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Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Fiat

Muammar Gaddafi of Libya

Muammar Gaddafi has been running the show in Libya for the last 42 years. During that time, he’s also been behind the investment maneuvers of the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank. In 1976, he reportedly instructed that $415 million be used to buy a stake in Fiat. Over time, that investment has turned into a 14 percent ownership stake in the Italian automaker.

Fast-forward a bit to the 1980s and Fiat was looking to do business around the globe. That included the United States, but, due to our sanctions against Libya, any attempts to work with the U.S. were quickly shot down. This led Fiat to buy out Libya’s 14 percent ownership stake, and it wound up costing them $3.1 billion to do so.

According to Fiat, the connection to Libya ended when it cut that massive check. However, according to information obtained by Wikileaks, Libya may still own a small portion of the company. That information is supplied courtesy of the U.S. State Department, which maintains that the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company (LAFICO) owns a two percent stake in Fiat.

Head over to The Truth About Cars for a detailed breakdown of the possibly-still-existing relationship between Fiat and besieged dictator Gaddafi.

[Source: The Truth About Cars | Image: Franco Origlia/Getty]

Is there a link between Fiat and Gaddafi? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: CES, Safety, Technology, Hyundai

Hyundai Blue Link

Hyundai Blue Link – Click above for image gallery

As part of its quest to match the rest of the industry point-for-point, Hyundai has just announced at the Consumer Electronics Show that it’s entering the world of telematics with the introduction of Blue Link, its first foray into the safety and convenience sphere.

Similar to OnStar, Blue Link handles everything you’d expect, specifically directions with turn-by-turn navigation, point-of-interest searches, remote door-locking/unlocking, vehicle health reports, maintenance scheduling, crash notification, remote start and – according to Hyundai – 30 other features at launch. Included is a vehicle slowdown feature to aid police if the vehicle is stolen and a new “geofencing” system that sends a text message to the owner if the vehicle strays outside a prescribed area or route. Little Jimmy will not be pleased.

Hyundai is also touting a new voice-to-text feature that allows drivers to reply to a text message with custom commands rather than canned responses.

Blue Link is set to arrive this spring, initially on the Sonata sedan and a “youth-focused model” (*cough* Veloster *cough*) before the summer, with the system rolling out to every Hyundai by 2013. Hit the jump for the full details.

Gallery: Hyundai Blue Link

[Source: Hyundai]

Continue reading CES 2011: Blue Link is Hyundai’s answer to OnStar

CES 2011: Blue Link is Hyundai’s answer to OnStar originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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