2000 Chevy Malibu Speedometer on 2040-parts.com

Ford's forgotten T-Drive program

Digital boss Andy Stoy recently passed along this little piece of nearly forgotten Ford history from the early 1990s. We know that our girl Murilee Martin dug this up way back in 2010, but the wonder of the Ford T-Drive system is worth revisiting. According to Drivingenthusiast.com, “T-drive is a system consisting of a transversally located inline engine, a transmission and associated packaging.” The transmission is mounted to the side of the engine, or the back, depending on how you look at things.

GM wants to wrap up Opel sale quickly

General Motors is anxious to wrap up the sale of Opel, a top executive said Tuesday. The bidding has been narrowed to Canadian auto parts conglomerate Magna--which is favored by the German government--and Belgian investors RHJ International. "I think everyone is anxious to get this thing done," GM CFO Ray Young said, according to Automotive News.

BMW i3 Coupe EV in production end of 2013 (video)

The BMW i3 Coupe Concept will go in to production at the end of 2013, and BMW tell us why the i3 is so important in a new video. We’ve already got the little i3 in the mix and due to arrive in 2013 (although it could come with the more pragmatic option of a range extender instead of as a pure EV) and the i8 supercar is well on its way. But after the reveal of the BMW i3 Coupe Concept at the Los Angeles Auto Show last month, BMW has confirmed the i3 Coupe will go in to production by the end of 2013, and it will be an EV.