Original Model A Ford Speedometer Driven Driveshaft Gear And Housing. 18 Tooth on 2040-parts.com

Tesla asks NHTSA to investigate fires

In response to concerns following a recent accident which appeared to result from road debris damaging the underside of a battery compartment of a Tesla Model S, causing a fire in the engine compartment, the company has announced that it has requested that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conduct a full investigation into the fire incidents. In a blog post, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote the following about the investigation: "While we think it is highly unlikely, if something is discovered that would result in a material improvement in occupant fire safety, we will immediately apply that change to new cars and offer it as a free retrofit to all existing cars. Given that the incidence of fires in the Model S is far lower than combustion cars and that there have been no resulting injuries, this did not at first seem like a good use of NHTSA's time compared to the hundreds of gasoline fire deaths per year that warrant their attention." Tesla has also released a software update to the cars which will maintain their standard ride height at highway speeds, preventing the air suspension from lowering the car an extra inch at highway speeds for greater aerodynamic efficiency.

Mercedes E63 AMG (2011) gets twin-turbo V8

Mercedes has updated the E63 AMG super saloon with a range of minor tweaks, and one major one. Say goodbye to the 6.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8 engine which heralded the '63' badging, and hello to another downsized, forced-induction response to tightening emissions and economy requirements. The 2011 E63 receives the twin-turbo 5.5-litre V8 engine first seen in the S63 AMG, and now powering the CL63 and CLS63 as well. So the Mercedes E63 AMG is actually an E55 AMG?

Video: Jaguar's Wayne Burgess and his design credos

Jaguar production studio director Wayne Burgess discusses his design credos and offers advice to aspiring car designers in a video from our friends at Jalopnik. He describes his design process as "creating order from chaos", channeling a burst of eclectic ideas down into a simple, pure form. "Design is an iterative process where it's all about throwing it out there, getting a load pinned up to a board and then looking to see what is working best.