Rolls Royce Boot Badge on 2040-parts.com

1975 JC Whitney catalog: A bonanza of aftermarket Volkswagen goodies

Back before there was the Internet, or even big car-parts chain stores, there was the JC Whitney catalog. Printed on cheap, pulpy paper and featuring tens of thousands of tiny, hand-drawn illustrations, these thick books gave me many hours of enjoyment in the early 1980s, as I fantasized about how I'd modify my incredibly sketchy and hooptified '58 Beetle. Now I've picked up a 1975 JC Whitney catalog, and the Volkswagen section is even better than I remembered!

Hyundai developing new test centre at Nurburgring

Hyundai has revealed they are building a new test centre at the Nurburgring to help develop driving dynamics for their European cars. We already know that Hyundai are going to make 2012 a brand building exercise, with much effort going in to raising the experience and profile of the Hyundai of today. Part of that is entering WRC rallying with the i20 for the sprinkle of performance dust it will cover Hyundai’s product range with and, hopefully, point towards a serious intent to develop more extreme versions of their performance models.

Tesla plans to launch Nissan Leaf fighter in 2016

Tesla Motors will launch its smaller electric sedan in late 2016, with a range of at least 200 miles and a price point "half" of the flagship Model S, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said. Musk's timeline, range and price announcement is the most definitive data so far regarding the so-called "Gen III" vehicle. The current Model S starts at $62,400, meaning the Gen III car will start at about the same price as the Nissan Leaf SV and have triple the real-world range.