Researchers at the University of Cambridge say they’ve created a lighter, cheaper, longer lithium-oxygen battery that could eventually rival gasoline engines in electric vehicles in terms of range and weight, Automotive News reported.

The scientists announced that they had created a working prototype of an “ultimate battery” that could be up to 10 times more energy-dense than lithium-ion batteries. They said the battery, to date, could be recharged more than 2,000 times.

The lithium-oxygen batteries could eventually replace lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles and offer a range similar to gasoline engines, but researchers say that could be more than a decade away.   Read More >

For such an elderly car, Buick is getting awfully creative with its teasers. Released last week, Buick teased its 2017 LaCrosse in an image and video ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show, where it will be officially revealed.

The silhouette of the LaCrosse shows hips and shoulders similar to Buick’s Avenir concept — and not much else. (Thankfully, the bulbous Vulcan rear end of the Avenir appears to be gone.) Read More >

On her weekly podcast, German Prime Minister Angela Merkel said Volkswagen’s scandal hasn’t harmed the German automobile industry’s image, but that the automaker would need to conduct its investigation with transparency to restore faith in the country’s industry.

“A lot will depend on how Volkswagen deals with the issue,” Merkel said, according to Reuters.

Separately, sources told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung (via Reuters) that the automaker, under pressure from investigators, is offering amnesty to employees who reveal what they knew about its cheating devices. Amnesty won’t apply to top-level managers, according to the report.

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Volkswagen told dealers that it would buy back some of its unsellable, used diesel cars withering on their lots at fixed prices to help dealers cope during the automaker’s growing diesel scandal, Automotive News reported.

The cars that dealers are accepting on trade-in, but can’t sell due to their illegally polluting engines, have sat on lots while the automaker develops its plan to fix 482,000 cars sold in the U.S. with the illegal “defeat device.” Volkswagen has offered a $2,000 “loyalty discount” for any Volkswagen trade-in, including diesel cars.  Read More >

I love you, unicorn.

A TTAC reader spotted this 2016 Volkswagen Passat Alltrack roaming the streets of Phoenix the other day and dutifully reported “What the hell is that?”

This Passat wagon, which is sold overseas, may be the only one in the States. It’s wearing manufacturer tags and likely just had its way with VW’s massive testing circuit in Phoenix.

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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced Friday that it would recall nearly 900,000 cars worldwide — including more than 550,000 cars in the U.S. — for defective airbag and brake systems.

The company said some 2003 Jeep Liberty and 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee models were fitted with faulty airbags that could deploy. The automaker acknowledged that seven injuries had been caused by the airbags, which were not made by Takata. In all, 284,089 cars are affected by that recall.

Additionally, the company said more than 275,000 Dodge Journey models from 2012-2015 may have defective anti-lock brake systems that could fail due to excess moisture.

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Mitsubishi announced Thursday that it would make available Rockford Fosgate Special Edition badges attached to a Mirage.

The badges, which cost $14,495 to start, include a car that still has four speakers (five if you count a 6.5-inch subwoofer) and four wheels.

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The Janesville, Wisconsin, General Motors assembly plant that was shuttered six years ago will likely officially close, according to letters in a proposed agreement between United Auto Workers and the automaker, Automotive News reported.

The plant, which was opened in 1919 and once produced large SUVs such as the Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL, employed as many as 7,000 workers in the 1970s. Hundreds of workers were sent to other plants when the plant suspended operation in 2009, six months before GM’s announced bankruptcy.

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Most mainstream consumers don’t recall much about Isuzu. If asked, they’ll either remember their friends’ droptop Amigo back in college, or if they are of a certain age, they’ll know Joe Isuzu and his outlandish claims. Some enthusiasts might know Isuzu as the partner in numerous joint ventures with GM, Honda and Subaru, among others.

That said, Isuzu built some remarkably good SUVs worthy of both halves of that descriptor. The Trooper especially was a good, sturdy off-roader that could handle family duties.

However, for a few short years, Isuzu made a wacky, limited-edition truck that could handle nearly any terrain in style.

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Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey on Thursday sent a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asking the agency to re-evaluate millions of fuel economy credits awarded to the automaker by the agency for cheating diesel cars.

The letter, which was addressed to Administrator Mark Rosekind, outlined the automaker’s exceedingly fuel efficient fleet average from 2008, which now could be in jeopardy after the automaker admitted it cheated emissions tests and could impact those cars’ mileage. Read More >

Volkswagen will still invest $900 million in its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant despite company-wide cost cutting from its diesel disaster, the automaker announced Thursday.

The company had long planned on a mid-size, three-row SUV to compete in the U.S.. However, those plans were upended when the Environmental Protection Agency announced in September that Volkswagen’s diesels had been illegally polluting, and the company shed billions from its value in following days.

The three-row SUV, which may follow closely Volkswagen’s CrossBlue Concept, was announced last year for the Tennessee plant. Volkswagen said it would begin building the SUV at the end of 2016. Read More >

She seduced my soul.

She is a a 1989 Jeep Wagoneer with just over 200,000 miles and a fantastic maintenance history. With beautiful, thick leather seats and a working A/C system which is a huge deal here in Georgia, the old woody Jeep could only have been better if it had a stick and a four-wheel drive system mated to its iron-block 4.0-liter inline-six.

I started the bid at $700, a dealer who specializes in the Latino clientele bid it at $800, and then another fellow jumped in at $900. By the time bidding was at $1100, I waited a few seconds, and did a slicing motion with my hand which knocked it up to $1150.

Would I get it?

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Mazda will show two different concepts of its lightweight convertible next month at the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas.

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A proposed contract between the United Auto Workers and General Motors will eventually end a tiered pay system divided between veteran auto workers and employees hired after 2008, and provide annual bonuses and substantial raises for the first time in a decade. The automaker has offered an $8,000 signing bonus to approve the deal.

The proposed deal outlines the automaker’s $8.3 billion investment in American plants — above its $6.4 billion improvements already announced — over the life of the contract. The deal was posted on the UAW website Thursday.

The deal for GM workers, which is sweeter than the deal hammered out between the UAW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, will be reviewed and voted on in coming weeks.

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After stopping in Juneau, we now take the Alaska Marine Highway — the ferry in simple terms — on a little over five hour sail to reach the next town in our journey: Petersburg, definitely the most picturesque fishing station I got to visit in Alaska.

Nicknamed Little Norway and founded in 1897 by Peter Buschmann, who gave the town its name, Petersburg still displays a very strong Norwegian influence, with many buildings decorated with flowery Norwegian rosemaling paintings. In fact, many of Petersburg’s residents can trace their heritage back to Norwegian ancestors and there was a time when Norwegian was still commonly heard on the street.

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