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Mazda outlines weight-loss program

Mazda Motor Corp. will reduce its vehicle weights by at least 220 pounds beginning in 2011, with a combination of lighter-weight materials, smaller vehicle footprints and new engineering processes, a top executive says. The typical Mazda vehicle has gained 80 pounds with each successive redesign, “mostly in larger tires and wheels, and safety equipment,” said Robert Davis, senior vice president of product development and quality for Mazda North American Operations.

GM disbands unit that creates high-performance vehicles

General Motors, focusing on mainstream products in a battle to survive, has scrapped a unit that produced high-performance vehicles. GM on Wednesday disbanded High Performance Vehicle Operations, which is based at the company's suburban Detroit technical center, and redeployed its engineers, spokesman Vince Muniga said. "All high-performance projects are on indefinite hold," Muniga said.

CDN-GM Interactive Design Competition - Exterior Phase Launched

We're pleased to announce the launch of the second phase of the CDN-GM Interactive Design Competition, which challenges design students in North America to create an exterior design in response to briefs from each of GM's four brands – Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC. This second, exterior design phase of the competition – which can be found at www.cardesigncontest.com – follows on from the previous interiors design phase and again challenges students to design against briefs set by each of GM's four brands. Remember, you don't have to have entered or registered for the interiors phase in order to take part in this exterior phase of the competition.