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Opel Ampera plug-in hybrid design sketches leak out

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 19 February 2009 09:28 These pictures allegedly reveal the production-spec Opel/Vauxhall Ampera a fortnight ahead of its Geneva show debut. A Spanish website claims to have stumbled across the technical design sketches at a European patent office and – if authentic – they spill the beans on the new plug-in hybrid electric concept car that’s bound for a showroom near you within two years. The Ampera is Opel/Vauxhall’s version of the Chevrolet Volt, the breakthrough car that could just save GM if it survives its current crisis.

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2011 roundup & HUGE photo gallery

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2011 with the E-Type sculpture outside the house It’s really quite hard to convey just how enjoyable the Goodwood Festival of Speed is to those who’ve never been. John waxed lyrical over the weekend (someone has to do the weekend news) saying that the Goodwood FoS is “Disneyland for petrolheads, with the world’s greatest cars and greatest drivers wallowing in three days of high-octane worship at the alter of the internal combustion engine” And he’s absolutely right, but there’s more to it than that. It it works because, despite the fame and ability of many of those who turn up to Goodwood every year, from Button to Moss and Evans to Martin, there is little in the way of them and us; it’s 180,000 diverse people drawn together by a common love of all things car.

Update: Google self-driving car is really just a transportation pod

Google will launch its own fleet of autonomous vehicle prototypes – with no steering wheels and no gas or brake pedals – as the technology giant begins a new phase of its self-driving car project. Google designed the car and plans to have about 100 test vehicles that are fully autonomous with extra safety features, company co-founder Sergey Brin said during a conference Tuesday hosted by technology blog Re/code in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. > See how Google's autonomous car navigates city streets here The New York Times reported Tuesday night that a Detroit-area manufacturer is building the cars for Google, which declined to name the manufacturer, according to the Times' story.