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.

Alfa Romeo MiTo range gets a revamp for 2011

Alfa Romeo MiTo 2011 Range gets a tweak or three The proper Alfa nutters aren’t overly fond of the MiTo. They don’t see it as a real Alfa, perhaps because it doesn’t break down every five minutes and it’s front wheel drive. We’re slightly on the side of the FWD thing but in a small, mass market car FWD it’s the layout of choice.

Design-firm boss Sergio Pininfarina dies after long illness

Sergio Pininfarina, who ran the famous Italian automotive design company of the same name for 40 years, has died after a long illness. He was 85. Pininfarina had the last word on the company's design projects for almost 50 years.