AutoWeek Daily Drive — Tuesday, November 30, 2010

HOME   |   CAR NEWS   |   CAR REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   AUTOSHOWS   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   MARKETPLACE Tuesday, November 30, 2010                  The Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland is equipped with the 5.7-liter V8.... 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland, an AW Drivers Log EXECUTIVE EDITOR ROGER HART: This is the first new product to come out from the Fiat-led Chrysler Corp., and if all the new vehicles are as good as this one, Chrysler will have a bright future. What is especially impressive here, in my opinion, is the ride, the handling and the quietness of the cabin at highway speed. It is many steps up from the previous Grand Cherokee. Also...   Amped Up! GM to hire 1,000 engineers and researchers for electric cars General Motors will hire 1,000 engineers and researchers in Michigan for research and development of electric vehicles, CEO Dan Akerson said on Tuesday morning in Detroit. The new hires will work on batteries, electric motors and power-control technology. Akerson made the announcement at the...   NASCAR: Keselowski keeps crew chief in jump to Sprint Cup Paul Wolfe, the crew chief who led Brad Keselowski to this year's NASCAR Nationwide Series title for Penske Racing, has been named crew chief for Keselowski in the Sprint Cup Series. Wolfe replaces Jay Guy as Keselowski moves from Penske's No. 22 Dodge to the No. 2 Dodge. Wolfe and Keselowski...   Toyota Prius recalled for water-pump fix Toyota is recalling about 650,000 units of the Prius hybrid for a problem with the coolant pump that could cause the engine to overheat. The recall covers 2004 to 2007 models of the Prius. More than half of the vehicles being recalled, 378,000, were sold in the United States. Toyota said there...   Missed Shift? American 'Top Gear' struggles to find its own identity "What happened to 'Top Gear?' " my favorite bartender asked this past weekend. "Somebody took the BBC's scripts and wrote Tanner, Rutledge and Adam over cues which previously said Jeremy, Richard and James," I replied. It's an easy sideswipe I admit, but for me--and I'm guessing for the...   Formula One: Many questions as FIA reveals 2011 entry list The FIA has published the 2011 Formula One entry list and it leaves many questions unanswered. No drivers are listed for Force India, Scuderia Toro Rosso (although the team has named Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari), Virgin Racing and HRT. Meanwhile, there is no second driver yet listed... You May Have Missed...   Burnin' for You: Porsche Cajun gets the green light for production The Cajun is a go.Porsche will continue to pepper the SUV market with a new entry below the successful Cayenne, and the Cajun is expected to launch in North America in 2013.Porsche's supervisory board instructed the company to develop plans for production in a meeting on Monday.The Cajun is a...   NASCAR: Drivers may be limited to running for one championship Talks persist that NASCAR drivers will be limited to running for only one of the three major series championships in 2011.The rule--not official but expected to become so soon--is primarily intended to keep full-time Sprint Cup drivers from running for the Nationwide Series title. Full-time Cup...   IndyCar: Carpenter to replace Fisher in 2011 Izod IndyCar Series team Sarah Fisher Racing and its primary sponsor, Dollar General, on Monday said that Dollar General renewed its support of the team for the 2011 IndyCar season, with Ed Carpenter taking over driving duties from team owner Fisher in the No. 67 Dallara-Honda. The team will...   NHRA: Massey joins Don Schumacher Racing Don Schumacher Racing on Monday said that Spencer Massey, the 2009 NHRA rookie of the year, will join the team to drive the Prestone/Fram Top Fuel dragster for the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. The addition of the 28-year-old Massey will give the team a three-driver challenge for the...   Audi unveils GT4 customer race-car concept Audi used the German Touring Car Masters race in Shanghai to unveil the TT GT4 race car. Audi plans to sell the TT GT4 for about 120,000 euros, or about $157,000 at the current exchange rate. But the car is unlikely to make it to U.S. tracks; Audi plans to target European and Asian markets. The TT...   Pininfarina reveals New Stratos Pininfarina has revealed a one-off supercar called the New Stratos for German collector Michael Stoscheck. The car has a 4.3-liter V8 and is meant to channel the spirit of the legendary Lancia Stratos rally car of the 1970s. It was shown on Monday on the Paul Ricard circuit at Le Castellet.The...   ACO announces final 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup schedule The Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the promoter and organizer of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has released a seven-race fixture list for the second Intercontinental Le Mans Cup series in 2011.This year, the inaugural ILMC championship comprised just the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, and 1,000-...   NASCAR: Petty takes over Cup team Richard Petty Motorsports has confirmed the final sale of its racing assets to an investment group that included former NASCAR star Richard Petty, Medallion Financial Corp. and DGB Investments. The reorganization of the Ford-based team will allow it to field Sprint Cup entries next year for A. J.... CLICK HERE TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the AutoWeek Daily Drive E-mail or to sign up for other AutoWeek e-mail products. 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