5431806 - 1997 Polaris Xplorer 300 4x4 Front Fender/hood Cover on 2040-parts.com

Former car writer has dream job at Mazda R&D

True story: When Mazda engineer Dave Coleman was 10 years old, he announced that he wanted to work at Mazda. See, at about that time, his dad bought a 1983 Mazda RX-7, a car so overwhelmingly awesome to young Dave, he was hopelessly smitten with the entire brand. “All the other kids, when you asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up, they said all that astronaut/fireman crap.

CES: Cranking up Harman's QuantumLogic 3D surround-sound system

Yesterday we reported how Audi was readying a lavish 3D sound experience with 23 speakers and 1,400 watts of goosebump-inducing audio power. Not to be outdone, Harman had been quietly developing a system of its own: Quantum Logic 3D brings together 25 speakers and more than 2,000 watts of Tubthumping power to a new car near you, like driving inside Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. Sitting inside the demonstration BMW 7-Series that Harman painstakingly lifted into the Studio at the Palms, Global Audio Engineering vice president Phil Muzio explained, "great music is delivered in stereo, yet our consumer research indicates that people enjoy surround sound." QuantumLogic 3D's surround sound expands beyond the boundaries of the vehicle's cabin, providing "a sense of detail and spatial placement that you don't get in stereo." Five height component speakers mounted in the corners of the headliner, and above the rearview mirror, elevates audio beyond the confines of the roof, "almost like you're in a convertible," said Muzio.

On video: the world's fastest truck

This is one lorry that you wouldn't get stuck behind on the motorway - Shockwave is the world's fastest jet-powered truck, with a top speed of almost 400mph. Based on a Peterbilt Semi, the four-ton beast generates 36,000hp and can cover quarter of a mile in six and a half seconds. Power comes from three Pratt & Whitney J34-48 jet engines, each of which produces 12,000hp.