2002 Mercedes C320 Side Mirrors on 2040-parts.com

Smart car tipping strikes San Francisco

The Smart ForTwo: brilliantly designed to be safe, compact transport for two people and easily manoeuvred around the city. Although perhaps a little too easily manoeuvred, if what happened to four of the little blighters in San Francisco earlier this week is anything to go by. That’s not a standard parking procedure: ‘Smart car tipping’ has suddenly become a thing.

Subaru BRZ-STI concept

Subaru is poised to unveil the BRZ-STI concept at the at the LA auto show later this month. A concept version of the all-new rear-wheel drive compact sports car jointly developed with Toyota, the lightweight BRZ shares most of its mechanical components with the Toyota FT-86 concept, which made its first public appearance at the 2009 Tokyo motor show. A world away from Subaru's ‘Sports Car Architecture' concept that has made the rounds at the past few motor shows, the BRZ's design is remarkably similar to that of the FT-86.

BMW 5-series is in line for the company's new triturbo diesel engine

Details leaked from a dealer conference held in Holland this week suggest that BMW's upcoming 550dX will be the first recipient of the German carmaker's new high-tech triturbo 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder diesel engine. The new engine, which also is destined for the new X5 xDrive50d and X6 xDrive50d models, is claimed to produce 376 hp and more than 516 lb-ft of torque--some 70 hp and more than 74 lb-ft more than the most powerful version of BMW's existing twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder diesel engine, as found in the X5 xDrive40d. The radical new engine, which is rumored to use two traditional exhaust-blown turbochargers in combination with an electrically driven turbocharger to add low-end response, is planned to be offered exclusively with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive.