Vintage 79 Kawasaki 340 440 L/c Invader Snowmobile Dash on 2040-parts.com

Tesla asks NHTSA to investigate fires

In response to concerns following a recent accident which appeared to result from road debris damaging the underside of a battery compartment of a Tesla Model S, causing a fire in the engine compartment, the company has announced that it has requested that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conduct a full investigation into the fire incidents. In a blog post, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote the following about the investigation: "While we think it is highly unlikely, if something is discovered that would result in a material improvement in occupant fire safety, we will immediately apply that change to new cars and offer it as a free retrofit to all existing cars. Given that the incidence of fires in the Model S is far lower than combustion cars and that there have been no resulting injuries, this did not at first seem like a good use of NHTSA's time compared to the hundreds of gasoline fire deaths per year that warrant their attention." Tesla has also released a software update to the cars which will maintain their standard ride height at highway speeds, preventing the air suspension from lowering the car an extra inch at highway speeds for greater aerodynamic efficiency.

One-of-a-kind De Tomaso Pantera 'ADRNLN' to debut at SEMA

The De Tomaso Pantera, a perfect mash-up of classic Italian styling and American underhood brawn, struck a chord when it debuted at the 1970 New York auto show. Inspired by the Pantera's unique character, custom vehicle builder Ringbrothers decided to restomod and rechristen it “ADRNLN.” It's set to re-debut at the 2013 SEMA show on Nov. 5.

One Lap of the Web: A wiseguy in a Cadillac

-- Not many car reviews feature a shot-for-shot remake of "Goodfellas." (We're still banking on Ford's re-introduction of the Crown Victoria for a shot-for-shot remake of Beastie Boys' "Sabotage.") Matt Farah of the Smoking Tire did for its review of the Cadillac CTS V-Sport, which took four days to shoot and six to edit, and probably three more to steal the dolly cam from Scorsese's basement. -- You might not remember the Saturn Pioneer, but back in 1979, "the new marque Saturn was developed to play on the increased attention to astronomy NASA's deep space probes were generating," writes automotive historian/inveterate liar Jason Torchinsky. One of GM's many H-Body cars, the Pioneer -- named after the probe, not the Probe -- carried an innovative version of GM's venerable "Iron Duke": it had both a carburetor and throttle-body fuel injection, which undoubtedly added needless complexity that could have better served the real Rocket Division, Oldsmobile.