63 Corvette Fuel Gauge on 2040-parts.com

MINI Cooper S under investigation in U.S. over fires

MINI Cooper S investigation in US over Fires The MINI has been a big success in the US, and an even bigger success when you consider the American penchant for cars the size of a small aircraft carrier. And one of the favourite MINIs in the US is the hottest version of the MINI – the Cooper S. But following a spate of reports about the MINI Cooper S catching fire, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has set up an investigation to try and see if there’s a common problem.

One Lap of the Web: Auto pics, a pretty Ferrari and rallies

Who can forget the wild days of Group B? Lancia's wild 037 was the last rear-wheel-drive monster to win a championship in the WRC, doing so in 1983. Our friends at Automobiliac have a great video of a bunch of 037s doing their thing at a historic rally.

Man-made Modern Luxury Materials in Cars

Luxury, within the context of a car interior, has been closely related to the use of wood and leather for over a century. These natural materials have a familiar organic, tactile quality that are intrinsically desirable attributes for most people and, in today's mass manufactured plastic world, they also assume a luxury or premium quality. Throughout the last century, metal, leather and wood have also been progressively supplanted by bakelite, vinyl and then polymer-based plastic materials in car interiors as well.