17" Mod-tech-473 Wheels 5x100 / 5x114.3 +40 Gloss Black / Machined Lip on 2040-parts.com

Fisker, Energy Department face tough Congressional hearing on federal loans

Struggling Fisker Automotive took a bludgeoning Wednesday on Capitol Hill from top congressional Republicans who compared Fisker to failed automotive startups of the past and lambasted the Department of Energy for allowing the electric-car producer to draw down nearly $200 million in taxpayer-funded loans. House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., told Fisker founder Henrik Fisker that he will be remembered fondly for his design work for BMW and Aston Martin. But he compared Fisker to Malcolm Bricklin, John DeLorean and Preston Tucker -- three entrepreneurs known for their failed startup car companies.

2012 Renault Scenic / Grand Scenic facelift

Renault Scenic & Grand Scenic get a facelift for 2012 Renault has tweaked the Scenic and Grand Scenic for 2012 with a mild styling facelift, trim changes and two new engines. The Renault Scenic (and Grand Scenic, too) were really the first in the race to fill a niche for comfortable, versatile transport for ferrying your brood and their stuff. Not completely French-soft in ride – but far more comfortable than most later rivals – and quite well built, the Scenic – with its Megane roots – offers a better than average combination of handling and grip, even if it is a bit compromised by its height.

MINI Soho: MINI’s next ‘London’ Limited Edition

MINI Soho, photographed in…Soho In case you’d forgotten, MINI decided earlier this year that all their Limited Edition would be named after London Boroughs, districts and landmarks. Hence the new Limited Edition MINI arrival gets the MINI Soho moniker. And actually – although MINI has in fact used the Soho moniker before (on the MINI Soho Clubman last year) - it’s a perfectly good name for the MINI, a car that still evokes the swinging sixties and all things London.