Chevrolet's 2016 Malibu gets bigger, safer and more connected

Chevrolet's midsize Malibu has been beefed up in terms of size, space, technology smarts and safety while being made 100 pounds lighter than the model it replaces. Offering a range of models replete with the latest performance, safety and technology solutions, the 2016 Malibu aims to shakes up the midsize sedan market on Canada.

An all-new, Ecotec 1.5L turbo is the standard engine in the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, offering a fuel consumption rating of 6.3 L/100km  highway. It is part of a new global family of small-displacement gas engines designed with greater power density to deliver confident performance with excellent efficiency.

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Microsoft: Windows Phone isn't our focus this year

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Microsoft unloaded a heady mix of exciting announcements, new technologies and developer news at its first Build 2016 conference keynote today. The company is pushing productivity and creativity, putting the Pen front and centre of the experience and getting ready to make Windows 10 even more universal.

One thing that seemed to be missing was any mention of moribund Windows Phone. The company, who kept mentioning Android and iOS in its demos, is apparently putting mobile on hold. The Verge's Tom Warren quizzed Windows and devices head Terry Myerson about this and the response doesn't sound good.

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Apple's Safari Technology Preview released for developers to test and tweak new functions

Apple announced the Safari Technology Preview for developers is available today which focuses on new functionalities to the Safari browser. Available today, Safari Technology Preview brings the latest layout technologies, visual effects, and developer tools that provide input on how they are implemented and deliver an even better user experience across Apple devices.

Apple says Safari beats Chrome and Firefox in benchmarks, performing 1.15x faster in Jetstream, 2.2x faster in Speedometer and 6.0x faster in JSBench. Safari can browse the web up to two hours longer than Chrome and Firefox, it can also watch Netflix videos up to four hours longer.

In Safari Technology Preview developers can get the latest web technologies, including HTML, JavaScript and CSS and WebKit. They can get access to the latest versions of Web Inspector and Responsive Design Mode to modify, debug, and optimize their websites. Apple is making this available so devs can integrate into their websites for improved compatibility. A Bug Reporter is also available to send feedback directly to Apple about issues and enhancement requests. 

Takata's airbag recall cost could reach $24 Billion

Takata is the provider of airbags for various carmakers and is facing a massive recall of its airbag inflators which have proven defective on various vehicles. The cumulative recall of the inflators is expected to cost the company $24 billion. 

A source told Bloomberg that the comprehensive callback of Takata's airbag inflators would cost about 2.7 trillion yen ($24 billion) and involve the recall of 287.5 million airbag inflators. Takata and the automakers still have to determine how the costs are shared, the person said. Takata has declined to comment as of this time.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Takata airbag inflators have caused nine fatalities in the U.S. by rupturing and spraying plastic and metal shards at motorists. The regulator is investigating all Takata inflators that use a chemical propellant that's been banned from future modelsand gives the company until as long as the end of 2019 to determine the root cause of the flaw or prove the inflators are safe.

Source: Autonews