Dayco 89257 Belt Tensioner Automatic No Slack Each on 2040-parts.com

Transmissions gone wild!

If you've been car shopping recently, or just paying attention to Autoweek car reviews, you've noticed that the six-speed automatic -- de rigueur as recently as a year ago -- suddenly has ratio envy. The new hotness? Eight- and nine-speed automatic transmissions.

Drayson Racing set new electric car speed record

Lord Paul Drayson (pictured) celebrating a new electric car land speed record Last month we reported that Lord Paul Drayson’s Drayson Racing were plotting an attack on the world land speed record for an electric car. And they’ve cracked it. In a two-way run at Elvington, Yorkshire, Lord Paul Drayson – Drayson Racing’s CEO and former science minister – was behind the wheel of the Drayson B12 69/EV as it completed two mile long runs in the space of an hour to record an average – and new World Record (for its class) – of 204.185mph.

Porsche Boxster growing to make room for small two-seater, report says

The next-generation Porsche Boxster will get a longer wheelbase and measure nearly 173 inches long overall, British magazine Autocar says on its Web site. Why is the Boxster growing? To create room at the bottom of the Porsche lineup for a new two-seater based on the Volkswagen BlueSport concept shown at the Detroit auto show in 2009, the report says.