Carlson H2693 Rear Right Adjusting Kit on 2040-parts.com

The 2011 Volkswagen Touareg rolls out with a new hybrid powertrain

Volkswagen is banking on the fuel-saving properties of a new gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain and what it describes as a wholesale improvement in quality levels to bolster North American sales of its second-generation Touareg. This new Touareg represents VW's first foray into the premium-hybrid-SUV market, which includes gasoline-electric entries from BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac, among others. Further competition will come from a similarly powered version of the new Porsche Cayenne, alongside which the new Touareg was developed.

Tesla sues Top Gear. Oh, dear. +video

Jeremy, Tesla and Lotus Just over two years ago Top Gear took a Tesla Roadster to Dunsfold and played. And Tesla got the arse because Top Gear ‘staged’ the Tesla running out of juice. Jeremy Clarkson subsequently defended what they did – pushing the Tesla in to a garage – to demonstrate the biggest drawbacks of an electric car, like lousy range and refuelling measured in hours rather than minutes.

CDN/GM-PATAC competition deadline extended

We're now three months into the CDN-GM/PATAC Interactive Design Competition China, and here at CDN we're excited to see some many strong entries coming in. Because there has been such a flurry of quality entries leading up to the first round deadline, we're happy to announce that the deadlines have been adjusted to allow for more students to compete for two internships with GM in China. All entries must now be received by March 1, 2013 in order to qualify for judging.