1.5 Inch Wheel Adapters on 2040-parts.com

Ownership costs of traditional versus alternative fuel vehicles

As gas prices remain high, and an increasing number of automakers roll out plug-in hybrid cars and full-electric vehicles, it's becoming easier to be tantalized with the idea of driving right past the gas station and simply "plugging in." The debate ensues when it comes to cost: These alternative fuel vehicles mean a larger outlay of cash at the onset, but the long-term fuel savings could make the purchase worthwhile. To help straighten out this numbers game, we use the Department of Energy's Vehicle Cost Calculator to compare alternative fuel vehicles with their gasoline-only counterparts. For each scenario, we assumed that our hypothetical owner was able to get the full $7,500 federal tax credit and a $2,500 state tax credit, such as is available in California.

Who's Where: New Design Directors Appointed at PSA

PSA Peugeot Citroen has announced the appointment of Gilles Vidal to Design Director for Peugeot and Thierry Metroz to fill the Design Director position at Citroën. Both Vidal and Metroz will report to PSA Group Design Director Jean-Pierre Ploué when they start their new roles on January 4, 2010. The Design Director positions at both Peugeot and Citroen have effectively been left vacant since Jean-Pierre Ploue was promoted to lead the Group's design efforts in October 2008.

Honda CR-Z Mugen (2011): the first sketches

This is our first glimpse of the new, Mugen-tweaked Honda CR-Z. Developed by Mugen Euro, the UK-based arm of Honda’s long-standing tuning partner Mugen, this CR-Z features a whole raft of tweaks to turn it into a hot hybrid. As with the previous UK-spec Civic Type R Mugen, this new Mugen model is currently being touted as a one-off prototype, but just as that Civic was then built in limited numbers the same may happen with the CR-Z – and the individual parts may become available as aftermarket accessories too.