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Richard Petty Experience branches out, adds exotic-car driving programs

Stock-car legend Richard Petty is in the market for a few new cars: a couple of Ferraris, a pair of Lamborghinis, an Audi R8 and a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. That's because the Richard Petty Driving Experience is branching out from offering rides and drives in NASCAR-style stock cars. Beginning in January, at least one of the Petty facilities will offer rides and drives in exotic cars.

Chief engineer of Ford Focus quits to lead German yacht builder

Jens Ludmann, chief program engineer for Ford Motor Co.'s new Focus, is quitting the automaker to head a German-based maker of luxury yachts. Ludmann led a team at Ford's European base in Merkenich, near Cologne, Germany, that developed the Focus, the first car from CEO Alan Mulally's global One Ford strategy and flagship of the company's new range of global C-segment products. The German native, who joined Ford in 2000, will become CEO of Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH, effective Aug.

Tesla system will swap a Model S battery in 90 seconds

"This is the title fight," said Elon Musk, in typical brashness. "This is battery-powered versus gasoline." The Tesla CEO preached this to a crowd of Tesla owners and supporters while formally confirming the company's worst-kept secret: the fact that the Model S sedan's batteries were designed from the beginning to be swapped out. The system Tesla envisioned has plenty of ambitious, techno-wizardry automation, with a focus on as much convenience as possible: The Model S will drive over a pit containing machinery which automatically changes the battery from underneath in approximately 90 seconds -- and the driver doesn't even have to get out of the car.