Volkswagen wants Alfa Romeo, but Fiat doesn't want to sell

Fiat S.p.A. is refusing a new round of Volkswagen AG overtures to buy its troubled sporty Alfa Romeo brand, company sources told Automotive News Europe. VW is on an acquisition spree to help its bid to topple Toyota Motor Corp.

New Lamborghini Estoque saloon concept revealed

By Chris Chilton First Official Pictures 01 October 2008 20:00 After Lamborghini's endless string of frustrating teaser shots, here, finally, are the full pictures of the Aston Rapide-rivalling four-seat Lamborghini supersaloon, the Estoque.     The concept sports a V8, but Lamborghini is incredibly open-minded about possible powertrains. The Gallardo’s V10 will be offered but engineering boss Maurizio Reggiani told CAR that a powerful turbodiesel or possibly a hybrid petrol electric drivetrain would probably also be offered.

Ford Fiesta eWheelDrive gets wheel hub electric motors

The Ford Fiesta eWheelDrive – a driveable research vehicle built by Ford and German specialists Schaeffler – may be a regular supermini in size, but it points towards a potential future EV which is much more compact and very manoeuvrable. Ford has taken a regular Fiesta and dumped its powertrain, replacing it with a battery bank where the engine would be and fitted a pair of in-hub electric motors on the rear wheels. But the plan is to build new cars with the batteries under the floor which frees up the space under the bonnet which can then be all but removed to create a very compact urban car that still has space for four.