#3236 Honda Gl1200 Goldwing Aspencade Right & Left Under Cowl Fairing / Panels on 2040-parts.com

GM's green future: EVs, plug-in hybrids

General Motors' future green-car efforts will focus on plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles rather than conventional hybrid powertrains, product chief Mary Barra said Wednesday. Barra said GM has narrowed its future development emphasis in an effort to defend its leadership position attained with the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. GM will unveil an electric Spark minicar in late November at the Los Angeles auto show.

Alfa Brera & Alfa Spider get new engines and Italia Independent trim

The Alfa Brera & Alfa Spider get new engines and a new trim option Alfa Romeo introduced new engine options last year on the Alfa 159 – the 1750iTBi Petrol engine and the 2.0 litre JTDm diesel – which are now about to find their way in to the Alfa Brera and Alfa Spider. Which is a far from bad move. The 1750i Turbo manages to deliver 200bhp and a decent amount of torque – 236lb/ft from only 1400rpm – which makes it distinctly brisk – 7.7 & 7.8 seconds respectively to 62 mph for the Brera and Spider.

I Draw Cars: The sketchbook that puts drawings into perspective

I Draw Cars is a project set up by Adam Hubers and Matt Marrocco – both CCS graduates – to encourage designers young and old to pick up their pens and practice that most basic yet powerful tool in their kit: sketching. Their new book features over 100 pages of perspective underlays – from basic views right up to complex three-point – to use as templates with which to practice. Each underlay is printed in non-photo blue, meaning it won't be picked up by a scanner should you choose to drop it into Photoshop.