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"GM Experiments With Self-Propelled Wheels   General Motors is experimenting with electric wheel-hub motors which could enhance performance on passenger vehicles, The Detroit News reported.   GM demonstrated the technology on an electric S-10 pickup truck at a suburban Los Angeles race track. Two wheel-hub motors \u2014 built by Italy&amp;#039;s Lucchi R. Elettromeccanica Srl \u2014 were bolted to the rear wheels of the S-10. Each motor generates about 25 kilowatts of power.   &amp;quot;You get the economy of a four-cylinder engine with the performance of a six,&amp;quot; said Jim Nagashima, manager of the advance development group at GM&amp;#039;s Advance Technology Center in Torrance, Calif.   The motors supply almost instant torque, providing extremely fast acceleration, Nagashima said. &amp;quot;Icy, snowy conditions can be sensed immediately and all the torque could be put onto one wheel.&amp;quot;   In another possible application, Nagashima mused about using the motor-equipped wheels to turn 90 degrees \u2014 allowing drivers to roll sideways into tight parallel parking spaces, the story said.   Chrysler Intros Another PT Cruiser   Chrysler unveiled the third in a series of specialized that will be built in conjunction with the Woodward Dream Cruise, an annual Detroit-area celebration of classic cars, the Associated Press reported.   The two-tone PT Dream Cruiser Series 3 is midnight blue and light silver with blue-tinted glass and is powered by a 220-horse power turbo engine.   The automaker plans to make fewer that 2,000 of the Dream Cruiser, which will go on sale in mid-September for $28,810 \u2014 about $7,000 more than the standard model, the AP reported.   Ford Stars in Monterey Historic Races    This year&amp;#039;s featured marque at the Monterey historic races, which run from August 15 - 17, at Laguna Seca Raceway near Monterey, Calif., will be the Ford Motor Company, which is still celebrating its 100th anniversary.   Among the Ford related activities at the event:   Bud Moore&amp;#039;s Trans-Am Mercury Cougar and Ford Mustang Trans-Am teams, with original cars and drivers George Follmer, Parnelli Jones, David Pearson, Ed Leslie and Dan Gurney, will be reunited for the first time at the historic race. Ford&amp;#039;s dominance of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1966-1969 \u2014 will be celebrated with seven Ford GT race cars, including three of the Le Mans winners. Corvettes, Cobras and Shelbys will have their own race on Sunday afternoon. Ford will have a paddock exhibit that showcases the company&amp;#039;s motorsports heritage from the pioneering years of the 1902 Ford &amp;quot;999&amp;quot; to the LeMans-winning GT-40s, NASCAR and rally cars and Ford-powered Formula 1 cars.    Also at the 30th annual Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races presented by Chrysler (the official name):   Forty-two Bugattis, the largest gathering of this marque for a race in the United States, will run in Saturday&amp;#039;s Bugatti Grand Prix. These cars, all built between 1919 and 1939, will be led on the pace lap by the new Bugatti Veyron, which will make its first official public appearance. Vintage Lotus, Penske, McLaren, Williams, Brabham, Tyrrell, and March Formula 1 cars, among others, will appear in the Historic Formula I race on Sunday.   Tickets are available by calling Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca at 800-327-SECA (7322). Prices start at $25 for Friday only, and go up to $80 for a three-day pass. Information is available online at . "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a9645/gm-experiments-with-self-propelled-wheels/>