Spectre Alternator Pulley 44813 on 2040-parts.com

Mini Countryman (2010): first official pictures

This is the Mini Countryman, the fourth addition to Mini’s range – after the regular three-door hatch, the Convertible and the Clubman – and also the first current-generation Mini to have four-wheel drive and four regular passenger doors. No, Mini says the Countryman is a crossover, and the four-wheel drive system – called Mini All4 – is an option. Think of the Countryman as a slightly bigger and more practical Clubman with a longer wheelbase than other Minis, four proper doors and a conventional lift-up rear hatch, but to make sure it looks a bit more butch Mini has given the Countryman a bigger, bluffer nose than its siblings.

July 14: Figuring out range

Topping off the tank seems to work best. By keeping it full I get a lot more freedom and a lot less range anxiety. Today I drove up to Pasadena twice, down to Los Angeles, west to Santa Monica and all the way back to my office in LA.

Honda Small Sports EV Concept

Honda has released these renders of the Small Sports EV Concept it hopes will be the star of the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show. Very few details of the compact sports car have been revealed, but it looks to be similar in size to the Mazda MX-5, but with an almost monovolume silhouette, with virtually no transition from hood to windscreen at the front and a pair of buttresses that extend from the top of the seats to the trailing edge of the rear deck. The front mask features full-width blue lighting and a glazed 'grille', which appear to becoming visual identifiers for EVs.