A certain demographic has long bemoaned the influence that Saudi Arabia, and its control of vast amounts of oil, supposedly exerts over U.S. automotive policies. In the case of General Motors, a new piece from The New York Times forges a much more literal connection: Prince Walid bin Talal, nephew of Saudi King Abdullah, has announced that his company Kingdom Holdings owns about 1 percent of GM, thanks to a $500 million investment during the automaker's initial public stock offering.

According to a statement from Kingdom Holdings' executive director of private equity, the investment indicates a confidence in GM's current management and its profit potential.

The prince is no stranger to investing in massive American corporations after notably becoming Citigroup's largest individual shareholder.
 

Could "there is a range of ranges" become the automobile industry equivalent of "the definition of 'is'" or "known unknowns"? Eh, probably not -- but it's an interesting comment.

The phrase came from Mark Perry, Nissan's North America product planning director for the Nissan Leaf, as part of his response to the EPA rating the Leaf at a lower fuel efficiency than the automaker has claimed. The EPA rates the Leaf at 99 mpg; this figure means the Leaf, according to the agency, gets a range of 73 miles per charge -- far lower than Nissan's claim that the Leaf will go up to 100 miles on the same amount of juice. 

 

As we've reported several times here before, Volkswagen has quite publicly declared its intent to become the world's No. 1 automaker by 2018, and it has recently pinpointed exactly how serious it is about the goal: $71 billion worth of serious.

That's the amount of money the German manufacturer plans to invest in its automotive division in the next five years in order to overtake the current top dog, Toyota. The figure was quoted by CEO Martin Winterkorn in a statement to VW's supervisory board, which approved investment plans through 2015.

A little more than half that expenditure will go to modernizing the stable of brands, including luxury badges, thereby extending the product range of Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini and Porsche as well as VW and Europe-only Škoda. 

Ford has been putting its new 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine through some serious abuse recently. The company has organized a number of stunts to attempt to prove to buyers that the engine is just as stout as its 8-cylinder, naturally aspirated counterparts. After all, Americans have been buying V8 trucks for generations, but until now, turbochargers have belonged only on diesel engines. Combining forced induction and gasoline with the kind of torture that most trucks endure during a lifetime, and you’ve got one formula still lacking proof.

Well, proof in the eyes of the public, at least.

 

Thanksgiving, of course, means tradition and family and, hopefully, an abundant feast. But for the deal-obsessed shopper Turkey Day is akin to an early Christmas.

 

Black Friday, as the day after Thanksgiving is known, is notorious for kicking off the holiday shopping frenzy with heavy markdowns — sometimes for that day only. In that spirit, Consumer Reports has published a piece on the best deals to be found on GPS units going into the holiday season. The list, after the jump, is a straight-up buyer's guide, taking into account price -- and where to buy, when -- and relevant information on notable features. We also feature Consumer Reports' brief video on how to shop the segment, which is also worthwhile; hardware and features are evolving rapidly enough that it's nice to know what's out there, and what's worth your money -- or not.

 

Back in July, we told you about a bill facing the Massachusetts House (it had already passed the Senate) giving consumers and repair shops access to the same diagnostic and software data made available to manufacturers' dealerships. Manufacturers would pay for access, but drivers wouldn't be stuck with only one avenue to repair -- that is, the approved dealership.

The law went out with a whimper when the House failed to vote, amid what seemed to be strong grass-roots support, and ended its regular session at the end of July. But according to a new study by AutoMD.com, nearly 83 percent of car owners support such a bill. 

Well, the idea that the Volkswagen New Beetle is a certified "chick car" just got another boost -- Oprah Winfrey has named the 2012 New Beetle as one of her "favorite things" during the first part of her annual giveaway bonanza.

The 2012 Beetle, not yet out, was revealed only in silhouette; a current model was featured during the discussion of the vehicle. The actual unveiling will take place sometime in the spring.

Performance-specific​ components, such as stiffer suspension, dual exhausts, sport seats and 19-inch wheels, will be a part of the new iteration, as will a clean-diesel powertrain option in the cabriolet version.

Volkswagen's media site is having problems -- no doubt in part due to the massive influx of interest in anything Oprah-related -- so I can't access a shot right now. I'll post one when it's available. From some of the spy shots I've seen, the thing looks decidedly sportier, but also a bit weird. From the side, it resembles the rear of a Porsche Panamera mated to the front wheel arches of a PT Cruiser.

[Source: Autoblog; USA Today.]