Standard Motor Products Cp517 Vapor Canister Purge Solenoid on 2040-parts.com

Defending an old-school Land Rover

I don't know how to respond today after seeing on our very own homepage that the Land Rover people will bring the successor of its beloved Defender to the United States market. The Defender is a vehicle about which “lust” is an insufficiently weak noun or verb; current and vintage Defenders elicit something beyond an emotive response. They are visceral.

Customers less satisfied with run-flat, low-rolling resistance tires

In non-April Fool's news, customers who buy cars shod with run-flat tires are nearly twice as likely to have to replace them as people with more conventional tires, according to a J.D. Power and Associates study. The poll also found that customers are also less satisfied with low-rolling resistance tires.

2012 Volkswagen Beetle to launch with Black Turbo edition

Volkswagen is borrowing a page from sister company Porsche and will turn to the color black to sex up the soon-to-arrive 2012 VW Beetle--and to draw attention to a preorder program launching this year. The Beetle Black Turbo edition follows in the lineage of Porsche 911s augmented with Black editions, and the VW will sticker for $25,720, including shipping. Power comes from a 2.0-liter four-cylinder rated at 200 hp and 207 lb-ft of torque, which is the same as the regular turbo Beetle--and VW's hot hatch, the GTI.