28mm Mikuni Rd 250 on 2040-parts.com

Lexus IS 300h promises unrivalled ownership costs

The new Lexus IS - launched at Detroit in January and costing from £26,495 for the IS 250 in the UK – actually offers ownership costs that eclipse diesel offerings from the likes of Jaguar, BMW, Audi and Mercedes, say Lexus. Despite the logical assumption that the complex hybrid powerplant in the IS 300h would cost more to maintain, Lexus say the opposite is true. Because it has no clutch and the starter motor and alternator are integrated they require no servicing or replacement and Lexus has fitted a timing chain instead of a timing belt, so it won’t need regular replacement either.

Lotus planning Electric Car

I suppose it was inevitable that Lotus would not settle for simply supplying Tesla with the chassis for their electric car, and would look to jump on the bandwagon of electric cars (EV). Lotus CEO, Michael Kimberly, has told the Financial Times that Lotus is planning an electric car “sooner rather than later”, and went on to say that it will be an extended range battery vehicle. Extended range EVs (like the Chevy Volt) are probably the best option for a mainstream car at the moment, at least until you can buy hydrogen at the pumps other than in California.

Maybach from Jay-Z and Kanye West video up for auction

Just because Daimler shut down Maybach in November doesn't mean that the marque won't still fetch top dollar on the open market. But, if buyers want something with a little more flair and a little less Grey Poupon, they can head to the Phillips de Pury & Co. auction in New York to pick one up that was used in the Jay-Z and Kanye West video for the song “Otis.” The Maybach 57 with a pedigree is expected to go for about $125,000, a third of what one costs new.