1964 Chevrolet El Camino on 2040-cars

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GM recalling over 243,000 crossovers over possible seat belt defect

2010 Buick Enclave - Click above for high-res image gallery
The summer of 2010's recall hit parade continues unabated today, with General Motors having just announced that it is asking 243,403 owners of its 2009-2010 Lambda crossovers to bring their three-row haulers in for inspection. The culprit? Second-row seat belts in select Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Saturn Outlook CUVs have "failed to perform properly in a crash."
According to GM, a second-row seat-side trim piece is to blame, as it can impede the upward rotation of the buckle after the seat is folded flat. As a result, if the buckle makes contact with the seat frame, cosmetic damage can occur, potentially requiring additional force to operate the buckle properly. So far, no great shakes, but in the process of applying that additional force, the occupant may push the buckle cover down to the strap, potentially revealing and depressing the red release button. As a result of this, the belt may not latch, or in certain cases, it may actually appear to be latched when, in fact, it isn't.

Artist imagines eerie world where cars have no wheels

The wheel ranks right up there with the telescope and four-slice toaster in the pantheon of inventions that have moved humankind forward. But what if a circle in three dimensions had never occurred to anyone, and we all had just moved on without it? Perhaps we'd be driving around in Lucas Motors Landspeeders with anti-gravity engines. Or maybe we'd have the same cars we do today, just without wheels.
That's the thought experiment that seems to have led French photographer Renaud Marion to create his six-image series called Air Drive. The shots depict cars throughout many eras of motoring that look normal except for one thing: they have no wheels. The models used include a Jaguar XK120, Cadillac DeVille (shown above), Chevrolet El Camino and Camaro, and Mercedes-Benz SL and 300 roadsters.
Perhaps one day when our future becomes our past, you'll be able to walk the street and see with your own eyes the rust and patina of age on our nation's fleet of floating cars. Until then, Monsieur Marion's photographs will have to do.

Next Corvette ZR1 to get 700 horsepower?

Word has it General Motors may offer as much as 700 horsepower in the C7 Corvette ZR1. Motor Trend reports the next Corvette Z06 will continue to rely on its naturally aspirated 7.0-liter V8 engine for thrust, but the lump will deliver substantially more power. How much more? MT says the engine could deliver up to 600 ponies. That's a jump of 95 horsepower over the current Z06, though no figures have been finalized as of yet. Right now, GM is reportedly waiting to see what sort of grunt it can glean from the next ZR1.
The automaker has already made it clear it will resurrect the LT5 name for the new supercharged V8, and if GM is already pulling 600 from the Z06, the big dog ZR1 would theoretically offer 700 horsepower. Either way, the range-topping Corvette will be suitably insulated from its less potent siblings. Stay tuned. We aren't likely to see the Z06 for at least a year, with the ZR1 trailing along at some point there after.