Franklin 0405-9 Helicopter Engine on 2040-parts.com

Ownership costs of traditional versus alternative fuel vehicles

As gas prices remain high, and an increasing number of automakers roll out plug-in hybrid cars and full-electric vehicles, it's becoming easier to be tantalized with the idea of driving right past the gas station and simply "plugging in." The debate ensues when it comes to cost: These alternative fuel vehicles mean a larger outlay of cash at the onset, but the long-term fuel savings could make the purchase worthwhile. To help straighten out this numbers game, we use the Department of Energy's Vehicle Cost Calculator to compare alternative fuel vehicles with their gasoline-only counterparts. For each scenario, we assumed that our hypothetical owner was able to get the full $7,500 federal tax credit and a $2,500 state tax credit, such as is available in California.

Mini Connected hooks up your iPhone

Show of hands: How many of you Mini Cooper drivers also own an iPhone? That's what we thought. Mini knows its target market and proves it with the new Mini Connected smartphone integration technology, which works exclusively with the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

Audi tracks down the last Horch

The last Horch built, found in the middle of Texas It’s been looking likely for a while that now VW has taken control of Porsche it may decide to rebrand the VW Group as Auto Union. Auto Union was the root of Audi, and was formed in the ’30s when Audi, Horch, DKW and Wanderer joined forces to become Auto Union and pool their resources to cope with the depression (sound familiar?). Which might explain why Audi has been scouring the planet for rare cars from its Auto Union days.