Kolpin Rear Trail Box Accessory Rack on 2040-parts.com

Ford at CES: Charge your car with science and wash your dishes while you sleep

Ford's C-Max Solar Energy Concept is a "plugless plugin," said Donna Bell, which initially sounds silly -- as if the carefully structured chaos and noise of CES may have finally gotten to her. But as someone who has been managing Ford's electric vehicle infrastructure for the past 20 years, she isn't being facetious. Solar panels on the roof of a car aren't anything new -- the Fisker Karma used them to power the radio and other in-car accessories, to cite a soon-obscure example.

MINI Countryman goes WRC

MINI Countryman WRC - MINI are going rallying again Back when Adam was a lad (as was I, coincidentally) Mini were big in rallying. In fact they wiped the floor with just about everyone else in the ’60s, winning the Monte Carlo Rally three times in the decade. And now BMW are planning a proper foray back in to WRC with a MINI Countryman WRC prepared in conjunction with Prodrive and featuring a 1.6 litre turbo from BMW Motorsport and AWD.

New (2013) Skoda Octavia Estate: Price from £16,790

The new Skoda Octavia Estate has had its official debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, and Skoda has revealed it will cost from £16,790 The new Octavia Estate gets a choice of four engine options – two petrol and two diesel – with the 1.2 TSI 105PS, 1.4 TSI 140PS, 1.6 TDI CR 105 PS and 2.0 TDI CR 150PS offering a decent set of everyday choices all of which come with a standar manual ‘box, although you can spec the diesel engines with a DSG ‘box. Trim levels mimic those of the Octavia hatch, with S, SE and Elegance. The Octavia S Estate comes with 16″ alloys, Bluetooth, DAB, electric front windows, Climate, Stop-Start and Touchscreen.