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Will your next new car stop itself?

Last week in Park City, Utah, a group of us were discussing the chutzpah that some manufacturers have in charging hundreds of dollars for outboard mirrors that dip downward when the vehicle's placed in reverse. The consensus was, “Since the electric motors in the mirrors are already there, and the computers know the car's set to back up, it's only a line of code. A very expensive line of code.” The European Union seems to be thinking along the same lines.

Concept Car of the Week: Fiat Ecobasic

This week we're celebrating if not the most glamorous then certainly one of the most relevant concept of the last decade, the Fiat Ecobasic. The car was first shown at the 2004 Geneva motor show as Fiat investigated how to replace Giugiaro's ancient but brilliantly utilitarian Panda. The brief was: cheap to produce, cheap to own and friendly to the environment.

Michigan summer car events list

The Motor City is gearing up for a summer of events that celebrate the region's automotive heritage. A total of 16 automotive events will take place throughout Metro Detroit this summer, and everything kicks off the weekend of May 31 with the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix. The race weekend features the first Izod IndyCar doubleheader, the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car series and Pirelli World Challenge Championship series.