Clutch Pressure Plate Auto 7 Inc 222-0215 on 2040-parts.com

Rhys Millen loses brakes, takes second place at Pikes Peak

Rhys Millen, nephew of parts guru Steve Millen, didn't break Nobuhiro Tajima's world record at the 89th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb--Tajima did that himself. But Rhys Millen did clock a fast second-place run up the 12.42-mile course with a time of 10 minutes, 9.242 seconds in a prepped Hyundai Genesis PM580. That time was made even more impressive by the fact that Millen lost brake power in the last few miles before reaching the peak.

European car sales down 5.2%

EUROPEAN UNION car sales are still sagging despite the return of modest economic growth. For the first eight months of the year, passenger car sales were down 5.2% to 7.84 million compared with the same period last year, the European Auto Manufacturers' Association said - the lowest January-August figure since the group started keeping records in 1990. New car registrations in August fell five per cent from a year ago to 653,872.

Spied: Cadillac XTS spotted testing

The Cadillac XTS is nothing new. We had our first look at the concept in 2009. Since then, we've seen it on auto show floors from Detroit to Beijing.