2004 Chrysler Pacifica 68043 Miles Speedometer Instrument Cluster Gauges 1955216 on 2040-parts.com

Ram introduces CNG-powered pickup

Aside from the Honda Civic Natural Gas, compressed-natural-gas-powered vehicles have usually been converted after the fact, generally for fleet use. Chrysler is hoping to carve out a niche in the corporate-pickup segment by selling a factory-built CNG Ram 2500 that can seamlessly switch over to gasoline operation when the natural-gas tanks run dry. The twin 4.6-cubic-foot CNG tanks (which store the equivalent of 18.2 gallons of gas) take up a section of the bed, while an eight-gallon gasoline tank provides fuel during start-up and then reserve capacity when the compressed tanks are tapped out, allowing the bruiser a measure of operational flexibility.

Quarter of UK cars' brakes 'could fail without warning'

MORE THAN a third of all cars in Europe have brakes that could fail without warning, according to a new report. Research carried out for Cosan Lubricants’ Mobil Car Care range, at independent service garages across the UK found that 26.5% of UK motorists had defective brake fluid, with nearly one in 10 unintentionally risking their lives every time they drove. The research tested the quality of brake fluid – the liquid that allows the modern braking system to work.

Starting Out: CDN launches Car Design Glossary

Drawing is the basic language of designers, and is the time-honoured way in which a designer will communicate an idea. However, designers are often required to describe or explain their designs - and the work of others - in words, and for this, they need a vocabulary. The vocabulary they use is one whose origins stretch back to another era and to different disciplines, and which, with the now multi-cultural nature of the profession and advances in computer technology, is still growing.