Niehoff K- 8451 Hydraulic Brake Parts Wheel Kit on 2040-parts.com

Driving the Chevy Volt isn't special, and that's good

We've had our first taste of the drive system under development for General Motors' pioneering Chevrolet Volt, piloting a test mule based on the Chevrolet Cruze at the company's Warren (Mich.) Technical Center, and it left us hungering for more. Yes, it's an electric car, but mostly, it's a car--one you could imagine driving every day without feeling as if you were engaged in a lab experiment. Frank Weber, vehicle line executive for the Volt, gets his nose out of joint if you call the drive system a hybrid.

Volvo's research proves car design invokes basic human emotions

Car design and human emotion are inexorably linked, according to new research from Volvo. The experiment, conducted in collaboration with Electroencephalographic (EEG) specialists Myndplay, tested respondents to analyse how the brain reacts emotionally to car design amongst other things. Participants were asked to rate a series of images whilst wearing an EEG headset that measured brainwave activity.

NHTSA probing coolant leak in Porsche 911?

In another embarrassing failure to understand what they're supposed to be regulating, the NHTSA has announced that they are investigating a “coolant leak” in Porsche 911s that were built with the GT1 engine block between 2001 and 2007. Maybe when they said coolant, they were talking about the oil that circulates in a 911 to keep the engine cool? Next thing you know, they'll be checking out fuel pumps on the Tesla Model S!