By Richard Cowan, Alistair Bell, Patrick Rucker, and Ben Klayman
Five months after an exploding air bag killed a Virginia woman on Christmas Eve of 2009 the manufacturer offered the U.S. safety regulator additional documents, but the agency said it was unnecessary because it has just closed its investigation.
Takata plans to shift production of BMW airbag inflators from Mexico to Germany, BMW said on Wednesday in a filing with U.S. safety regulators who have been probing questions about the quality of manufacturing at the plant.
Automakers that use the Takata inflators, including Toyota, warned that it was not feasible to switch to other suppliers to meet demand for replacement parts. The Takata inflators are at risk of blowing up with too much force and spraying occupants with metal shrapnel.
LiquidPiston, Inc. (LPI) the developer of engines based on its High Efficiency Hybrid Cycle (HEHC), has unveiled the alpha prototype of the X Mini—a power-dense, low-vibration, quiet, 70cc spark-ignited, non-Wankel rotary embodiment of the HEHC.
Bentley’s Grand Convertible previews a possible production car to take on the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe.
Lu Minjie, public relations director of the Audi brand in China, is under investigation by the central Chinese government’s anti-corruption task force, according to Chinese media.
