2in Blu Fill Cap W/alum Bung on 2040-parts.com

Build your Mini Cooper Hardtop

We suspect that your initial inclination upon the discovery of a new model's configurator is to throw gobs and gobs of equipment at a car to see just how high the price will go. After all, that's what we tend to do. It's especially satisfying with German automakers — notably Porsche and BMW — who seem to have turned option pricing into something bordering on absurdist theatre.

Hyundai halts 2011 Sonata sales because of door glitch

Hyundai Motor America today ordered a halt to sales of the 2011 Sonata after notifying dealers that front door-lock modules on some cars can stick under some circumstances. With intense scrutiny bearing down on rival Toyota Motor Corp., Hyundai hopes to quickly and quietly resolve the product glitch on the recently released 2011 Sonata sedan. The Sonata is Hyundai's biggest-volume vehicle, with 2009 sales of 120,028 cars.

Obama sought Ghosn to run GM, ex-car czar says

The Obama Administration initially wanted Nissan-Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn to run GM after Rick Wagoner was ousted in 2009, and repeatedly pressed Fiat to put up cash for a stake in Chrysler, according to an upcoming book about the government bailout of General Motors and Chrysler. Steven Rattner, President Obama's auto adviser who steered the government's $85 billion bailout of GM and Chrysler, is about to publish a tell-all account about his six-month stint inside the White House. The Detroit News, Washington Post and Huffington Post obtained draft copies of the book--"Overhaul: An Insider's Account of the Obama Administration's Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry." It is scheduled to be published Oct.