03 Polaris Predator Starter on 2040-parts.com

Concept Car of the Week: Matra Laser (1971)

Founded in 1937, French company Matra began its activities by manufacturing military equipment such as aeronautics and weaponry. In the mid ‘60s, under Jean-Luc Lagardere's ambitious direction, the company bought Automobiles Rene Bonnet to expand its portfolio with street and racing cars. The first model solely developed by Matra was the bonkers, but brilliant, 1967 M530, which took its name from the company's surface-to-air missile the R530.

U.S. set to raise fuel-economy standard

Government regulators will get their prize of higher fuel-economy standards, and automakers will get the certainty of a national emissions standard, under new rules to be proposed Tuesday by President Barack Obama. The fleet average fuel economy for automakers will rise to 35.5 mpg in 2016 under the president's proposal--10 mpg more than today's mandate. At the same time, the president's proposed rule will cut carbon emissions, thought to be a key factor in global warming.

Will your next new car stop itself?

Last week in Park City, Utah, a group of us were discussing the chutzpah that some manufacturers have in charging hundreds of dollars for outboard mirrors that dip downward when the vehicle's placed in reverse. The consensus was, “Since the electric motors in the mirrors are already there, and the computers know the car's set to back up, it's only a line of code. A very expensive line of code.” The European Union seems to be thinking along the same lines.