97 Bombardier Ski Doo Mxz 670 Speedometer Gauge Dz1 on 2040-parts.com

Better Place EV Battery Swap business goes bust

It seemed like a good idea: take the cost of batteries out of the cost of buying an electric car and instead charge EV owners to use ‘Battery Swap’ stations where depleted batteries could be swapped for fully charged ones in the time it takes to fill an ICE car with petrol. But it’s all gone a bit Pete Tong. Better Place – which partnered with Renault in 2009 to make the battery swap technology viable – has failed to find anyone to add to the $750 million already involved in the project and has filed for bankruptcy.

2012 Jeep Compass and Patriot to be recalled for fuel-tank problem

Chrysler is recalling nearly 1,700 all-wheel-drive-equipped 2012 Jeep Patriot and 2012 Jeep Compass SUVs for a possible defect in the fuel system. In certain affected vehicles, a valve designed to prevent fuel leakage in the event of a rollover can leak. This is due to damage sustained in testing at the facility where they were manufactured.

McLaren 12C Spider UK debut this weekend

The McLaren 12C Spider – the roadster version of the MP4-12C – gets its UK debut this weekend at the Octane Jubilee Tour of Elegance at Windsor Castle. McLaren’s thoughts may be focused on the debut of the new F1 (P12) at Paris in a few week’s time, but that doesn’t mean the more mainstream MP4-12C and its convertible sibling, the 12C Spider, are pushed aside. After revealing the 12C Spider in July – and taking it off to Pebble Beach in August – it’s now time for the UK to get its first public view of the new convertible McLaren.