Former Fiat exec will revive iconic De Tomaso sports-car brand

Italian businessman Gian Mario Rossignolo plans to revive the De Tomaso sports car brand. The former Fiat S.p.A marketing executive aims to build 8,000 De Tomaso cars a year in a former Pininfarina S.p.A. factory near Turin.

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.

McLaren F1 driver finds himself in hot seat

The McLaren F1 is one hot supercar--literally, in the case of one of the 106 built. A McLaren was being driven in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Monday afternoon when the engine compartment caught fire. The car's owner, identified by the Santa Rosa Press Democrat as Irv Kessler, was driving.