RCZ Red Carbon Limited Edition (pictured) All the column inches (or whatever the digital equivalent is) for Peugeot’s RCZ since last year have been about the more powerful RCZ R. But that’s no surprise when it comes with a very agreeable 270bhp to play with – enough to push the RCZ R to 62mph in 5.9 seconds – good looks and decent economy. But Peugeot has a whole selection of RCZs lurking below the R, so as it’s obviously time to garner some attention for the R’s lesser siblings we get a limited edition RCZ to bump up sales and footfall in Peugeot showrooms – the Peugeot RCZ Red Carbon Limited Edition.