Monroe 34674 Rear Gas Magnum on 2040-parts.com

One Lap of the Web: Indy 500 memories

-- In 1995, Jacques Villeneuve won the 79th Indy 500 and went on to the CART Championship. Viewers who tuned into ABC and saw the introduction to its Indy 500 broadcast, a five-minute rundown the entire history of American motorsport, were hyped up beyond belief to watch some cool-as-hell racing. Nineteen years later, the video can still get race fans PUMPED UP.

Toyota to end Australian manufacturing in 2017

When Holden announced that it would no longer build cars in Australia after 2017, that country’s flagging automotive industry was effectively put on notice -- Mitsubishi had stopped building cars there in 2008, and Ford says its two plants there will close in October 2016. Now Toyota has announced that it has no option but to end vehicle Australian vehicle production. Like Holden, it will close its factories there in 2017.

Aston Martin Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S race car revealed

The new Aston Martin Rapide S was revealed in January, and now Aston Martin are taking the Rapide S racing, but with a twist – it’s going to be able to run on hydrogen. Aston Martin has been working with hydrogen experts Alset Global and have developed a twin turbo version of their 6.0 litre V12 that can run on petrol, gaseous hydrogen or a blend of both and the plan is to run the Rapide S at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring next month with at least one lap run on hydrogen alone. The hydrogen system in the Rapide S (which AM are calling a hybrid, but it’s only a hybrid in the sense it uses two fuels, not that it uses electric motors) has a hydrogen fuel rail, storage tanks and its won engine management system to control combustion.