New Unity 11181 Strut Assembly Left Front (repl. Monroe 171679) on 2040-parts.com

Honda Insight hybrid gets a new look inside and out for 2012

The 2012 Honda Insight hybrid bowed on Monday with refreshed exterior styling, more standard features and improved fuel economy--with a base price of less than $20,000. Honda says it was aiming for a more high-tech look this time around. On the outside, a reworked grille design is flanked by restyled front and rear bumpers.

News watch March 2011: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour Thursday 31 March 2011• US President Barack Obama has strated all US government cars and trucks purchased from 2015 must be alternative-fuel vehicles (Automotive News)• Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has denied a report in Japan's Nikkei newspaper that he is leaning towards a formal merger of Nissan and Renault (Reuters)• Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne says that Chrysler's share IPO may now take place in 2012, depending on financial progress this year (Bloomberg)Wednesday 30 March 2011• Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called a report that the EV carmaker is a takeover target 'bad analysis' and remains confident the firm will stay independent (Bloomberg)• The BBC denies that it rigged a December 2008 Top Gear TV test of the Tesla Roadster, in response to being sued by the EV carmaker (BBC News)• First Group, the UK's largest public transport operator, has announced a £160m investment in new buses, ordering 955 new buses from UK manufacturers Wrightbus and Dennis over the next two years (BBC News)• Japanese production woes look set to continue into April. Toyota expects the majority of Toyota and Lexus production on 14 April (Automotive News)• Saab production has re-started again, following a half yesterday afternoon.

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport hits 268 mph

Bugatti is claiming a new production-car top-speed record with a combined two-run average of 267.9 mph (431.072 kph) with a new Veyron 16.4 Super Sport model, smashing the 253.76-mph record set by a standard Veyron 16.4 in 2005. It also betters the existing world-record mark of 256.23 mph (412.28 kph) established by Shelby SuperCars with its Ultimate Aero on a 12-mile stretch of road in Nevada in 2007. Confirming details of the attempt run under tight security at parent company Volkswagen's 13-mile Ehra-Lessien test track in late June, Bugatti says the new Super Sport set the record in the hands of its test driver, Pierre-Henri Raphanel, and under the auspices of officials from the Guinness Book of Records.