2007 Mercedes C-class Trunk Lid on 2040-parts.com

GM's top battery executive for the Volt to join California startup

General Motors's top executive in charge of developing batteries for the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid is leaving to take a position with an unnamed startup battery company in California. Denise Gray, 46, global director of rechargeable energy storage systems, will step down March 5 after more than three years in the post. This was “an opportunity that I could just not resist,” Gray said in a phone interview.

Project Car Hell, Homely but Lovable Edition: Triumph Mayflower or Frazer Vagabond?

Welcome back to Project Car Hell, where those little carburetor screws always disappear down the intake and all the parts you need are hoarded by bitter curmudgeons in Alaskan survivalist shacks. The Hell Garage Demons have come to the realization that the ugly cars of the early postwar era just don't get enough restoration love these days, and so they've taken a break from their day jobs (boiler-room managers for a major telemarketing firm) in order to scour the List of Craig for a pair of suitably homely machines from the 1946-1954 period. There were many to choose from, but they've found a couple of appropriate cars made on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

Concept Car of the Week: Honda Unibox (2001)

The Tokyo motor show is famous for unusual concepts and the 2001 edition didn't disappoint, featuring some of the weirdest yet. Nissan unveiled the Nails, Toyota its Pod and Isuzu the Zen, but Honda had arguably the most intelligent concept there – the Unibox. With its square shape, truss aluminum frame, wooden floor and flat, glazed walls the Unibox sits on the fence between automobile and architecture.