Chevy Ls 4.8l/5.3l/6.0l Truck Harmonic Balancer/crankshaft Pulley on 2040-parts.com

U.S. set to raise fuel-economy standard

Government regulators will get their prize of higher fuel-economy standards, and automakers will get the certainty of a national emissions standard, under new rules to be proposed Tuesday by President Barack Obama. The fleet average fuel economy for automakers will rise to 35.5 mpg in 2016 under the president's proposal--10 mpg more than today's mandate. At the same time, the president's proposed rule will cut carbon emissions, thought to be a key factor in global warming.

One Lap of the Web: Mock the Week Edition

-- Mazda Europe designer Peter Birthwhistle talks about the future of Mazda: potential hybrid and electric powertrains for the Skyactiv-obsessed company, and how we'll all be driving Mazda-branded pods in the 22nd century. But he also mentions, rather interestingly, how certain Mazdas capture a quintessentially long-hood, RWD look -- and not just the Miata, either, which is RWD. No, it's the exhaust systems on those Skyactiv engines that force a longer, larger hood compartment, and the "long, flowing looks" not usually found on FWD engines.

Audi A3 g-tron revealed

Audi has revealed the A3 g-tron Sportback ahead of the Geneva Motor Show, an A3 that runs on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and petrol. The A3 g-tron is powered by a tweaked version of Audi’s 1.4 litre TSI petrol engine which can run on both -gas and petrol, with the A3 g-tron normally using the petrol just for start-up and switching over to e-gas as soon as it’s running. Audi has provided two fillers under a common fuel flap – one for e-gas and one for petrol – with the A3 g-tron producing a total of 108bhp with the dual-fuel setup, enough to power the A3 g-tron to 62mph in 11 seconds.