Mercedes Filler Adapter 230-589-01-63-00 on 2040-parts.com

For new CAFE rules, automakers place high-stakes tech bets

Game-changing 2015 fuel economy rules are forcing vehicle development teams to make high-stakes bets on expensive technologies--bets that will separate the winners from the also-rans. Not only do federal rules target a 2015 fleet average of 35.5 mpg, up from the current 27.5 mpg for cars and 23.1 mpg for light trucks; they force automakers to bet on different technology packages for each vehicle segment. Companies that do best at mixing technologies while keeping down costs will have an advantage when buyers wince at higher stickers.

2010 BMW X6 M: Fast and fun--whatever the heck it is

Barreling around the racetrack, there's little lean entering the corners, plenty of thrust on exit and a monster amount of grip everywhere, and if it feels taxed at all, it's ever so briefly as the nose aims left and up from turn five for the steep climb out of the esses. Road Atlanta is plain ol' fast, and the BMW X6 M does well to keep pace, spilling gobs of power all over the track, blazing down the long back straight to nearly 140 mph, maneuvering like no two-and-half-ton pile of metal should. It's exhilarating stuff, to be sure, only we're left asking very many questions, and all of them are: Why?

Mini John Cooper Works WRC (2011): launch news

Mini John Cooper Works WRC: the rollcage in detail Mini WRC goes flat-out in France - VIDEO Mini has today officially launched its WRC campaign in the UK, at the company’s Cowley base on the outskirts of Oxford. For the first time, the WRC team – run in conjunction with Prodrive – also revealed its ambitious strategy: to be challenging for the WRC championship by 2013. That’s despite the fact that the car debuts part-way through the 2011 season, contesting just six rallies.