Peak Pkc0bo 400-watt Tailgate Power Inverter on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes rethinks its names: new Merc badges explained

At Mercedes, the naming of new models is often trickier than the technology these vehicles convey. Under the current badging hierarchy, most mainstream models use familiar one-letter names like S-class or G-Wagen. So far, so logical.

Video: Darrell Waltrip laps Bathurst with V8 Supercar driver Jason Bright

One of the most entertaining things to come out of the Bathurst 1000 last weekend in Australia--besides Garth Tander and Nick Percat taking the checkered flag--was ex-NASCAR driver and commentator Darrel Waltrip going for a wild hot lap with V8 Supercar driver Jason Bright. After taking the first turn at speed in the 650-hp Holden Commodore, Waltrip yells, “Impossible!” The video gets even more entertaining around the Esses and the Dipper, two succeeding corners. The clip is full of repeatable one-liners from Waltrip including, “I lost my lunch, and I didn't even have lunch.” He calls the track on Mount Panorama a geological oddity.

Jaguar XJ_e PHEV Plug-in Hybrid wins RAC Awards

The Jaguar XJ_e PHEV plug-in hybrid has won the RAC ‘Most Energy Efficient Luxury Car Prototype’ and ‘Technical Panel’s Award of Merit’. This year, Jaguar rolled out its experimental hybrid XJ – the Jaguar XJ_e, which we saw at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed – which managed to win the award for ‘Most Energy Efficient Luxury Car Prototype’ and also grabbed the Technical Panel’s ‘Award of Merit’ for its clever tech and frugal transit. Jaguar entered three XJ_e PHEV experimental cars in to the FCC, which managed to do the Brighton to London run on just 1.2 litres of petrol and 11kWh of electricity which adds up to an mpg of around 125mpg.