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Battery breakthrough set to accelerate electric-car development

A team of scientists working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are claiming a significant breakthrough in recharging times for lithium-ion batteries. According to findings published in the scientific journal Nature, MIT researchers Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder have unlocked the potential of lithium-ion batteries by patenting a unique process which is claimed to allow a typical laptop power pack to be fully recharged in less than a minute--an improvement in recharging performance of roughly 90 percent over existing lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries generate electric current via the flow of lithium ions across an electrolyte, from an electrode to a cathode.

One Lap of the Web: Porsche product planning secrets leaked, a visit Ferrari factory circa 1988 and the $30 million Chevy Nova

-- A Porsche insider might have just leaked all of the German automaker's big reveals for the next few years if a photo posted at Jalopnik can be trusted. There aren't any real earth-shakers here, but be on the lookout for a Boxster and Cayman GTS, the Macan and an old-school targa top for the 911http://edit.autoweek.com/apps/pbcsedit.dll/red# at the next few auto shows. -- How much is a '75 Chevrolet Nova worth to you?

Hyundai ponders second U.S. plant

As a lack of production capacity restrains its growth, Hyundai will consider a second U.S. assembly plant. "That's something that we're going to look at," Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik said last week at the Detroit auto show.