New Ford Escort, Mercury Tracer Vehicle Speed Sensor on 2040-parts.com

Caterham creates next car online

By Ben Whitworth Motor Industry 05 November 2008 10:08 Caterham has turned to cyberspace to design its next model – the low-volume carmaker is calling on fans around the world to log onto a bespoke website to submit their ideas and designs for every aspect of the new Caterham, before ultimately voting on what makes it to the final vehicle. The website – www.splitwheel.com - will act as a forum, hosting blogs, articles and what Caterham calls ‘a Wikipedia-style user-edited knowledge base’ to turn user input into a workable vehicle design. A comprehensive voting system that covers all aspects of the car will then be initiated, and once the final specification is agreed a prototype will be produced with initial production slated for 2011.

Petersen Museum gets new chair

Peter Mullin, a car guy with excellent taste and the means to do something about it, has become chairman of the board of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Lucky place, the Petersen. Mullin's vice-chairs, who will help lead the museum into the 21st century, are uber car guys Bruce Meyer and David Sydorick, both longtime supporters of the institution.

2013 Range Rover Hybrid confirmed

Jaguar Land Rover Director Hybrids and Electrification, Peter Richings, has confirmed the Range Rover hybrid will launch in 2013. From the new, entry-level 3.0 litre diesel Vogue to the 5.0 litre V8 Supercharged Range Rover Autobiography,  all the new Range Rovers offer more performance, more off-road ability (or certainly easier off-road running thanks to the new automatic Terrain Response) together with lower emissions and improved economy. But although the new 3.0 litre TDV6 Range Rover will offer 196g/km emissions and manage 37.7 mpg there is going to be a new Range Rover Hybrid that cuts emissions to just 169g/km.