Hodaka Road Toad 100 Model #99 Front And Rear Wheel Rim "steel" on 2040-parts.com

GM's Volt engineer Weber moving to Opel

Frank Weber, the German-born engineer in charge of the Chevrolet Volt, is moving back to Germany to take a senior management role at Opel. He will be replaced by Doug Parks, who has been working at Opel since 2007 as chief engineer for GM's global compact cars, which include the Opel Astra and Chevrolet Cruze. General Motors Co.

LA Design Challenge 2011: studios compete to design Hollywood car

This year's LA Design Challenge will see competitors from around the world battle to design Hollywood's next movie car. Participating design studios from General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz Germany (Smart), Mercedes-Benz Japan (Maybach) and Mercedes-Benz US will all be showcasing their creative talents in an effort to secure top honors. Automobiles in Hollywood films produced throughout the years have become some of the most iconic symbols of the films – perhaps as important as the movies themselves.

New options make Prius pricey

High-tech features and luxury options will push the redesigned Toyota Prius into new territory--namely, $30,000-plus. The 2010 Prius hybrid will offer options found on luxury cars: systems that automatically park the car in a parallel parking space and slow the vehicle when a crash is likely. But Toyota is aware of a new competitor--the 2010 Honda Insight, a hybrid that is a little smaller and expected to be less expensive than the Prius.