Bridgestone Battlax Bt45 Hypo Tire Rear 140/70-18 V on 2040-parts.com

Ford to open Silicon Valley lab

Ford Motor Co., aiming to keep ahead of technology trends, will establish a research lab in the heart of California's Silicon Valley. The automaker said Friday the lab will open near Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., in the first few months of this year. Ford wants the lab to take on a start-up feel and expand beyond the traditional automaker mindset to encourage innovation and improve mobility and safety.

Off the line: Fun cars and social responsibility Autoweek op-ed stands the test of time

It's been almost 21 years to the day that Autoweek printed Matt DeLorenzo's column “Off the Line: There's room for fast, fun cars in diet of social responsibility.” And in those two decades plus, not much has changed except the vehicles themselves. For example, sports cars like the Bugatti Veyron and Pagani Huayra have astronomically high performance and safety levels; similarly, sport-utility vehicles that haul entire families (and most of their earthly possessions) achieve fuel economy similar to that of 1970s midsize sedans. To read all of DeLorenzo's thoughts and his case for automobiles, click the links to download the article.

2014 Mitsubishi Mirage pricing starts at $13,720

Mitsubishi has just announced pricing for its 2014 Mirage, not to be confused with the Cadillac Elmiraj. Mitsubishi's version -- being a bit smaller and bit cheaper -- loses a few letters and opts for conventional spelling. As you can see, this Mirage is a little different from the last time we saw back in the '90s (when it was a compact sedan) -- different to the point of being a completely different car in a completely different segment.