Ichibahn Steering Wheel on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes launch new 9G-Tronic gearbox on E350 BlueTec

New Mercedes E350 BlueTec (pictured) gets 9-speed 9G-TRONIC auto It’s not exactly a million years ago that automatic gearboxes offered poorer performance and economy than manual gearboxes, and came as standard with just three gears. But now, automatic gearboxes are so good they can  change quicker than any driver and, with the proliferation of eight-speed auto ‘boxes, offer improved economy and performance too. The next logical step is even more ratios in an auto ‘box, and Land Rover has already revealed they’ll be fitting the Evoque with a 9-speed ZF ‘box from 2014, and the new Jeep Grand Cherokee gets a nine-speed auto ‘box too.

Gemballa MIG-U1 Enzo – details revealed

The Enzo Ferrari based Gemballa MIG-U1 Just before Christmas a set of pictures of a Ferrari Enzo dropped in to our inbox. They turned out to be pictures of a modified Enzo created by Porsche specialist Gemballa and looked very appealing – although probably not to Ferrari aficionados who would no doubt think the Gemballa-ised Enzo to be sacrilege. But we didn’t have much detail on the Gemballa MIG-U1 (for that is the catchy little moniker Uwe Gemballa had attached to his Enzo creation) save what we could see.

Chevrolet to market diesel-powered Cruze in U.S., report says

General Motors has decided to sell a diesel version of the Chevrolet Cruze compact in the United States, the Associated Press reported today, citing two people familiar with the plans. Sources told the AP the car would get about 50 miles per gallon on the highway and help GM address stricter government fuel economy standards. The diesel-powered Cruze is at least two years from U.S.