No real surprises here, but Chrysler has finally pulled the plug on the Dodge Caliber’s production in anticipation to the unveiling of the all-new Dodge Dart next month at the Detroit Auto Show.

We’re frankly surprised the Caliber even lasted this long, having debuted in 2006 as a replacement to Dodge’s Neon to much negative press. In fact, the majority of the media regarded the Caliber as the bottom of the barrel in terms of small compacts, and was considered the worst of an already bad bunch of econoboxes.

The all-new Dart should be a sleek successor to the Caliber, based on a platform by Fiat’s Alfa Romeo brand. Many anticipate the Dart’s sales to be much more successful than the Caliber ever was.

[Source: Detroit News]

Discuss this story at DartForums.com

In a very ironic story, battery maker A123 Systems Inc. has admitted to a potential safety issue in batteries it supplies to Fisker Automotive. What’s the irony in that? Well, General Motors, which is currently dealing with a fire safety issue of their own with their Chevy Volt, will be turning to A123 Systems’ batteries for their upcoming plug-in electric Spark rather than continuing to use their current Volt supplier, South Korea’s LG Chem.

A123 is reporting that the batteries supplied to Fisker had misaligned hose clamps, part of the internal cooling system, that can cause coolant to leak. The coolant leak could lead to a potential electrical short circuit. A123 also did express that only about 50 vehicles are impacted by this and fixes are already underway.

Though not as bad as a potential fire hazard, GM’s Volt issue is also being centralized around a coolant leak that causes the fires after the battery has been severely damaged.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Everyone had to know this was coming the second General Motors announced the For My Vehicle (FMV) OnStar system, an aftermarket setup that can be implemented on any vehicle. The second OnStar’s FMV would help recover a Chrysler, there would be news about it – and here it is.

Last weekend, on December 18th, Jean Franklin of Gresham, Oregon had her stolen 2006 Chrysler 300 recovered thanks to OnStar FMV, making it the first case of a recovered car with the aftermarket mirror. And GM probably couldn’t have had it better for their first success story, not just being a Chrysler, but having the recovery time a mere 64-minutes after the original call was placed by Franklin.

OnStar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors, helps recover more than 500 stolen GM vehicles a month and can now aid in recovering any stolen vehicle, GM competitor or not.

OnStar’s FMV is priced at $199 plus installation with monthly service charges of $18.95/month or $199/year.

Remember when you thought that technology that recognized your finger print to open a car door or start your car was cool? How awesome would technology that started your car based on your butt be? We think it would be pretty kick-ass! (Get it? OK… nevermind.)

Researchers at the Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology in Tokyo are working on a car seat that measures the precise contours and pressures of your bum, which can be used to identify a specific person. Featuring 360 separate sensors, the car seat is able to measure pressure from your posterior, and is able to identify a driver with 98 percent accuracy. Now that’s a number we can get behind.

The seat will be ready for use in about two to three years, and the researchers hope to work with Japanese car manufacturers to start adding it to new cars as a security feature.

[Source: Popsci]

Lotus Motorsport achieved a couple of major milestones recently, firing up their first ever IndyCar engine while also giving their Exige R-GT Rally car its first shakedown runs – both of which occurred within 24 hours.

On December 22nd at Dallara’s headquarters in Varano Melegari, Palma, Lotus successfully started up the first official IndyCar engine while under the observance of Group Lotus Director of Motorsport Claudio Berro and his team’s technicians. Once they were satisfied with the overall results from the engine, the team began preparations to have the powerplant and car shipped to the United States where full testing will begin in January.

“The fire up in the car went really well, there were no nasty surprises and I think our partners are going to be very happy with the results. It was only October last year that we announced that we would become an IndyCar engine supplier and just 12 months on, we had an all new Lotus engine and three teams signed up – Bryan Herta Autosport, Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, and HVM Racing. We’ve still got a lot of work to do ahead of the start of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar season but so far I’m very encouraged by what I see”, said Claudio Berro.

Lotus also had their first shakedown runs in their Exige S R-GT Rally car in Turin with the team delighted with the results. Testing on the rally car will continue in the new year in preparations for the 2012 FIA World Rally Championship where the Exige will compete in the FIA GT category. It’s powered by a 3.5L, supercharged powerplant and looks to be a formidable race car in the series.

GALLERY: Lotus IndyCar Engine and Exige R-GT Rally

Ford‘s track-ready Focus ST-R isn’t cheap at $98,995, but it sure comes with plenty of punch as a turn-key race car powered by a 2.0L EcoBoost powerplant. To show off what the hot hatch is all about, Ford Racing and Andy Vrenko took it to its natural habitat – the race track.

The video does a great job highlighting the various features of the race car while blending in clips of it on the track. We also get a great in-depth look at the interior of the ST-R, showing off its Recaro seats and FIA-spec roll cage.

The ST-R is eligible to race in various racing series including Grand Am ST Class, World Challenge ST Class, Canadian Touring Car, as well as European endurance racing events, such as the Nurburgring 24.

GALLERY: Ford Focus ST-R

Watch the video below:

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Yesterday we announced the winner of MINI‘s Ultimate Test Drive Ever contest was Mathew Foster with his entry of Stewardess, Salt Flats, Paratroopers, Sushi and Falconer. Our imagination went wild wondering how the video turned out and now we know – and it’s pretty much everything we expected, and more.

A round of applause to MINI for making Foster’s vision come to life, and with production value rivaling some Hollywood films. MINI intends to make the most of the spot by running the ad on its Facebook page, Youtube channel and in 2,707 theaters this Holiday season.

Check out the MINI Best Test Drive Ever after the break.

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Even though we recently had the pleasure to review and enjoy Ford’s 2012 Mustang Boss 302, we didn’t lose sight of the classic Boss 302s that put the famed model on the map. Now it’s nice to see a contrasting classic 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302, restored from the frame-up to immaculate form, available for you to purchase.

This classic Boss 302 was originally built in September of 1969 out at Ford’s Dearborn, Michigan plant. Over 40 years later, it got a complete restoration by Daniel’s Hot Rods & Body Shop out in Jarretsville, Maryland. It sports a completely original, rust-free body on every panel except its front fenders. After the previous owner found some small inner-patches on the stock fenders, he tracked down NOS replacements and had them installed to showroom alignment.

Then the vehicle got its statement making paint job in Grabber Blue along with a flat black rear deck lid,  spoiler and expertly-applied Boss side stripes. The result? A classic Boss 302 that could rival a brand new 302 in the looks department bumper to bumper.

Under the hood is a numbers-matching small block 302 V8 Winsor powerplant with 290-hp. The fully restored classic has 52,169-miles on the odometer and has an asking price of $89,900. Combine the immaculate exterior and the perfectly-running engine with the pristine black vinyl interior and you’ve got a near-perfect retro resale.

GALLERY: 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302

[Source: RK Motors]

Having just 158-miles on the odometer, this 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge hasn’t a single flaw and with an asking price of just $49,900, we can’t even complain about its price.

The numbers-matching GTO Judge was restored to better than showroom condition and was expertly detailed with a Judge stripe package – which can be removed if the buyer wants a pure OEM look. The 1970 GTO has an original WS 400 powerplant that has been rebuilt to Ram Air III specifications. That means it now packs 365-hp and 455 lb-ft of torque out of its fully-tuned V8. It has even turned the quarter mile in a respectable 14.60-seconds at 99.55-mph – though we feel like it has a bit more in it than that.

The restoration process was as thorough as it could get, with the car’s body having been stripped down to bare metal and made as smooth as possible. It was then blasted with a coat of Pontiac Orbit Orange, clear coated, buffed and shined to near flawless condition. Judge graphics are located throughout the classic, while the interior has also been completely redone with black vinyl.

Check out a video of the GTO Judge after the break.

GALLERY: 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge

[Source: RK Motors]

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Volkswagen has agreed to halt its Blackberry email servers from sending emails to employees when they are off their shift after complaints that their staff’s work and home lives were becoming one (can’t we all relate).

The new restriction will cover all employees in Germany that are currently working under trade union negotiated contracts. Under the agreement, email servers will stop sending emails 30 minutes after an employee ends their shift, and will resume 30 minutes before their shift begins. This however does not apply to senior management – that’s why they get paid the big bucks.

We just find it funny that some employees can’t fight the urge to put their devices down and ignore work once they get home. But hey, we also understand the pressure that a job brings in making you believe that you have to constantly be by your email’s side. At least now they don’t even have a choice to make, and it won’t be their fault for not replying right away.

[Source: BBC News]