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Drive like a prince: Join us for a walk through Monaco's car collection

Small, crowded, and a royal pain in the trunk lid to drive into during rush hour, Monaco sounds like an improbable location for a huge car museum. And yet, this tiny city-state has been closely linked to car culture for over a century. It hosts two major racing events every year, many of its residents would qualify for a frequent shopper card if Rolls-Royce issued one, and Prince Rainier III began assembling a collection of cars in the late 1950s. He opened his collection to the public in 1993 and the museum quickly turned into a popular tourist attraction. The collection continued to grow after his death in April 2005; it moved to a new facility located right on Hercules Port in July 2022. Monaco being Monaco, you'd expect to walk into a room full of the latest, shiniest, and most powerful supercars ever to shred a tire. That's not the case: while there is no shortage of high-horsepower machines, the first cars you see after paying ˆ10 (approximately $11) to get in are pre-war models. In that era, the template for the car as we know it in 2023 hadn't been created, so an eclectic assortment of expensive and dauntingly experimental machines roamed whatever roads were available to them. One is the Leyat Helica, which was built in France in 1921 with a 1.2-liter air-cooled flat-twin sourced from the world of aviation. Fittingly, the two-cylinder spun a massive, plane-like propeller. Government vehicles get a special spot in the museum. They range from a Cadillac Series 6700 with an amusing blend of period-correct French-market yellow headlights and massive fins to a 2011 Lexus LS 600h with a custom-made transparent roof panel that was built by Belgian coachbuilder Carat Duchatelet for Prince Albert II's wedding. Here's where it all gets a little weird: you've got a 1952 Austin FX3, a Ghia-bodied 1959 Fiat 500 Jolly, a 1960 BMW Isetta, and a 1971 Lotus Seven. That has to be someone's idea of a perfect four-car garage.  One of the most significant cars in the collection lurks in the far corner of the main hall, which is located a level below the entrance. At first glance, it's a kitted-out Renault 4CV with auxiliary lights, a racing number on the front end, and a period-correct registration number issued in the Bouches-du-Rhone department of France. It doesn't look all that different than the later, unmodified 4CV parked right next to it. Here's what's special about it: this is one of the small handful of Type 1063 models built by Renault for competition.

Volkswagen decides to keep Lamborghini and Ducati, transfers Bentley to Audi

Investors in the market for a high-end Italian manufacturer that peddles performance will need to keep looking. Volkswagen announced it will hang on to Lamborghini and Ducati in the foreseeable future. Executives in Wolfsburg, Germany, are making far-reaching changes to the Volkswagen Group to reboot it with a big focus on technology. Credible rumors claimed that the people in charge of the carmaker wanted to carve out Lamborghini — which owns Ducati — and ultimately list it, or at least a chunk of it, on the stock market in order to fast-track the group's electrification strategy. Going electric is expensive, so selling Lamborghini would have helped fund the expansion, and high-octane supercars don't easily go hand-in-hand with zero-emissions cars. "Volkswagen needs to change from a collection of valuable brands and fascinating combustion-engine products that thrill customers with superb engineering to a digital company that reliably operates millions of mobility devices worldwide," summed up Herbert Diess, the group's boss, during a September 2020 meeting. His team ultimately decided not to fully divest both brands. It's too early to tell whether part of Lamborghini will be listed on the stock market, as some insiders have suggested, or if those plans are off the table, too. Changes are coming to Bentley as well. While it's not being spun off either, it will fall under the Audi umbrella starting on March 1, 2021. Volkswagen explained linking the two companies will "allow for synergies to be achieved as part of the electrification strategy of the two premium brands," a statement which suggests they will share a growing number of components during the 2020s. Unverified rumors claim that Bentley will notably get its own version of an ultra-luxurious electric SUV code-named Landjet that Audi is currently developing. We've reached out to Bentley for more details, and we'll update this story if we learn more. Bugatti's future wasn't mentioned in the release; unconfirmed reports suggest it will be traded for a stake in Croatian start-up Rimac. Volkswagen's supervisory board also reaffirmed its support for Diess, who was appointed CEO in 2018 and who has played a significant role in the company's transformation. Finally, the board approved the development of what a statement refers to a future leading electric vehicle sold by the Volkswagen brand that will be developed and manufactured in Wolfsburg.

Recharge Wrap-up: Energica Ego drag race video, GM recycles Flint Crisis water bottles

Watch the electric Energica Ego streetbike face off against a race-spec Kawasaki and Lamborghini. First, the street-legal EV bike takes on the Pedercini Racing World Superbike Kawasaki ZX-10R. While they're about equally matched in 0-62 mph acceleration (at three seconds), the race-spec Kawasaki appears to finish first. It's a closer finish compared to the stock version of the bike. The Energica, however, leaves the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570 Super Trofeo far behind in the quarter mile. Watch the video above, and if you're hungry for more, watch the Energica Ego take on a Tesla and a Ferrari in an earlier video. GM is recycling 2 million water bottles from the crisis in Flint, Michigan to make coats for the homeless, engine covers, and air filters. The bottles are an addition to the automaker's ongoing Do Your Part recycling program. Of the 2 million bottles being transformed into other products, a number will become engine covers for the Chevrolet Equinox V6, while others will be turned into air filters for 10 GM manufacturing facilities. The most novel and noble use, though, will be to turn the recycled plastic fleece into coats for the homeless. The coats themselves – which are made by formerly homeless women through The Empowerment Plan – transform into sleeping bags. Read more from GM. An urban mobility organization called the Transit Center is calling for simpler bus routes to make riding more bearable. Using the hastag #StraighterIsGreater, the group has called upon citizens to share the most convoluted routes that lead to long, boring, inconvenient, and inefficient travel. The Transit Center believes smarter, simpler bus routes would improve commute times and help convince more people to use public transportation. There are certainly obstacles to streamlining routes while continuing to accommodate the most riders, though, but many people are sharing their favorite successful examples on Twitter. Read more from CityLab. Related Gallery Energica Ego: First Ride View 26 Photos News Source: YouTube: ih8u2be, GM, CityLab Green Motorsports GM Lamborghini Automakers Green Automakers Transportation Alternatives Motorcycle Electric Videos recharge wrapup