03 Silverado 2500 Rear Disc Brake Backing Plates And Caliper Brackets Pair Chevy on 2040-parts.com

Carmakers brace for stricter CAFE rules in 2016

Corporate Average Fuel Economy is a dicey subject for carmakers of all sizes. New federal requirements set to take effect for the 2016 model year require a fleet average of 35.5 mpg. As the deadline nears, the question looms: Who is in good shape, and who is far from it?

2013 Aston Martin DB9 – Virage Vanquished

Aston Martin has given the DB9 a makeover – a facelift and a bit more – for 2013 as the tweaked DB9 signals the end of the Virage. But all is not lost with the Virage, as the 2013 DB9 gets a Virage makeover – inside and out as well as more power from its V12 and the addition of Aston Martin’s adaptive damping. The 5.9 litre V12 engine under the new DB9′s bonnet now offers 510bhp and 442lb/ft of torque – more than the Virage managed to muster – and is much the same as the revised AM11 V12 we see in the new Vanquish but with a bit less power.

VW XL1 SEV to take on the hillclimb at Goodwood Festival of Speed

The super frugal – and super slippery – VW XL1 (pictured) will take on the Goodwood hillclimb Visitors to the Goodwood Festival of Speed can spend endless hours watching a seemingly endless precession of supercars take on the hillclimb. But one supercar this year will be a bit different. Volkswagen are taking their super slippery, super frugal supercar – the VW XL1 SEV – to Goodwood next month and are planning on taking it up the hillclimb in the capable hands of former F1 champion Jacky Ickx.