2001 Volkswagen Passat Front Grab Handle Tan 3b0857607 3b0 857 607 Left Right on 2040-parts.com

Connecticut garage fire destroys Volt and homemade EV

News reports say two plug-in electric cars--a 2011 Chevrolet Volt and a home-converted Suzuki Samurai--were destroyed in a garage fire in Barkhamsted, Conn., on April 14. The destroyed Volt had just 2,000 miles on the odometer. The owner said he converted the Samurai to electric power a few years ago.

First details of 2013 Skoda Octavia emerge

More details and images of the 2013 Skoda Octavia have been revealed ahead of its official announcement. The C-segment Octavia will be the fourth model to sit on the MQB platform after the Volkswagen Golf Mk7, Seat Leon and Audi A3. These images suggest the car will offer few surprises – from its familiar corporate grille to the new, sharp-edged, cut-glass inspired surfacing first seen on the Rapid this third-generation Octavia looks set to build on its solid and loyal customer base.

2014 Porsche Cayman gets a performance-testing iPhone app

To promote the new 2014 Cayman, Porsche has cooked up an iPhone app called “Cayman Code of the Curve.” You're probably already rolling your eyes at the prospect of another automaker app that is little more than a downloadable advertisement, but this seems to be something different -- the app is designed to record your driving performance in real-time and then share results with friends. Porsche enthusiast site flatsixes.com has an exclusive first look at the app, which is still in development but is reported to be coming “soon.” Based on preliminary screenshots provided by Porsche, the app instructs users to set up a variety of courses -- cone slalom, autocross and reaction-time challenge courses are shown -- then uses the iPhone's internal accelerometer and GPS receiver to track and record your performance. You'll also be able to use the app's “record your curve” function to share favorite drives with friends on Facebook.