Vintage Explosion Proof Glass Globe Safety Cage - Steam Punk - Rat Rod - Look - on 2040-parts.com

Tesla Model S owners will receive upgraded charge adapters

After a garage fire in Irvine, Calif., in November of last year in which an overheated charging system for a Tesla Model S sedan was stated to possibly have been involved, Tesla will be sending out upgraded wall-charger adapters to all Tesla Model S owners. This upgrade comes on the heels of an over-the-air software update for the charging system in the Model S sedan. Software version 5.8.4 would enable the charging system to automatically reduce the charging current by 25 percent if the system detects unexpected fluctuations in the input power, essentially slowing the charging current and reducing the heat created in any high-resistance connections if the car senses that the current is unsteady.

One Lap of the Web: Winter project car edition

-- The gents over at Chromjuwelen compiled a list of their favorite car builds of 2013. Number 10 starts off with a BMW 525i station wagon from the 1990s that's received an LSX V8 engine swap, just to give you some idea what kinds of "builds" Chromjuwelen is talking about. -- If you've seen the 1975-1979 Chevrolet Monza V8, you can bravely click on this link to read its fascinating (in a not-particularly good way) story.

Consumer Reports releases 2013 reliability rankings

Japanese brands continue to dominate the Consumer Reports Annual Auto Reliability rankings, while some European brands gained and Ford Motor Co. continued to rank near the bottom of the industry. Lexus, Toyota and Acura swept the top three spots in the 2013 rankings and Japanese brands took seven of the top 10 places.