Volkswagen Jetta 2008 Radio on 2040-parts.com

Toyota's Lentz to say electronics not to blame for acceleration problems

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. President James Lentz plans to stick to his guns and tell skeptical lawmakers Tuesday that the company's unwanted acceleration problems do not stem from electronic defects, a copy of his testimony shows. Lentz's reiteration of Toyota's longstanding position suggests that top company executives were unmoved by sharp criticism of that stance Monday by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman.

Mugen to sell tuning parts through UK Honda dealers

Remember last year’s hardcore and ludicrously expensive Mugen Civic Type R? Tuned by the European arm of the Japanese motorsport firm, the tricked-up Civic featured hotter cams, a new exhaust revised suspension and a unique body kit – but a £39k price meant only a few were sold. The good news is that you’ll soon be able to cherry pick some of those parts for your own Civic and even the CR-Z hybrid because Mugen has struck an agreement to distribute tuning parts through eight Honda dealers in the UK.

How to be an EV Evangelist

It was called a webinar but it seemed more like EV evangelism to us. Electric car advocacy group Plug In America spent an hour this week on the Internet telling 91 true believers how to spread the message of the kilowatt to those who still believed internal combustion was the only way to go. “People need to be convinced that they will like a plug-in vehicles,” said Plug In America board member Chad Schwitters online.