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Visionary tech

Ignore the marketers: There's nothing new under the technological sun. Cost and reliability concerns may have hindered the early adoption of these auto-tech breakthroughs, though you'd never know it based on their present-day ubiquity. 1941: Crossovers The combination of a fully enclosed, carlike body and all-wheel-drive underpinnings got its start with the Volkswagen Type 87 Kommandeurwagen.

Peugeot and Philippe Starck design bicycle for Bordeaux scheme

Peugeot and accomplished designer Philippe Starck, have developed a unique bike for the city of Bordeaux as part of their continuous promotion of cycling in the city. The new concept of bike-scooter, proposed by Starck and adapted for production by Peugeot, will help in the city's ongoing efforts to improve mobility within Bordeaux. In 15 years the number of cyclists has tripled after a number of initiatives came into effect, two examples being limiting traffic and developing the tramway within the city.

GM to slash global vehicle platforms by more than half, to 14, by 2018

General Motors says it will cut the number of vehicle platforms it uses globally by more than half over the next decade, in a bid to reduce complexity and save on product-development costs. “More of our components will be common, and more of our vehicles will be on global architectures,” GM CEO Dan Akerson told analysts on Tuesday. His remarks came as GM kicked off a series of presentations online, billed as its 2011 Global Business Conference.