Standard/t-series Fd177t Distributor Cap on 2040-parts.com

New BMW website shows off ActiveE data

BMW launched a new website Thursday that presents range, cost savings and environmental impact data taken from 700 ActiveE drivers (dubbed “Electronauts” by BMW … really guys?) to inform consumers about the potential savings of electric vehicles. Titled the "Electronaut Effect," BMW's BMWActivatetheFuture.com, is dedicated to the ActiveE drivers, providing even more data and allowing the drivers to compare a variety of data, including the average number of charges each car requires per day and how performance varies from the East Coast to the west. Through this site, ActiveE drivers can also see which "Electronauts" are in the top 25 based on a specified set of data points, for instance who has traveled the most miles and who has charged the vehicle the least.

Gilles Vidal on Peugeot's Design Direction

Peugeot's new 508 sedan and sport wagon unveiled in detail last week represent not only a new pair of family cars to compete against the likes of the Ford Mondeo and Opel/Vauxhall Insignia but the start of a new design direction for the brand. When asked whether he was going to kill off the brand's current low-down big and gapey grille graphic for something more subtle across its whole production range new director of style at Peugeot, Gilles Vidal exclusively told Car Design News: "Yes... definitely.

Porsche 911 cabriolet: First official photographs

Porsche has developed an innovative fabric and composite-plastic folding roof for the 911 cabriolet as part of a push to give it a cleaner appearance, improved aerodynamic efficiency and greater levels of refinement than its strong-selling predecessor. Pictured here officially for the first time ahead of its world premiere in January at the Detroit auto show, the new open-top 911 is planned to go on sale in North America in 2012 in Carrera cabriolet and Carrera S models. Eschewing the traditional multilayered fabric structure of the 997 series 911 cabriolet, the next model (991 series) adopts a specially developed lightweight roof that uses two fabric-skinned composite plastic panels for the upper and rear part of the structure, giving it a more uniform shape together with a tauter fit that is claimed to make it more resistant than before to buffeting at high speeds.