General Motors. Editor-In-Chief's Note: GM exiting the European market? According to wire reports, PSA, the French automaker, is interested in acquiring Opel from GM, which would be a major deal. GM has been losing money on its Opel operations for years, so I view this as very good news. If GM learned anything from its bankruptcy, it learned that there's no future in throwing good money after bad. This deal needs to happen. -PMD
(GM)
Still interested in Diesel power? If you are you might be interested in the fact that the EPA has certified the all-new 2017 Cruze Diesel Sedan with six-speed manual transmission as achieving 52 mpg on the highway, the highest highway fuel economy of any non-hybrid in America.
(BMW)
With 100 days remaining until the start of the 35th America’s Cup regattas, Defender ORACLE TEAM USA has revealed the America’s Cup class yacht, with which it hopes to claim a third successive triumph this summer. Over 15 designers and 50 boat-builders have contributed more than 85,000 man-hours to date to the design and build of “17”. The new America’s Cup class yacht is 15 meters long, equipped with a wing sail, and can “fly” at up to 100 km/h on its foils. This latest catamaran design is also extraordinarily maneuverable, making it an excellent match racing platform. Technology Partner BMW was also involved in the development, applying its expertise in the fields of aerodynamics and lightweight construction. The ability of the America’s Cup catamarans to foil – that is, to fly across the surface of the water on daggerboards – has made aerodynamics far more relevant than before. In order to allow the yacht to "fly" without respite, the helmsman must adjust the angle of the daggerboard foil and rudder foil on a second-by-second basis to suit the course, wind, speed and position of the opposition. To control all of this at virtually the same time, he needs an intelligent and intuitive steering module, which works with absolute precision, similar to a steering wheel in a racing car. The same BMW engineers that design the steering wheels for BMW Motorsport racing cars have also developed a light and intuitive steering wheel for ORACLE TEAM USA. “17” will be launched this week and testing and development will continue right up until the final race of the America’s Cup.
