Enter the Autoweek Big Game Giveaway!

What better way to spend some holiday free time than flat-out on the virtual limit. We're giving away copies of F1 2011 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Forza Motorsport 4 for Xbox and Dirt 3 for both systems. We also have an Xbox wireless steering wheel bundled with Forza 4, and the grand prize is a Dirt 3-branded Playseat, a Kinect special-edition Xbox 360 250 GB and copies of F1 2011 and Dirt 3.

Alex Mair, retired head of GM technical staff, Pontiac and GMC, dies

Alex Mair, former group executive in charge of General Motors' technical staffs and general manager of the automaker's Pontiac and GMC divisions, died Sunday in Orange City, Fla. He was 91. Mair was named group executive of GM's technical staffs in November 1978 and remained in that position until he retired in 1986.

VW Passat: New distance world record

VW Passat World distance Record When you as old as I am (or at least as old as I feel) you can’t help but be astonished at the feats of economy car makers seem able to wring from even quite serious, upmarket cars. Yesterday we reported on the Mercedes S250 CDI which manages to perform like a 1990s V8 S-Class whilst simultaneously doing nearly 50mpg. Which to an old git like me – who thought his 3.0 litre Capri in his teen years was doing well if it got 18mpg – is a bit hard to acccept.