98 00 Chevy 2500 Pickup Steering Column 529224 on 2040-parts.com

E85 makes inroads on cost and availability

Three years ago, we embarked on a Midwest road trip in search of what was then the Holy Grail of fuel: E85. Our findings weren't too positive--there were far more E85-compatible vehicles on the road in 2006 (5 million) than there were E85 pumps to fuel them (about 700 out of some 200,000 fuel stations nationwide). In addition, those burning the mix of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol were paying a pretty penny for their earth-friendly ways, losing about 15 percent in fuel economy while often paying the same price as for regular unleaded.

Peugeot 208 Intuitive Special Edition launched

A special edition of the new Peugeot 208 – the Peugeot 208 Intuitive – has been launched with extra equipment. Price from £14,245. It’s over a year since the new Peugeot 208 was rolled out in the hope that it could revive Peugeot’s sales and bring back to the ailing French car maker some of the sales gloss they enjoyed with the 205.

Mercedes B55 (2011) - a ballistic V8 B-class

Mercedes' tuning arm AMG has not yet ventured into sensible B-class territory, but a bunch of Merc trainees in Germany has come up with this: the B55. It's a V8-powered B-class, complete with AMG-spec 383bhp 5.5-litre V8 mounted up front and driving an old W210 E-class rear axle. Sounds like a promising skunkworks special, derived from an old B200 CDI hack that was kicking about the training centre.