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A few pre-race notes and a lot of photos from the 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 82nd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is on.
Audi has won 12 of the last 15 events, the scion of Auto Union is trying to make it 13 this year. To do so, it will have to overcome a situation faced only three other times during its dominance of La Sarthe: underdog status. Toyota has won the first two races of the year and claimed pole for this race, the rumor being that this year it's Toyota's race to lose.
And then there's Porsche. It's been 16 years since the Stuttgart brand raced on the top rung at Le Mans, three years years since it announced its return, just a year since it acquired Mark Webber in a signing that wasn't subtle and a few months since we got eyes on the 919 Hybrid.

Recharge Wrap-up: Minnesota first to require biodiesel, maglev in Israel, Toyota FCV in Aspen

A new Minnesota law that requires biodiesel blends goes into effect in just a few days, says KELO. Diesel drivers in Minnesota will be pumping soybeans into their tank beginning July 1. Every year, diesel will be sold as a B10 blend (ten percent biofuel) from April through August, and will scale back to a cold-hardy B5 blend from September through March. The biofuel largely comes from soybean crops grown within Minnesota, and the biodiesel industry pumps more than $900 million into the state economy every year. According to the National Biodiesel Board, using the B10 and B5 blends will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1,342,000,000 pounds every year. Minnesota is the first state to require diesel to be sold as a biofuel blend. In Japan, Isuzu Motors and Japanese biotech venture Euglena are teaming up to create biodiesel using algae, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. The goal is to create a new type of fuel that doesn't need to be mixed with light oil to be used in engines. "As long as we use light oil for diesel engines, emissions of carbon dioxide are inevitable," says Isuzu president Susumu Hosoi. Euglena has also been using algae to develop jet fuel with airline operator ANA Holdings. Isuzu and Euglena hope to have the new biodiesel developed by 2018. Aerial maglev transportation is coming to the campus of a defense contractor in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wired reports. The SkyTran personal rapid transit system uses small pods on an elevated magnetic track to move people from place to place. The pilot program will see SkyTran come to the corporate campus of Israel Aerospace Industries as soon as next year. The pods are hailed by phone, and carry passengers along the magnetic rail system at speeds of up to 44 miles per hour. The passive magnetic system levitates the pod attachment a centimeter above the rails, while a burst of electricity propels the pod forward. If the test at the campus goes well, SkyTran could spread to Tel Aviv at large, moving up to 12,000 people per track per hour with top speeds of 150 mph. The pre-production prototype of the Toyota FCV will make its North American debut at the 2014 Aspen Ideas Festival on Friday, June 27. The hydrogen car's finished exterior was revealed in Japan on Wednesday along with its nearly $70,000 price tag. It will go on sale in Japan by April of next year, and will come to Europe and California in the summer of 2015.

2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback, Volvos earn IIHS Top Safety Pick rating

It's time for another round-up of recent IIHS crash tested cars. The trio this time include the 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback, 2019 Volvo XC90 and 2018 Volvo S90. All three have earned one of the highest ratings from the IIHS, the Top Safety Pick. And all three continue a trend of very safe cars having slightly below-par headlights, preventing them from earning the highest Top Safety Pick+ rating. Of these three cars, the Corolla Hatchback has the most impressive scores. It earned the highest "Good" rating in every single crash test, including the difficult small-overlap passenger-side collision. It also received the top score for access to LATCH anchors for child seats. The standard forward collision prevention technology also brought home the best score possible, stopping the car before a crash at speeds up to 25 mph. The headlights themselves weren't particularly bad either, earning the second-highest score of "Acceptable" with both the standard and optional LED headlights. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Both Volvos shared similar scores to the Corolla Hatchback, with "Good" ratings for all crash tests they participated in, and top rank for their standard forward collision technology. Both vehicles were not tested for the passenger-side small overlap collision, so there is no score in that area. Both also received the "Acceptable" rating for LATCH anchor access. In the headlight department, the XC90 earned "Acceptable" scores for both of its available headlights, and the S90 received an "Acceptable" for its optional lights, while the standard ones were rated as "Marginal." Related Video: