12 Victor Reinz Polyacrylic Valve Stem Seals on 2040-parts.com

U.S. seeks 5 percent annual fuel-economy gains through 2016

The Obama administration today proposed gasoline mileage and greenhouse-gas pollution standards for new vehicles for model years 2012 to 2015, filling in the blanks for manufacturers en route to a 35.5 mpg national target in 2016. The Transportation Department and EPA proposal calls for fuel economy to increase by about 5 percent each year, starting from an average of 27.3 mpg for the 2011 model year, the agencies said in a statement. The average car buyer would save more than $3,000 in fuel costs over the life of a vehicle, the statement said.

Gumpert tease new car. A new Apollo with Tornante looks, perhaps?

Gumpert tease new car We have quite a soft spot for the creations of ex-Audi man Roland Gumpert. The only real drawback with Gumpert’s cars has been their looks. Challenging perhaps best describes the Gumpert Apollo in its various iterations.

Ford KA sells 500,000 in the UK

Ford has racked up total sales of 500,000 KAs in the UK And despite a few reservations when we did our Ford KA Review a couple of months ago, it looks set to continue racking up the sales with the new KA, which has already racked up 11,000 sales in the UK since it was introduced. To be honest, our only real reservations on the new KA were a couple of subjective styling issues and the somewhat hard seats. But it is undoubtedly a funky and capable little car that will serve Ford well.