2012 Audi Q5 S Line Speed Cluster 3.2 Engine on 2040-parts.com

How Fisker fell apart

At last week's politically charged congressional hearing on the troubles of Fisker Automotive, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said that the company had "no business acumen" and that "taxpayers have effectively subsidized luxury novelty vehicles for the likes of Justin Bieber, Leonardo DiCaprio and Al Gore." Ouch. Republicans eager to score points against President Obama had a field day last week with Fisker.

One-fourth of U.S. drivers have trouble paying for auto repairs, AAA says

Americans have difficulty paying for costly vehicle repairs and are driving older cars longer, according to a survey released by AAA. One quarter of American drivers said they would be unable to pay for repairs to their vehicle of more than $2,000, and one in eight said they would be unable to pay for repairs of more than $1,000, the survey said. More than half of drivers said they are still driving an older vehicle “because they do not want the financial burden of a new one,” the survey said.

Infiniti making noise about its new M35 hybrid

Infiniti has just announced that its new M35h will be the world's first hybrid with a standard audible pedestrian warning system to alert pedestrians when the car is running silently on EV mode. Infiniti calls the system VSP, or 'Approaching vehicle sound for pedestrians'. It uses a range of distinctive sounds to alert pedestrians via a speaker built in to the front bumper.    Instead of reproducing the sound of an internal combustion engine, the Infiniti produces a range of beeps.