Passenger Electric Door Motor Side Door 05-10 Odyssey 722377 on 2040-parts.com

Chrysler ‘Thomas Special' steals the show at RM Meadow Brook auction

Posting more than $10 million in total sales, RM Auctions' Vintage Motor Cars of Meadow Brook event had an unexpected top seller on July 24. After crossing the auction block at $858,000, a 1953 Chrysler coupe known as the “Thomas Special” became the event's headliner. It was estimated to sell for $350,000 to $500,000.

BMW i3 EV WILL get BMW motorcycle engine as range extender

BMW’s head of R&D, Herbert Diess, has confirmed the BMW i3 EV will come with the option of a range extender engine. BMW’s head of R&D, Herbert Diess, has confirmed to Automotive News that when the i3 arrives in BMW showrooms at the end of 2013 it will be offered with a range extending engine as well as a pure EV. The range extender engine will be housed in the boot and is derived from a BMW motorcycle engine, and will turn the i3 from a small EV, useful only in confined city environs with a range of around 40 miles, in to a small runaround that has a range of 250 miles.

This day in Autoweek history: The 1976 Chevrolet Chevette

Today in Autoweek history, we look back to the week of September 20, 1975, when Corey Farley gave us a look at the new 1976 Chevrolet Chevette. The B-segment (for 1976, anyway) newcomer weighed in at a scant 1,998 pounds and carried an equally lightweight MSRP of $2,899. Farley described how the Chevette handled some of the rigors of testing, which included hauling four journalists and their camera equipment around the Black Lake testing facility in Milford, Mich.