Maserati Ghibli Quattroporte Left & Right Inner & Outer Tie Rod End New on 2040-parts.com

Old is new again: Will a floor-hinged throttle pedal be in your future?

If you think that every little nut, bolt, switch, gear or widget in your new car wasn't scrutinized by a team of highly educated, overworked car geeks (read: engineers), think again. A couple of recent conversations with automotive engineers confirmed that virtually nothing that goes into a car today is taken for granted. During the recent Pebble Beach weekend, I had the pleasure of spending time with an engineer for Jaguar, and the subject turned to materials used for various switches in the cabin.

First Fisker Karma in the UK auctioned for £140k

First Fisker Karma in the UK auctioned for charity The extended range Fisker Karma arrived at last year’s Paris motor show, and now the very first Karma to arrive in the UK has been auctioned in aid of charity and raised a bid of £140,000 at the Pratham UK Gala held at Camden’s Roundhouse. The altruism demonstrated by offering appealing cars for charity auctions is to be commended, especially from a young - and relatively impoverished - outfit like Henrik Fisker’s eponymous company. Yes, there’s a bit of publicity to be garnered for the Karma, but good on Henrik for offering up the first Karma to charity.

SMS Supercars releases illustrations, pricing for go-fast Mustangs

SMS Supercars released illustrations this week of its new performance Mustang, which will start at $64,990 for the coupe. SMS is Steve Saleen's new venture, and it is planning two main versions based on the 2010 'Stang. A 470-hp model, the SMS 460, is the “base” car, and a convertible version is $69,990.