Beck Arnley 104-1173 Motor/engine Mount-engine Mount on 2040-parts.com

Designing the sound of tomorrow's electric cars

By 2019, the European parliament has ordered that all new electric cars sold in the EU must be fitted with a device that emits noise to make them more audible to pedestrians. With safety legislation in America and elsewhere set to follow, this presents an opportunity to completely rethink the sound electric cars make. It's a chance to take it beyond a warning sound by considering something that harmonizes with its surroundings.

Autoweek in review: What you might have missed

In a nutshell, here's what happened this week: --Two-time Indy 500 champ Dan Wheldon died on Sunday after a 15-car crash at the Izod IndyCar Series' season-ending race in Las Vegas. He got caught up on lap 11, went airborne and slammed into the track's outside wall. Read the full story here.

Designer Tom Matano part of start-up car company in Louisiana

A new auto company backed by Texas billionaire investor T. Boone Pickens and staffed by former Mazda design chief Tom Matano plans to build "environmentally friendly" vehicles in Louisiana. V-Vehicle Co., of San Diego, will bring about 1,400 workers to a Monroe plant that once belonged to General Motors, according to a statement Wednesday from the Louisiana Economic Development Web site.