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Better Place Electric Car visitor centre opens

Better Place have opened a visitor centre in Israel to demonstrate their battery swap technology for electric cars Last October we wrote about a start-up company in Israel – Better Place – that had a new way forward for electric cars by taking the purchase of battery packs out of the equation, and was developing a system for ‘Battery Swap’ stations where electric car owners could drive in and swap their battery pack for a fully-charged one in a few minutes. That story first brought to our attention our favourite quote of last year – by Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn – who said “A hybrid is like a mermaid: if you want a fish, you get a woman; if you want a woman, you get a fish.” Which probably explained why Nissan – and its partner Renault – got involved with Better Place. Better Place aims to address the main concerns of electric car drivers by making the battery packs in electric cars ‘swappable’.

New Ford Fiesta Automatic

The Ford Fiesta now gets an automatic option Of course, this is not just about catering for the small numbers of Europeans who can’t use their left foot. It is probably about catering for the huge number of Americans who won’t. As we’ve reported, Ford is on a big push to get America to love the new Ford Fiesta, and without an auto option on offer they will be restricting their sales numbers.

GT Academy winner Heitkotter's next step is the 24 Hours of Dubai

It all culminates in January at the 24 Hours of Dubai: That's when video-game player and GT Academy winner Bryan Heitkotter will race, professionally, with European GT Academy winner Jann Mardenborough in a Nissan 370Z. The GT Academy was a contest that started last December in which Gran Turismo 5 players competed for a seat in a real race car. Thousands entered, 32 players rose to the top, and 16 of those were invited to a seven-day whirlwind racing and evaluation program at the Silverstone circuit in the United Kingdom.