Sirius Satellite Removable Radio Control Head St4 W/ A Vehicle Dock Supv1 on 2040-parts.com

GM bets on new four-cylinder family in Europe; U.S. plans unclear

General Motors' European subsidiary, Opel, has revealed a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder direct-injection gasoline engine that will be offered from early 2013 across its lineup, starting with the soon-to-be-revealed Astra-based Cascada convertible. The aluminum block unit, the first in a new range of so-called SIDI (spark ignition direct injection) ECOTEC engines, forms the centerpiece of the company's downsizing strategy for displacement. The engine is claimed to have improved torque characteristics and a significant reduction in consumption compared with its predecessor.

Art Center BMW/Exa project

There's a new sponsored project that is just getting under way at Art Center College of Design, the likes of which hasn't been seen in a very long time - if at all. The school's Transportation Design department has helped bring together BMW with Exa Corporation, a Boston-based virtual aerodynamic simulation company, and has tasked the students to re-design the current BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle with the hope of dramatically increasing its aerodynamic efficiency while still retaining the BMW flagship SAV design language. This brief is quite timely in the context of the industry's ongoing focus with sustainability and strikes at the core of the BMW Group's long term energy strategy known as the concept of Efficient Dynamics.

Toyota Hydrogen Fuel Cell on sale by 2015 at €100k

The 2003 Toyota Fine S Hydrogen FCEV Toyota has done a great job of turning the car buying public on to alternative powertrains with it Hybrid setup in the Prius, and now it plans to go the same route with a hydrogen-powered production Toyota. Despite Toyota’s headline commitment to hybrid cars, it has been beavering away for a long time with fuel cell technology for its cars. The photo at the top is of the 2003 Toyota Fine-S Concept which was developed to test the fledgeling hydrogen fuel cell setup, and Toyota were running fuel cell cars in Japan and California at this time too, although not, as far as we know, the Fine S.