08 Kawasaki 636 Subframe on 2040-parts.com

Brits would rather drive than walk

ALMOST HALF (47%) of all people in the UK would rather drive than walk for a journey of up to one mile and 48% drive to work instead of trying to use any other form of transport. Despite a one mile journey taking very little more time to walk than drive, only 38% of drivers said they would use their feet in place of the car for such short journeys. Even though short journeys cause the most pollution and damage to cars, half said they would still drive.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage S launches

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage S - available as Coupe or Roadster The Aston Martin V8 Vantage S has launched with an extra 10bhp over the regular V8. Just 10bhp more than the regular V8 doesn’t sound a lot, but there is more than just a smidge of extra power to the V8 Vantage S. The extra 10bhp the V8 Vantage S gets is tweaked from the regular Aston Martin V8 Vantage, but there’s also an extra 15lb/ft of torque.

E85 makes inroads on cost and availability

Three years ago, we embarked on a Midwest road trip in search of what was then the Holy Grail of fuel: E85. Our findings weren't too positive--there were far more E85-compatible vehicles on the road in 2006 (5 million) than there were E85 pumps to fuel them (about 700 out of some 200,000 fuel stations nationwide). In addition, those burning the mix of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol were paying a pretty penny for their earth-friendly ways, losing about 15 percent in fuel economy while often paying the same price as for regular unleaded.