1982 Dodge Hastings Clutch Disc on 2040-parts.com

Electric cars must get noisier, ICE cars must get quieter

Electric cars will have to make a noise to protect pedestrians It’s four years since the Lotus solution for making electric cars noisy raised its head, since when the US has had a go at the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act in 2010 to do the same thing, the Japanese are playing too, and Toyota revealed the Prius Vehicle Notification System, and now the EU has decided its time to act to make EVs emit ‘noise’. Despite the most appealing part of an EV being that it makes our cities quieter, legislators worry about the blind, partially sighted and distracted pedestrian (think earphones and a Smartphone) being mowed down by a stalking electric car and feel the need to act. So the European Parliament has decided that by 2019 new models of electric vehicle will have to make a noise in cities, and that by 2021 all new hybrids and electrics must be noisy too.

Lincoln holds steady on the base price of the MKT for 2012 model

Lincoln on Thursday said the base price of the 2012 MKT crossover will be unchanged from the 2011 model--$45,175, including the $875 shipping charge. The base MKT is powered by a 3.7-liter V6 and is front-wheel drive. The major change for the 2012 MKT is that all-wheel-drive versions will be powered by the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6.

Australian couple breaks Guinness record for fuel economy

An Australian couple has broken their own record for fuel economy, light-footing it across the lower 48 American states to the tune of 67.90 mpg. Helen and John Taylor beat the mark of 58.82 mpg that they set last year, landing them again in the Guinness Book of Records. They drove a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI for both runs.