1989 Pontiac Grand Am Owner's Manual on 2040-parts.com

RM Auctions' Icons sale brings good return on customs

Hot-rod and custom-car enthusiasts came from across the country for RM Auctions' Icons of Speed and Style sale in Los Angeles on Saturday, which offered the entire collection of the Flying A Garage. Collector Ralph Whitworth had big plans to open a car museum in his native Winnemucca, Nev., and had assembled one of the greatest rod, custom and racing-car collections ever to make it happen. He housed it in a new, climate-controlled building in Winnemucca called the Flying A Garage and had plans to open a museum to draw interest to his hometown.

LyonHeart K Jaguar E-Type production increased

Classic Factory is building the Lyonheart K – an E-Type Jaguar for the 21st century – and is increasing production numbers and adding a convertible. It started out as the E-Type Growler and then became the Lyonheart K. And whatever its name it’s still a recreation of the iconic Jaguar E-Type in the mould of the Eagle E-Type Speedster.

Better Place Electric Car visitor centre opens

Better Place have opened a visitor centre in Israel to demonstrate their battery swap technology for electric cars Last October we wrote about a start-up company in Israel – Better Place – that had a new way forward for electric cars by taking the purchase of battery packs out of the equation, and was developing a system for ‘Battery Swap’ stations where electric car owners could drive in and swap their battery pack for a fully-charged one in a few minutes. That story first brought to our attention our favourite quote of last year – by Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn – who said “A hybrid is like a mermaid: if you want a fish, you get a woman; if you want a woman, you get a fish.” Which probably explained why Nissan – and its partner Renault – got involved with Better Place. Better Place aims to address the main concerns of electric car drivers by making the battery packs in electric cars ‘swappable’.