Distributor Cap 18-5369 on 2040-parts.com

Flashback: Pontiac killed on April 27, 2009

It was precisely two years ago today--April 27, 2009--that Pontiac met its demise. In hindsight, the decision made a lot of sense for General Motors, which six weeks later would file for bankruptcy. But at the time, many enthusiasts were more than a bit upset that 80 years of Pontiac--once the third-best-selling brand in the United States--was set for the scrap yard.

Russian Grand Prix: Hamilton on pole for Mercedes

Hamilton (r) has pole in Russia followed by Rosberg (l) and Bottas (c) Amid tight security thanks to Russia’s ongoing spat in Ukraine, and a muted appetite for exuberance after Jules Bianchi’s dreadful crash with a JCB on track last weekend, the rest of the F1 circus seems to be on normal duty, with Hamilton’s Mercedes taking the front row and Hamilton dominating proceedings in qualifying to secure another pole position. But it wasn’t necessarily going all Mercedes’ way, with Bottas stringing together a very quick lap in the dying moments of final qualifying that looked like it could propel him in front of the Mercedes duo, until he lost traction at the end of his flying lap and had to settle for third spot in tomorrow’s race. Joining Bottas on row two is Jenson Button and his McLaren after a strong qualifying, and Daniil Kvyat – at his first home Grand Prix – managed to secure a very impressive fifth spot for Toro Rosso. Kevin Magnussen in the second McLaren would have been on row three in sixth spot but gets a five place penalty for a gearbox change.

New BMW M1 isn’t happening

BMW won’t be building a new M1 A new BMW M1 Supercar has been mooted for some time – BMW even produced the M1 Homage in 2008 – but it’s not going to happen. We’ve expected BMW to bite the bullet at some point and recreate its mid-engined M1 Supercar. After all, car makers like a halo and, although BMW has some very impressive cars, they don’t really have anything like the Mercedes SLS.