DISCUSSION DEADLINE:The United Auto Workers' union has given privately-owned Chrysler a deadline of today to wrap up talks on a new labour contract or face a strike.
America's third-largest domestic carmaker, majority owned by buy-out group Cerberus Capital Management, will see workers at its US plants down tools later today if the two sides fail to reach agreement on the four-year contract and an expected separate deal on Chrysler's retiree healthcare obligations.
The UAW is understood to have given the deadline on Sunday, though it was not publicly confirmed by the carmaker until Monday. Chrysler could be the second US carmaker to face strike action in less than a month, as the big three Detroit carmakers seek to squeeze historic concessions on healthcare, wages and work rules out of the union.
PIVO UNVEILED:For all those drivers that hate parallel parking, Nissan could one day have the car for you.
The Japanese carmaker recently unveiled the Pivo 2, a battery-powered concept car with a fully rotating cabin that makes going backwards obsolete, since the driver can turn to face the direction they need to go. Its wheels also turn 90 degrees, making parking easier.
"With this easy-to-handle car, you can feel comfortable while driving," said Masahiko Tabe, senior manager of the advanced vehicle development group at Nissan.
The futuristic, three-seat car also comes with a robotic device that Nissan said monitors the driver's expression using sensors and then tailors its conversation.
The device, able to converse in English and Japanese, can help an angry driver overcome road rage or wake you up if you're prone to dozing behind the wheel, the carmakers said.
"Are you sleeping? There's a cafe 500m ahead," the device said during a demonstration of the car last week.
The Pivo 2 will be showcased at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month.
NEW BMW FOUR-DOOR:BMW will launch a four-door saloon version of the M3 early next year, ready to rival the impressive Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG. It'll be the first four-door M3 since the E36 - built between 1994 and 1998 - but shares the same mechanicals as its coupé sibling. So that's a 4.0-litre V8 with 414bhp, but now there's more legroom in the rear and 20 litres more space in the boot.
This makes the saloon 25kg heavier than the M3 coupé, but performance doesn't suffer greatly, with 0-62mph covered in 4.9 seconds.
BRAKING TECHNOLOGY:By 2009 new cars in the European Union should be fitted with advanced braking technology designed to cut pedestrian deaths, the EU's Commission proposed this week. So-called brake assist systems (Bas) could save over 1,000 lives a year by reducing the stopping distance of passenger cars, the European Commission said.
The system involves sensors that warn drivers of a possible collision and gives extra braking power to a vehicle.
Under a 2001 plan, the EU is aiming to halve road deaths to some 25,000 by 2010.
The Commission's proposal needs approval from EU countries and from the European Parliament.