Rumormill: Lamborghini packing a surprise or two up its sleeve for Geneva?

Filed under: Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Lamborghini , Rumormill It was quite a while back that Lamborghini promised it would have something new for every major auto show. That seemed quite the claim at the time, particularly for a company with a two-car model lineup, but with a few exceptions here and there, the Italian automaker has been keeping pace famously. So what has Sant’Agata Bolognese got in store for us for the upcoming Geneva Motor Show ? A surprise – or two – from what we hear.

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Rumormill: Lamborghini packing a surprise or two up its sleeve for Geneva?

Official: BMW M goes diesel, introduces M550d, X5 M50d, X6 M50d

Filed under: Sedan , Performance , Wagon , Geneva Motor Show , Europe , Crossover , BMW , Diesel Rumors of BMW M launching a diesel model have been circulating for over a year, and confirmation has finally arrived in the form of not one, not two, but four M-fettled oil-burners, each sporting all-wheel drive and the oft-rumored tri-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six. And before you get excited, none of them are slated for sale in the U.S. – this is a Euro-only affair. So with that unfortunate fact out of the way, let’s get to the details.

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Official: BMW M goes diesel, introduces M550d, X5 M50d, X6 M50d

British limo company eager to show its chops with stretched Audi R8 [w/video]

Filed under: Sedan , Videos , Audi , Specialty Some vehicles are made to be stretched. Others, less so. A Lincoln Town Car , for example, is a good platform for a limo. A Mercedes-Benz S-Class , sure.

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British limo company eager to show its chops with stretched Audi R8 [w/video]

Report: Memo says Bush administration almost pushed GM and Chrysler into earlier bankruptcy

Filed under: Government/Legal , Chrysler , GM , Earnings/Financials 2008 was one crazy, almost surreal year. It was the year when the economy took a nosedive, and the U.S. auto industry nearly ceased to exist.

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Report: Memo says Bush administration almost pushed GM and Chrysler into earlier bankruptcy

Report: ‘Smart Fabric’ could control climate, audio functions in future BMWs

Filed under: Technology , BMW , Infotainment Touchscreens are becoming common and touch pads – like those in the Audi A7 , A8 and next A3 – are gaining traction, but the next input revolution might not be gesture controls , it’s likely to be “smart fabrics” and BMW is already toying with the technology. Researchers at the Polytechnic School of Montreal, Canada have developed a new flexible, polymer-based fiber that can be woven into existing fabrics. Essentially, it’s a capacitive pad that can register touches and swipes when alternating current is plumbed through the fibers.

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Report: ‘Smart Fabric’ could control climate, audio functions in future BMWs

Video: Fiat co-opts Jeep tagline for new Panda campaign

Filed under: Budget , Europe , Marketing/Advertising , Hatchback , Fiat Recognize that tag line? It was used in the first ad for the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee , a 90-second spot devoted to resetting our image of Jeep and, subtly, America itself. Chrysler parent Fiat evidently thinks so much of the tagline that they’ve taken it to Italy for use in the ad campaign for the 2012 Fiat Panda . Italy’s had a tough time of late: just as it was trying to get Berlusconi and his “bunga bunga” in the rearview, its debt crisis went from ‘critical’ to ‘euro-zone threatening,’ austerity measures led to social and labor unrest, and now comes the capsized Costa Concordia and an Italian captain with the unique ability to trip and fall into a lifeboat before his passengers.

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Video: Fiat co-opts Jeep tagline for new Panda campaign