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Video: 7 sexiest car-wash scenes on film

It's Friday afternoon, and in an effort to help you faster pass the last few hours of the work week, we want to call your attention to New York Magazine's video slideshow of the hottest car-wash scenes on film. The spread is entertaining enough in its own right, but the real fun comes from the deadpan commentary provided by Debra Gorgos of Professional Carwashing & Detailing Magazine, who critiques the scrubbing skills of these scantily dressed stars. As for the common (in Hollywood, at least) practice of using one's bikini-clad chest in place of a soapy sponge?

MIT researchers rethink electric-car batteries

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say a new battery design for electric vehicles could be a lightweight and inexpensive alternative. The goal for the team's three-year project, launched in September 2010, is to have a functioning prototype ready to be engineered as a replacement for existing electric-car batteries. At this point in the project, the prototype uses a “semi-solid flow” to separate the two functions of a battery--storing energy and discharging it when needed--into separate physical structures.

Microsoft increases stake in auto industry

Having reshaped a big piece of the world's economy around its Windows software, Microsoft Corp. now wants to do the same thing in the car business. What the Seattle giant sees there says as much about the future of cars as it does about itself.