GM Works with Fire Chiefs to Make Chevy Volt Safe for First Responders
The National Fire Protection Association is working with GM to train first responder fire fighters how to safely manage the site of an electric vehicle crash, such as the upcoming Chevrolet Volt. NFPA will be reaching out to other auto manufacturers in an effort to include vehicle-specific information in training as more EVs enter the marketplace.

2011 Buick Regal Wins NADAguides 'Car of the Month'
The all-new 2011 Buick Regal is given the September "Car of the Month" award by NADAguides.com for its innovative technology, increased power and fuel mileage as website traffic puts Regal ahead of comparative models from Audi, BMW and Lexus.

East Coast First to Get Hydrogen Highway
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger planned to bring 100 hydrogen fueling stations to the state by the end of this year, but that's languished in the recession. It's starting to happen now on the East Coast as SunHydro plans to bring a chain of self-service hydrogen fueling stations from Massachusetts to Florida.

More OEMs, Suppliers Partner for China Electric Vehicle Strategy
A new Energy Sustainable Transportation Alliance has just started up and joins Eaton, IBM, development firm AECOM, automaker Beiqi Foton Motor Co., lithium-ion battery maker MGL, and electric motor producer Broad Ocean. The Alliance says it will be focusing particularly on city-owned fleets, taxis, and commercial charging infrastructure, and joins several other companies in China's EV market.

TrueCar.com Says Now is the Time to Buy a Car
As the calendar transitions from summer to autumn, luxury brands and large trucks are making a big push to capture new buyers, according to the latest TrueCar.com TrueTrends Report. TrueCar, the authority on new car pricing and trends, is reporting high incentives, top discounts and price drops on many large trucks and luxury models, making this a good time to buy.

BMW Surpasses Lexus in Sales for 3rd Straight Month
Interesting phenomena: Luxury brands fared fairly well for most automakers in August as BMW 1 series gained 53%. while Lexus declined by 15%. Ford saw 9.4% increase in luxo Lincoln models over August 2009 and GM's Cadillac brand rose by 83%.

US Auto Sales Down Sharply in August
Most automakers saw declining sales in August over last year's "cash for clunkers" boom -- GM down 25%, Ford down 11%, Toyota down 34%, Nissan down 27%. Chrysler sales rose 7% but had limited sales last year. Overall sales have remained steady for the year. Wall Street Journal, September 1, 2010