Optima Batteries 8078-109 Redtop; Battery on 2040-parts.com

Schreyer: Cross GT is a sign of things to come

Peter Schreyer, Kia's president and global design boss, makes no bones about it--the Cross GT is a harbinger of future style for the Korean company's large crossovers. "You'll certainly see things showing up," he told me at the Chicago auto show, where the concept was revealed. It's a large ute, measuring 192.8 inches, which is 8.4 inches longer than the Sorento.

One Lap of the Web: Cozy Coupes and '80s ATVs

-- Bill Simpson is a legend in the world of motorsports -- so much so that it might have taken you a moment to realize that there is a real Simpson behind those Simpson helmets. After 40 years spent saving the lives of drivers everywhere, a few years ago Simpson had a chance encounter with then-Indianapolis Colts offensive line coach Tom Moore. So he decided to tackle (heh, punny!) the world of youth football with carbon-fiber and Kevlar helmets that weigh less than 2 pounds and have already started reducing concussions in high school games.

BMW Concept Active Tourer Outdoor arrives. It carries bicycles.

BMW Concept Active Tourer Outdoor (pictured) carries bicycles We’ve already had a preview of BMW’s ‘Green’ take on the new FWD 1-Series with the Concept Active Tourer ahead of the Paris Motor Show last year, and now we get the ‘butch’ take on the same theme – the BMW Concept Active Tourer Outdoor. But unlike most car makers, who make their pseudo off-road saloons ready for the great outdoors with raised ride height and bolt-on plastic cladding, all BMW seem to have done is fit the Tourer Outdoor with a bicycle carrying system. But unlike most bicycle carrying systems that bolt the bikes to the back of the car, BMW’s system puts the bikes under cover in the back on built in, retractable carriers.