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General Motors has formally established its first-ever car-sharing gig by signing a deal with peer-to-peer specialist RelayRides. GM's head of business development initiatives, Bob Tiderington, remarked:

We could stand on the sidelines and watch or we could choose to participate and try to make it into a favorable business model, which in this particular case, we have.

General Motors intends to adapt its OnStar tech to facilitate peer-to-peer car sharing through RelayRides. With OnStar in their vehicle, owners wishing to join the RelayRides car-sharing program will no longer have to install a separate device that allows entry and use of the vehicle.

When the peer-to-peer scheme kicks off in early 2012, all General Motors vehicles built after 2010 and equipped with OnStar will be peer-to-peer-ready, says Tiderington. That's approximately 1.7 million vehicles that could transform into peer-to-peer automobiles overnight, at least in theory.

The breakthrough here is that RelayRides will no longer have to equip participating vehicles with an add-on device that lets a renter access it with a membership card. With OnStar, the service can be turned on with no more than a couple of movements and clicks of a mouse.

AutoExpress recently took the time to sit down with Kia design guru Peter Schreyer for a chat about the company's GT Concept that debuted at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show. Schreyer is understandably keen to bring the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sedan to market, though he isn't necessarily wedded to the 400-horsepower turbocharged V6 under the concept's hood. Schreyer said that any number of drivetrain options could conceivably work, including hybrid and smaller displacement powertrains. The designer believes that Kia could still produce an executive sedan with the performance that buyers want while still maintaining excellent fuel economy.

That would certainly help make a more solid business case for the range-topping model. Schreyer also made it clear that while the GT would likely be successful in the U.S. and Chinese markets, the design lends itself to global sales. This all sounds good to us, but it's worth noting that the ultimate fate of any production model based on the GT Concept rests in the hands of the decision makers at Kia.

For those enamored of the Maserati GranTurismo, there's a steady progression of increasingly aggressive models to choose from. There's the base GranTurismo, with its 4.2-liter, 400-horsepower V8, then the GranTurismo S with a larger, more powerful 4.7-liter, 434hp V8, and finally the MC Stradale (as it's called in Europe, slightly less hardcore here as the GranTurismo MC) that packs a yet more prodigious 444hp into a more track-focused chassis. (Don't even get us started on the spectrum of convertible models.) But there will always be those for whom even the most extreme factory-prepared performance model will never be enough. And for such individuals, there's Novitec.

The tuning house is long known for tweaking Alfa Romeos, and through its Novitec Rosso division, the very best that Ferrari has to offer, too. But back in '09, they launched Novitec Tridente to deal specifically with Maseratis. And this is its latest project.

Starting with the MC Stradale, Novitec Tridente has dropped the suspension, mounted 22-inch alloys with a thin coating of Pirelli P Zero rubber, and – most crucially – superchaged and intercooled the engine (along with remapped management) up to 646 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque, fed by a big air scoop in the hood. That drops the 0-62 time to 3.9 seconds, and increases the top speed to an autostrada-crunching 190 miles per hour. Extensive interior accoutrements can also be added to the package that starts at €23,900 ($32k). You can see the results in full in the high-res image gallery, and the video and press release after the jump.

Hard as it may be to imagine for some, there was a time when there was no BMW 5 Series. Shocking, we know, but that was over three decades ago. The Bavarian mid-range staple is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and to mark the occasion, BMW is offering a special edition exclusive to the Japanese market.

The 528i 30th Anniversary Edition packs the M Sport aero package, matched to the blue color of the exterior, and interior options – including beige leather, satin walnut trim, head-up display, 16-speaker sound system with USB interface – plus aluminum window frames and tinted glass from the BMW Individual catalog and special door sill plates, all bundled as standard.

Only 200 units will be offered in the Asian island nation, with a price tag of ¥ 7,890,000 – equating to a little over $100k, or ¥740 (just $10) over the price of the standard 528i in Japan. Only the one image was released, but you can click to view it in high resolution. And while no press release was made available in English, you can follow the jump for the original text in Japanese, along with its auto-translated version.

Autoweek reports that McLaren is slowing down production of the company's MP4-12C due to quality concerns. The automaker is currently working on fixes to small problems like condensation in the vehicle's headlights, door functionality and an electrical issue that causes the battery to go dead over time. McLaren is refuting reports that the quality issues are safety or performance related in any way. Instead, the company says that production is being slowed to correct issues that are arising on vehicles already out in the wild.

In the case of the battery, McLaren engineers believe that the problem stems from the audio head unit. For now, owners are being advised to lock the vehicle's doors. Doing so shuts down the electrical system as a safety precaution, and will preserve the battery in the meantime.

According to Autoweek, there are 179 MP4-12C models ordered for the U.S., and those vehicles may be delayed by two to three weeks while the company works toward solutions for the quality issues.

When it comes to tastes in automobiles, Europeans and Americans tend to be on opposite sides of the spectrum. Small trumps big. Manual over automatic. Car against truck. Black versus white.

That's right, automotive paint supplier PPG says 20% of new cars in North America were white in 2011, while black dominated Europe with 26%. The Asian market preferred the neutrality of silver, which colored 25% of vehicles sold there.

Truth be told, none of the three major global markets embraced any real colors, as white, silver, and black made up the top three in each region. In North America, the order was white-silver-black, Europeans had it black-white-silver, while Asians chose silver-white-black. White took over the top spot globally with, of course, silver and black tied for second. Last year, silver topped PPG's list.

Perhaps the most important detail we found in PPG's press release was this factoid: "40 percent of the automotive consumers said they would prefer a wider range of color choices."

Read the entire release after the jump.

We blame "The Dukes of Hazzard". The formative years of our youth were spent soaking up images of a 1969 Dodge Charger blasting through fences, careening through fields and generally powering over terrain no street vehicle was ever meant to endure. Since then, we've had a soft spot for high-horsepower cars frolicking in places they have no business frolicking. That's exactly why find footage of the Ferrari California going all out in the snow so compelling. Whereas there are plenty of Ferrari owners who wouldn't so much as submit their pride and joy to a light rain, images of the Italian Exotic pounding over uneven snow are the kind that bring a smile to our faces.

Ferrari shot this footage at the company's test track in St. Moritz. Apparently, Ferrari Switzerland gathered a few owners for some fun on the powder. Color us jealous. Hit the jump to check out all of the beautiful sideways action for yourself.

Volkswagen has officially announced a recall of 168,275 Jetta TDI and Golf TDI models as well as certain Audi A3 TDI vehicles after a recent stop sale. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the problem stems from the fuel line that feeds injector number two. Over time, the resonance from the injector could cause the line to fail, potentially leading to an engine fire. Volkswagen will replace the line with an improved piece and fit each injector with a vibration damper to prevent the failure from occurring in the future free of charge.

The recall covers certain 2010-2012 Volkswagen Golf TDI and Audi A3 TDI models as well as certain 2009-2012 Volkswagen Jetta TDI and Jetta Sporwagen TDI models. Volkswagen will notify owners affected by the issue and work is expected to begin in November. Hit the jump for a look at the recall notice.

It's all anyone seemed to talk about at time time, but years later, does anyone really care how long it took for Bugatti to develop the Veyron and get it out on the market? Not really. But it looks like the elite automaker is about to embark down the same path with its next model.

According to reports, the return to the drawing board to redesign parts of the Galibier concept car into the production Royale that's expected to follow will take a few years. As a result, we aren't to expect to see the four-door super-sedan – whatever it will be called in the end – in production form until 2015 at the earliest.

The question is, with production of the standard Veyron now completed and only variants like the Grand Sport and Super Sport still finishing out their production runs, what will Bugatti do in the meantime?

Polyphony Digital has something special planed if Sebastian Vettel manages to take the Formula One Driver's Championship for the second year in a row. Vettel made history by becoming the youngest driver to ever take the title last year, and if he pulls off a repeat performance, Polyphony says it will release the Red Bull X2010 in game to anyone who logs on to Gran Turismo 5. As anyone who's familiar with the franchise can tell you, the X2010 is ultimate prize in GT5, as vehicle is the award for completing every challenge in the game.

Currently, there are only five races left in the 2011 F1 season, and Vettel has an astounding 124-point lead in the Driver's Championship. He only needs to score one single point in any one of the remaining five races in order to win the title. That means pulling off a 10th-place-or-better finish. Looks like GT5 fans will be enjoying their own X2010 very soon.

In addition, Polyphony has announced a sweeping update for GT5 that includes interior views for all vehicles in the game, reduced load times, the ability to save mid-race and 11 new NASCAR vehicles from the current season. The game's price will also receive a big cut, dropping from $59.99 to $39.99... just as Forza 4 shows up.

General Motors is aiming to improve fuel economy performance on both the Chevrolet Equinox and the GMC Terrain by integrating the company's eAssist hybrid system, according to GM Inside News. The report cites multiple unnamed sources indicating that the hybrid crossovers will debut for the 2014 model year, and that they will utilize the same eAssist system found on sedans like the Buick Regal, Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Malibu. The system pairs a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with a 15 kilowatt electric motor and a 115-volt lithium-ion battery pack.

So far, GM has priced its eAssist models identically to the company's V6 offerings. If that trend continues, buyers will have their choice of fuel-efficient crossovers without having to endure a price penalty. As you may recall, the Buick Lacrosse eAssist yields an EPA-estimated 25 mpg city and 37 mpg highway, which we're guessing wouldn't be too far off of what a front-wheel drive Equinox or Terrain eAssist would be capable of returning.

An unnamed Northern Virginia police agency has apparently scored itself a Nissan GT-R to use as a pursuit vehicle. Call it the last of the V6 Interceptors.

A company by the name of EVI Corporation spends its days outfitting law enforcement vehicles with all of the necessary electronics to track down baddies, and the company recently released a video showing a GT-R boasting a full range of blue and red flashers as well as the standard strobe treatment for both the headlights and taillights. Now, we've seen agencies snag high-dollar vehicles from drug kingpins and other seedy characters in the past, but this is something different.

According to the word kicking around the web, this GT-R showed up at EVI with a mere 13 miles on the clock, meaning its as fresh as a fallen snow. The only question is; which law-enforcement agency in the area (if any) saved up enough pennies to buy itself a Nissan GT-R for pursuit or public relations duty? EVI isn't saying for obvious reasons, but we're guessing it won't be too long before this machine gets its cover blown. Hit the jump for a video of the car with its lights blazing.

A Long-Overdue Entry In An Otherwise Overlooked Segment



A round of applause broke out as Marc Buoniconti, former linebacker for The Citadel, ascended the ramp of the very first VPG Autos MV-1 to roll off the assembly line inside AM General's plant near South Bend, Indiana. Buoniconti was rendered a quadriplegic after a gruesome tackle while playing football for his South Carolina alma mater. That was back in 1985 and Buoniconti has been wheelchair-bound for the past 26 years. Since then, he has gone on to start The Buoniconti Fund, the fundraising arm of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, and been heavily involved in the development of what you see here – the very first purpose-built, OEM-backed vehicle designed specifically to accommodate the needs of the disabled.

The MV-1 is a strange hodgepodge of engineering, but its mission is clear: To offer a mobility solution for the disabled that costs substantially less than aftermarket minivan conversions available today. Right now, VPG says there are some 1.5 million vehicles on the road that have been converted for wheelchair access, all from third-party companies who augment a factory vehicle's chassis and interior at substantial cost. "Aftermarket means afterthought," says Buoniconti, and the team at VPG Autos aims to offer a factory-crafted solution for an otherwise overlooked segment of the automotive landscape.

It looks as if the 2013 Ford Mustang will receive a 4.2-inch LCD screen in its gauge cluster. Stang TV has gotten its hands on some photos of a few dealer training posters introducing the new tech, and the screen can be configured to display all sorts of important vehicle information.

In addition to standard data like transmission and coolant temperature, owners will be able to keep an eye on cylinder head temperature, the air/fuel ratio and more. Now this is the kind of advance we get behind. Ford also appears to be readying a number of apps that drivers will be able to access through the screen.

Chief among those is a track app that can keep tabs on you information like eighth mile, quarter mile, 0-60 and 0-100 mile-per-hour times. Drivers will even be able to measure braking performance. It all sounds like a lot of gadgetry to play around with in a safe, controlled environment. Head over to Stang TV for a closer look.