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Buried in the new technical details of the 2016 Chevy Volt released yesterday was a throwaway line about a small but important change that's due to the new 1.5-liter, four-cylinder engine. The first-gen Volt has always required premium gas but the new powerplant will be happy burning plain old regular.

The Volt's chief engineer, Andrew Farah, told AutoblogGreen that the change was due to today's Volt owners explaining they were not happy paying for top-shelf petroleum. "The ability to use regular unleaded was based directly on customer feedback," he said. "Since the range extender is an all-new engine, it was optimized to use regular unleaded at the outset. Using regular fuel will not have effect on vehicle acceleration or other performance factors."

As Larry Nitz, GM's executive director of vehicle electrification, told AutoblogGreen yesterday, the new engine is more powerful and quieter than the outgoing 1.4-liter engine that's used in the current Volt. Fuel economy and EV range specs for the next-gen Volt are not expected until the full car is revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

The recently merged Fiat Chrysler Automobiles empire has ambitious plans for growth, and it's going to need some big bucks in its coffers in order to enact them. Part of that cash injection is coming from the floating of its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, but now FCA has announced a further capital campaign to be based on the enormous asset that is Ferrari.

FCA's board of directors has just approved the separation of Ferrari from the rest of the group as a separate entity. Once that separation is complete, Ferrari will put 10 percent of its shares on the stock market "in the United States and possibly a European exchange" as well.

This isn't the first time that the idea of a Ferrari IPO has been raised. Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Chrysler, Fiat and Ferrari (pictured above), first raised the idea four years ago. Former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo nixed the idea, but now that he's been discharged, it appears there's nothing to get in the way of Marchionne's desires.

The remaining 90-percent stake in Ferrari will be distributed among FCA's existing shareholders, of which the largest (at over 30 percent) is the Agnelli family's Exor investment company headed by Fiat chairman John Elkann.

There's been a proud history of basing electric sports cars off of the Lotus Elise. Its lightweight architecture has formed the basis for the original Tesla Roadster, the PG Elektrus, the Rinspeed sQuba concept, the Zytek Elise prototype and the Dodge Circuit EV show car. But those projects have all come and gone. That run might not be over, though, as the next to raise the flag is Detroit Electric.

The startup showcased its SP:01 prototype over a year ago, and has been promising production ever since. Now it says it's on the verge, and has revealed a revised design for the production model – albeit in just the one solitary CGI image you see here. The updated shape, which looks rather similar to the comparably sized Alfa Romeo 4C, takes more of a fastback approach instead of the flying buttresses on the original design. The new form is designed to be more aerodynamic and incorporates an integrated rear wing and underbody diffuser to make it all the more so.

Although it's not showing us what it looks like yet, Detroit Electric also says it has updated the front end as well. Chief designer Jerry Chung says "The final design of the SP:01 incorporates signature Detroit Electric design DNA, carried over from the prototype model we revealed last year. Coupled with many motorsport visual cues, the new fastback design, bold face and sharp contours evoke the company's vision of pure electric performance."

Whatever it looks like, the Detroit Electric SP:01 is slated to go into production in the UK – not in Detroit or Holland as previously planned – next year, promising a 0-60 time of 3.7 seconds and a top speed set at 155 miles per hour, all on electric power.

Between GM's ignition switches and Takata's airbags, it's been a big year for recalls, but they keep rolling in. The latest comes from Chrysler, which has announced a pair of recalls for certain heavy-duty pickups and SUVs.

The first issue revolves around the 6.7-liter Cummins diesel engine available in the 2010-2014 Ram HD trucks, including 2500 and 3500 series pickups as well as 4500 and 5500 series chassis cabs. In the affected units, "a terminal connector near the fuel heater may be subject to friction-induced corrosion," according to the first of the two announcements from Chrysler below.

The problem could result in overheating and fuel leakage. Chrysler launched its investigation following cases of overheating, none of which actually started a fire, much less an injury or accident. As a precautionary measure, however, Chrysler is instructing service technicians to replace the terminals on an estimated 381,876 Ram units around the world – the vast majority of those (314,704) registered in the US, another 59,432 in Canada, 1,803 in Mexico and 5,937 abroad.

The second recall involves the 2014 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee. In the affected units, Chrysler has found that a debris cover can disrupt a circuit board's functioning and disable the vehicle's stability control system. Chrysler reports that it isn't aware of any injuries or accidents resulting from this issue, either, but to fix the problem, Chrysler technicians need only upgrade the software. This recall affects 184,186 units globally – 132,223 in the US, 8,871 in Canada, 4,742 in Mexico and a further 38,350 abroad.

Geographic or regional recalls – the practice of recalling vehicles based on their geographic location – may seem to make sense. After all, why recall a corrosion-prone spare tire carrier (as Toyota did in 2010 and 2012) in areas where rust isn't a major factor, or humidity-prone airbags (as per the Takata case) in dry climates? But the latest analysis suggests that the practice could be dangerously flawed.

Speaking with safety experts and congressional advocates, TheDetroitBureau.com notes that the Takata airbag issue does not necessarily only affect vehicles located in states with high levels of humidity on which the massive recall campaign has focused. The problem in this case revolves around is the essential mobility of automobiles. For one thing, owners of vehicles registered in northern states (like "snowbirds" based in the northeast but spending the winter in Florida) that have not been the focus of the recall may spend extended periods of time in southern states that are, but would be left outside the geographic region addressed by the recall. For another, used vehicles are often shifted from one part of the country to another, potentially transcending such regional lines.

While the high-profile case of Hien Tran – who was apparently killed by shrapnel from the faulty airbag in her Honda Accord in Orlando, FL – may make the case for regional recalls, the three other known fatalities resulting from the problematic airbags were registered in Oklahoma, Virginia and California. Those are all states which aren't particularly humid and were thus left outside the scope of the regional recall.

Issues like these have prompted lawmakers including Senators Edward Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthan (D-CT) to call for new safety regulations that would eliminate the practice of geographic recalls. "To issue a selective geographic recall is absolutely irresponsible and reprehensible when people living in other states may be equally at risk," Sen. Blumenthal said in an interview with the Bureau.

For our part, we can definitely see the point in limiting the practice of regional recalls. But in the case of the Takata debacle, where automakers lack the spare parts to enact the recall on millions of vehicles across the country at once, perhaps the best approach would be to start in those states with high levels of humidity and gradually work outwards to encompass all vehicles fitted with the troublesome equipment, regardless of where they're registered.

Holden had a crisis of leadership over the past few years. GM's Australian division had three chief executives in as many years, before Mike Devereux steered it through a period of relative stability for the better part of three years. Devereux was succeeded earlier this year by Gerry Dorizas, but after less than eight months on the job, Dorizas is stepping down, too.

We can hardly blame the departing Holden chairman for jumping ship as General Motors strips the division of its autonomy, scraps its production capacity and turns it into a sales network instead of an automaker – and one that has to fight for its identity all along. It's a sad time for Holden and one over which we would not want to preside.

Unlike his predecessors Mark Reuss and Alan Batey who moved on to more senior leadership positions at GM, Dorizas appears to be leaving the company entirely in order to "pursue other opportunities." However his resignation, reportedly effective immediately, makes us wonder if there wasn't something else behind his departure. In his place, Holden's CFO Jeff Rolfs will fill in as interim MD until a (hopefully) more permanent replacement can be found.

Smoking is very bad for you. It can cause cancer in obvious areas, like the lungs, larynx, esophagus, as well in other organs, like the kidneys, pancreas, stomach and bladder. It can cause emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis, heart disease, atherosclerosis, heart attack and stroke, among a score of lesser medical conditions. Oh, and it could make you run over your own head.

Okay, so maybe that last one is a bit less likely than the others, but it happened to a man in Aurora, CO, who accidentally dropped a lit cig down the front of his jacket. According to The Detroit Free Press, he jumped out of his van, trying to evacuate the cigarette from his jacket, only to be knocked down as the van rolled backwards and the driver's-side front tire ran over his head.

Despite some very serious injuries – he remains in critical condition in a local hospital – he's expected to survive.

It usually takes several years to figure out if a car's design is standing the test of time to become a future classic. When new, the Chevrolet SSR was derided at practically every turn, largely for its retrofuturistic styling and Trailblazer-based underpinnings, but now some time has passed. Maybe it's time for a revaluation.

This week Generation Gap aims to find out if the SSR's time has finally come, but it's putting the unusual pickup against the stiffest competition imaginable – a 1970 El Camino SS 454. They are both expressive Chevrolet pickups, but one of them is a better-regarded classic, and the other remains a bit of an automotive punchline.

A stock 2004 SSR would lose easily to the high-performance El Camino, and Generation Gap has attempted to even the odds just a little with an example tuned by Lingenfelter. Its 5.3-liter V8 features a supercharger to boost power to a claimed 385 horsepower and 395 pound-feet of torque. Getting on the throttle is greeted by a scream of blower whine from under the hood, which is actually rather impressive.

However, the newer Chevy is fighting a previous heavyweight. The El Camino packs a 7.4-liter (454-cubic-inch) V8 pumping out 360 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque through a Muncie four-speed manual. It's just one of 325 made that way for that year.

Check out the video to see if it's time to reconsider Chevy's iconoclastic folding hardtop convertible muscle pickup.

2014 Citroën DS Cabrio Racing

Do you like your forbidden fruit with an air of Francophile about it? If so, prepare for a juicy snack. Not only is today's review subject French, but it's a racing-tuned, hot hatch with a quasi-convertible top, too. Though you'll never buy one (legally) on our shores, you can get the lowdown on just how racy this Citroën hatch is by clicking through, here.





Cadillac ATS-V Coupe spied ahead of LA

The standard version of the Cadillac ATS Coupe is already a tasty automotive treat, so getting an early look at the up-powered version of it has got us pretty excited. Set to get an official reveal at the Los Angeles Auto Show, we fully expect that its twin-turbo V6 will have some impressive numbers attached to it.






2016 Chevy Volt powertrain revealed (kinda)

When Chevy tipped us that it would be revealing some details of the Gen 2 Voltec powertrain, we were excited to know more. As it turns out, The General is still playing things pretty close to the vest – including exactly how range will increase – but we do have some specs to share. Click through to see how you'll be Volting in a few years.




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Police officers certainly have a difficult job in keeping the streets safe, but as public employees in positions of authority, there is still a very real need for oversight. To that end, Ford is partnering with a tech company to offer a new system called Ford Telematics for Law Enforcement on its line of Police Interceptor patrol vehicles that could make cops safer, while giving cities a better idea of what its officers are doing.

The system streams live data about cruisers back to the home base to people like the police chief or shift supervisor. That info includes expected things like speed, location and cornering acceleration, but it gets incredibly granular as well, with records of things like if emergency lights are on, or even if an officer is wearing a seatbelt.

Ford Telematics for Law Enforcement "ought to protect officers as much as it protects the public," said Ford spokesperson Chris Terry to Autoblog. Constantly monitoring patrol cars offers cities a lot of advantages, too. First, it reduces potential liability because a department can prove where each vehicle is at all times. Also, officers know they are being watched and may potentially drive more safely.

As a potential example of the system improving officer safety, according to the chairman of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund in Ford's release, traffic accidents have been the leading cause of police fatalities in 14 of the last 16 years. A separate study from the group found that around half of the officers who died in a crash weren't wearing a seatbelt. Through monitoring, this solution might go some way toward mitigating that tragic figure.

All Ford Police Interceptor models can be ordered with the telematics system now, and according to Ford's Terry, the Los Angeles Police Department is already showing interest in acquiring it. To be clear, Ford doesn't have access to any of this data from municipalities; the automaker is simply offering the equipment as an option for departments to use. Scroll down to read the full press release about the new technology.

Fiat Chrysler has announced a management change following the company's woeful performance in the latest Consumer Reports Annual Auto Reliability Survey. Of the 28 brands surveyed, FCA's marques occupied the five the seven lowest scores, while Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Fiat were the four lowest scorers.

Doug Betts, FCA's 51-year-old head of quality "left the company to pursue other interests," which, considering the aforementioned paragraph, means he was sacked. According to Automotive News, Betts joined Chrysler in 2007, defecting from Nissan, and, insiders report, had a somewhat tumultuous relationship with new boss Sergio Marchionne.

His replacement is the newly promoted Matthew Lidane (shown at inset), who was formerly VP of systems and components. Lidane has been at Chrysler since 1987 and was previously chief engineer of the Jeep product team as well as the vehicle line boss for the compact US wide platform which (ironically) underpins two of FCA's lowest scoring vehicles, the Dodge Dart and Jeep Cherokee.

Scroll down for the official press release from Chrysler.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced that it's looking into Chrysler Group's handling of a pair of recalls affecting roughly one million Ram pickup trucks. Reuters is reporting that the regulatory agency is focusing on the availability (or lack thereof) of parts and "poor communications" from the automaker in its investigation.

"Customers have been advised in accordance with the regulations governing recalls," Chrysler spokesman Eric Mayne told Reuters via email. "We are continually replenishing our supply of replacement parts. Chrysler Group regrets any inconvenience our customers may have experienced."

NHTSA disagrees, arguing that the recalls, which affect 972,000 trucks from 2003 to 2012, are being delayed by the lack of parts.

"We have concerns with the administration and execution of these safety recalls and accordingly have opened an investigation to collect further information from Chrysler about the details of administration and execution of these campaigns and the logic that supports the strategies used," NHTSA wrote in a letter to Chrysler earlier this month, Reuters reports.

Over 1,000 consumers complained to NHTSA, prompting the probe, according to documents acquired by Reuters. Customers claimed that they attempted to have the recall work performed after Chrysler announced repairs would begin in January, only to be told by dealers it could take months for parts to become available.

The controversy over the ET-Plus guardrail end terminals has deepened as Texas-based Trinity Industries has now announced that it will stop selling the problematic roadway safety features.

For those just joining us, the issue revolves around a metal plate installed on guardrails by Trinity, the manufacturer found guilty of failing to notify federal authorities of a modification to its design. Several fatalities have been linked to the modified design, which has been known in some cases to impale drivers and vehicle occupants instead of protecting them. As a result of its secrecy, Trinity has been fined over half a billion dollars.

After the Federal Highway Administration ruled that the guardrail terminal needed to be tested further, ten states have banned installation of the ET-Plus components. Now another three states have outlawed the problematic guardrail as well, prompting Trinity to reverse its stance and cease sale of the ET-Plus and cancel outstanding orders for the same.

"The right things to do," Trinity's highway products chief Gregg Mitchell said to The New York Times, "is to stop shipping the product until the additional testing has been completed." Those states that have banned the ET-Plus terminals – now more than a third of those in the Union – are likewise awaiting the results of those FHA tests to determine whether they should continue using the components, which is ultimately each state's call.

Autoblog notes that as of this writing, Trinity still lists its ET-Plus components as being for sale on its website, which states: "The ET-Plus® is an NCHRP Report 350 Test Level 2 and Test Level 3 compliant cable anchored system and is acceptable for use on the National Highway System."

Episode #403 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Michael Harley, and Ronnie Fung of Autoblog Canada talk about the $5 billion investment Ford is making in Lincoln, the McLaren 650S, and the best apps for drivers. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening!

Autoblog Podcast #403:




Topics:

• Ford investing $5B in Lincoln
• 2015 McLaren 650S
• Most mseful apps for drivers

In The Autoblog Garage:

• 2015 Subaru Outback
• 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA250 4Matic
• 2014 Porsche 911 Pfaff Tuning GT3 Alternative​

Hosts: Dan Roth, Michael Harley, Ronnie Fung
Runtime: 01:52:50

Rundown:

• Intro and Garage - 00:00
• Lincoln Investment - 42:01
• McLaren 650S - 01:02:15
• Best Apps for Drivers - 01:18:20
• Q&A - 01:38:51

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