Quicksilver/mercruiser Electric Fuel Pump 841080t01 on 2040-parts.com

New Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive goes in to production

The first Mercedes B-Class ED (pictured) rolls off the production line in Rastatt With the BMW i3 grabbing headlines – and flying out of showrooms – as BMW’s first electric car, Mercedes need to play catch-up with a convincing EV of their own, and that’s the new B-Class Electric Drive – an EV version of the regular B-Class – which has now gone in to production in Germany. Built alongside regular ICE versions of the B-Class at Mercedes’ Rastatt Plant, the B-Class ED (Electric Drive) looks practically the same as its more conventionally powered siblings – although the front bumper does look a bit different – and has an electric motor good for 177 bhp and 250 lb/ft of torque, can manage a scoot to 62 mph in 7.9 seconds and has a range of up to 124 miles. The range – at least the quoted range – is a chunk better than the BMW i3′s and on a par with the latest Nissan LEAF, thanks to EV technology provided by Tesla, and the wrapping of an EV drivetrain in a conventional series production car could appeal to more buyers than the ‘statement’ design of the BMW i3.

Video: Rolls-Royce Wraith design process revealed

Rolls-Royce has released a video exploring the design process behind its Wraith fastback, revealed earlier this month at the Geneva motor show. The video is one of a series that look at the Wraith's development process, focusing on the design and performance of the Wraith. Key figures behind its development such director of design Giles Taylor and head of interior design Ian Sheppard feature, explaining how the Wraith evolved the way it did and how the design teams made their decisions.

Hummer HX concept previews H4

By Ben Whitworth First Official Pictures 13 December 2007 10:00 Hummer has unleashed three of its newest and youngest designers to create the HX concept that will make its debut at the Detroit Motor Show in January. Fresh out of the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, designers David Rojas (he created the blue concept), Min Young Kang (the red and black creation) and Robert Jablonski (the grey car) were assigned to create a vision of Hummer's off-road future, creating a smaller, lighter and more agile junior Hummer. So who was actually in charge of these fledglings?