General Motors Co. plans to build the next-generation Chevrolet Camaro on its new rear-drive Alpha platform that also will carry Cadillac’s next CTS and upcoming ATS models, Motor Trend says. The current Camaro uses GM’s Zeta architecture, and the CTS is underpinned by a variant of the Sigma platform.

Other media reports suggest that merging the Sigma/Zeta cars onto the Alpha platform will result in a flexible wheelbase structure for the latter. The ATS and Camaro are expected to use a shorter wheelbase compared to the CTS.

The new cars, all due in the next three to four years, are expected to be slightly smaller and lighter than the current Camaro and CTS. Leftlane News says the next Camaro’s overall length may be as much as a foot shorter than that of the 2010 pony car. The current V-8 likely will be downsized too, shifting to a boosted direct-injection V-6.

The Alpha-based CTS may be limited to a sedan body style. But the ATS, which will go head-to-head against the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, will pick up the slack with sedan, coupe, wagon and convertible variants planned.

Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda says the company is taking several steps to improve quality, including an initiative to review virtually every process from a quality perspective.

Toyoda made the announcement on Friday in his first public address in months. He also apologized for the company’s vehicle safety problems.

In two separate campaigns, Toyota is recalling more than 8 vehicles worldwide to address design issues that could result in the throttle remaining open unintentionally in several Toyota/Lexus models. This week the company also is expected to launch a recall to fix a software glitch that can cause the brakes in the current model Prius hybrid sedan to briefly stop working in certain conditions. The new campaign reportedly could include as many as 300,000 Prius models worldwide.

To avoid such problems in the future, Toyoda says he will head a new task force that will inspect every aspect of its operations from design and production to sales and service to find new ways to improve quality. He says Toyota also will open new centers for quality excellence in key regions to recruit and train quality managers.

In addition, the company plans to bolster customer information research offices to improve regional information collection and genchi-genbuts—which translates as “Go and see for yourself”—activities. As a further check, Toyota says it will work with outside experts to help benchmark, implement and monitor new quality practices. It also vows to work more closely with federal safety authorities in various countries and improve communication between its headquarters operations and regional offices.

Toyoda didn’t say when Toyota would roll out the new programs. The company has made similar pledges to redouble its quality efforts in recent years. Toyoda, the 53-year-old grandson of the founder, did so himself when he assumed control of the company last summer.

South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. has announced a contract to supply lithium-ion batteries to Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. for use in next-generation hybrids and all-electric vehicles. It’s the battery maker’s first deal with a Chinese OEM.

Chongqing Changan, which introduced its CV11 hybrid van last year, plans to launch the CV8 hybrid sedan next month in China. Like most current hybrids, the CV11 is powered by nickel-metal-hydride batteries.

LG Chem will begin delivering the lithium-ion batteries in the second half of this year. The company started shipments to Hyundai Motor Co. and its Kia Motors Corp. affiliate last year. It also will provide lithium-ion batteries for General Motors Co.’s upcoming Chevrolet Volt extended-range hybrid vehicle, and it has an unspecified contract with Eaton Corp.

To support the anticipated growth of the lithium-ion automotive battery market, LG Chem say it will increase its research and development budget by an unspecified amount.

Fiat SpA’s Ferrari unit is developing several new vehicles, Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa tells Australia’s GoAuto magazine. First up, he says, will be a convertible version of the 458 Italia coupe.

The new drop-top 458 Spider is expected early next year. It will be followed “soon” by a GTO version of the 599, Felisa says. He also confirmed that a replacement for the iconic Enzo is in the works. No other details on that program were revealed.

There are no immediate plans to make a production version of the upcoming hybrid-electric 599 concept vehicle that will be unveiled next month at the Geneva auto show. Noting that a lot of work needs to be done to make the vehicle viable—including finding appropriate suppliers—Felisa says a hybrid 599 is at least five years away.

Until then, he says the company will focus on other fuel-saving systems, such as cylinder deactivation and automatic stop-start.

Daimler AG has named Wolfgang Bernhard a full member of the board of directors. He will be in charge of manufacturing and purchasing at the company’s Mercedes-Benz car operations in addition to his current responsibilities of heading the unit’s van business.

The appointment puts Bernhard in charge of production and procurement at Mercedes, functions that previously were the responsibility of COO Rainer Schmueckle. Daimler says it is in “discussions” with Schmueckle, and media reports say he will leave the company after taking a hard-line approach to cost-cutting efforts that has irked the company’s unions.

Bernhard, 49, rejoined Daimler a year ago after being ousted in 2004. He had been COO of Chrysler when it was owned by the German automaker and was on the verge of taking over the reins at Mercedes before his departure. But Bernhard also ran afoul of union officials and butted heads with then-Daimler CEO Juergen Schrempp. During his time away, Bernhard headed Volkswagen AG’s namesake brand and helped Cerberus Capital Management acquire a controlling stake in Chrysler in 2007. He also served as an adviser to help Canada’s Magna International Inc. ramp up its operations in Russia.

Analysts are encouraged by Bernhard’s return to Mercedes car operations, noting the unit still needs to greatly improve its manufacturing productivity. Bernhard is credited with making similar advances at VW.

Lord Corp. says it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Manchester, N.H.-based Active Shock Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Active Shock was acquired by Ontario’s General Kinetics Engineering Corp. last month.

The lawsuit, which was filed late last year, also accuses Active Shock of false advertising and unfair and deceptive trade practices relating to vibration control and suspension end stop damping. The complaint relates to three U.S. patents Lord holds regarding its magnetorheological (MR) fluid and adaptive suspension technology.

Introduced in the 2002 Chevrolet Corvette as part of Delphi’s MagneRide suspension system, the technology now is used in more than a dozen models produced by Audi, Acura, Ferrari, General Motors and Honda. China’s Beijing West Industries Group (BWI) bought Delphi’s Ride Dynamics and Brake units that supply the system last year.

When exposed to a magnetic field, MR materials (coated iron particles floating in synthetic hydrocarbon-based oil) quickly change state, thus slowing or stopping liquids from flowing through the dampers. Varying the intensity of the magnetic current determines the degree of the damping. The technology also can be applied to other automotive and industrial systems.

Lord says it has more than 110 MR fluid, device and controller algorithm patents worldwide. The privately held Cary, N.C., firm had sales of some $700 million last year.

Proton Power Systems plc and Smith Electric Vehicles have signed

a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop, build and market an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell to extend driving range. The combination is expected to double the range of Smith’s current Edison EVs to 186 miles.

The new extended-range models will be fitted with Proton’s latest PM200 fuel cell stack, which is designed for use in fuel cell systems ranging from 3 kW to 50 kW.

The companies plan to unveil a prototype vehicle at the Hannover Fair in April. Commercial applications targeted at German municipality fleets are due to begin in the fourth quarter. Customers in the U.K. and North America also are being targeted.

Proton Power is the parent company of Germany’s Proton Motor Fuel Cell GmbH, which previously was funded by Volvo Technology Transfer AB and other German institutional and private investors. Smith is the commercial electric vehicle division of The Tanfield Group plc.