14" Cooling Fan Assembly on 2040-parts.com

What's different about electric cars this time? A column by Kevin A. Wilson

Thirteen years after the General Motors EV1 was rolled out to cheers from advocates of a revolution in the way we power automobiles, those same advocates are out front cheerleading yet another revival of an idea as old as the automobile itself: Run 'em on batteries. Batteries aren't a source of energy. They're just storage units, a convenient means of making power portable.

Mini Paceman breaks cover before Paris debut

The Mini Paceman will become the seventh vehicle in Mini's lineup when it debuts at the Paris auto show later this month. It rides on the same platform as the Mini Countryman, but has a roof that slopes to the rear like the Range Rover Evoque. As is the case with the rest of the Mini lineup, a standard model and an up-powered S version will be offered.

LENNON'S FIRST CAR UNDER THE HAMMER

THE FIRST car bought by John Lennon after he passed his driving test is being offered for sale at auction next month. The Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Coupe was bought by the Beatle in 1965 and is expected to sell for between 120,000 euros (£99,987) and 170,000 euros (£141,000). Lennon's biographer, Philip Norman, described how car dealers descended on the singer's home when the news emerged that he had passed his test and offered him a "gleaming smorgasbord" of luxury cars.