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Filed under: Garage , Podcasts , Green , Tech , Opinion/Editorial For Autoblog Podcast #95, we mix it up again, and this time Chris Shunk has corralled Alex Nunez and Sam Abuelsamid. We're using our time honored format -- we hit the Autoblog Garage first (some awesome stuff in it recently), then move on to news. We hit some nuggets like the LF-A crash, the Chevy Volt subsidies fight in Congress, and $10 airbags, to name a few. It all wraps up with some listener emails, one of our favorite parts of the podcast. We'll take the 'cast for another spin next week, thanks for listening! SUBSCRIBE to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes ADD the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator DOWNLOAD the show now Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Car Buying , Garage , Hatchbacks , GM , Saturn , Driving Click above for high-res gallery of the 2008 Saturn Astra Enthusiasts here in the States have long wondered why they couldn't buy Ford and GM small cars from Europe, and at least part of the answer has been that Americans don't want to pay big bucks for premium small cars. Spiking gasoline prices have quelled that argument, and fuel economy is now towards the top of shoppers' lists when looking for a new car or truck. While Ford is still more than a year away from bringing over the Euro Focus and Fiesta, GM has made the cross-Atlantic jump by importing the Opel Astra to our shores. The Astra is a hot-selling hatch in Europe with high-end amenities and very good fuel economy, and the model is shipping to the U.S. differentiated from its Euro twin by some Saturn logos and little else. We were itching to get our hands on an Astra to see if it were as good as advertised, and our tester came equipped with everything...
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Filed under: Garage , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Marketing/Advertising , Tech , Chevrolet If the Chevy Volt were a 150 mpg dairy cow, the General's marketing department would have a hand on every utter. The Volt is still more than two years from production, and the series hybrid is all over the Internet, TV, and magazines. When a vehicle promises as much as the Volt does, though, any update is big news. This time, engineers have come up with a computer algorithm to accelerate battery durability testing. The test increases battery testing from ten years to two by duplicating real-life vehicle speed and cargo-carrying conditions in a controlled environment while constantly recharging the batteries. The next step for the Volt is test mules that can put GM's e-Flex system through more unpredictable conditions like snow storms and Michigan potholes. Since the Volt's 375-pound battery pack resides down the center of the car and beneath its rear seats, GM had some unique...
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