V-22 Osprey Crash In Morocco Kills Two

WASHINGTON: A Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey crashed in Morocco on Wednesday, killing two U.S. military personnel. Neither the cause nor circumstances of the accident were immediately available.

Wire services quoting U.S. embassy spokesman Rodney D. Ford called the dead "soldiers" but military sources told AOL Defense the only personnel aboard the aircraft were its Marine Corps crew, consisting of two pilots and two enlisted crew chiefs. Next-of-kin had yet to be notified as of 5:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, so the names of those killed had yet to be released.

The MV-22 was from VMM-261, one of several Osprey squadrons based at Marine Corps Air Station New River near Jacksonville, N.C., and was attached to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, AOL Defense's sources confirmed, speaking on condition of anonymity because U.S. Africa Command was responsible for publicly releasing information on the crash.

The accident occurred during a bilateral exercise with the Moroccan military called African Lion in which about 1,000 Marines and 200 other U.S. military personnel were participating.

Wednesday's accident marked the first fatal crash of a Marine Corps Osprey in more than a decade, a period in which the helicopter-airplane hybrid "tiltrotor" enjoyed the best safety record of any Marine combat rotorcraft. An Air Force CV-22 Osprey carrying Army Rangers on a night raid hit a ditch and flipped onto its back after a hard landing in Afghanistan on April 8, 2010, killing four of 18 on board.
 
 
http://defense.aol.com/

2012 Chevrolet Volt: Overview

Pros

• Fuel economy
• Throttle response
• Control layout
• Noise

MSRP: $39,145 -

Invoice: $35,579

Vehicle Highlights

The 2012 Chevrolet Volt gets expanded feature and retail availability following its introduction for the 2011 model year. GM calls this 4-passenger, 4-door hatchback an "extended-range electric vehicle," because it has, in effect, two different drivetrains: an all-electric one (battery and motors) that drive the car for the first 40 or so miles after a full plug-in recharge, and a gas-powered hybrid system (with gas engine and fuel tank) that automatically takes over after that to give about another 300 miles of range. At that point, the fuel tank can be filled just as in a normal car to give another 300 miles of range. If the car can be plugged into a wall outlet, the battery can be fully recharged in about 10 hours on normal 120-volt household current, or four hours with a special 240-volt charging station. The gas engine is an 84-horsepower 1.4-liter 4-cylinder, but whether the electric motors are running by themselves or in combination with the gas engine, the combined total is 149 horsepower. Safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, curtain-side airbags, front-side airbags, and driver and passenger knee airbags. Among the available features are a remote-charging and vehicle-control program that owners can download and run from various data-plan-enabled cell phones. Among other things, it allows the owner to pre-heat or pre-cool the vehicle before getting in. Previously standard, a navigation system and hard drive for storing digital-music files are optional. Leather upholstery, heated front seats, front- and rear-obstacle detection, and a rearview camera are optional. The 2012 Volt is slated to be available for purchase in all 50 states by November 2011. This report is based on evaluations of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com

Auto Industry Looks Rosy for 2012

After hitting a 30-year low in 2009, U.S. auto sales are poised for a second straight year of growth in 2012 — the result of easier credit, low interest rates and pent-up demand for cars and trucks created by the Great Recession.
The sales forecast bodes well for the industry's continued recovery and for the broader American economy.
Just two years ago, Detroit automakers were in peril. Car sales plunged as unemployment soared, and loans became harder to get. Chrysler and General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection. Ford avoided bankruptcy only by borrowing billions.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-auto-industry-looks-ahead-201046646.html