Edelbrock 41449 Valve Cover on 2040-parts.com

MINI gives the London Philharmonic the patriotic horn

MINI has teamed up the 2012 MINI London Edition with the London Philharmonic to create a MINI horn National Anthem. The London Philharmonic Orchestra has just finished the mammoth task of recording 205 National Anthems for the 2012 London Olympics, but this is one National Anthem that won’t be wafting across East London in the next month. The London 2012 Olympics are MINI’s marketing method of choice at the moment, so they took nine MINI London 2012 Editions – in a mix of Red, White and Blue – tuned their horns and roped in nine musicians from the Philharmonic’s horn section to toot in time.

GM to build electric motors in-house

General Motors will develop and build electric motors for a rear-wheel-drive hybrid to launch in 2013. GM claims to be the first major U.S. automaker to produce electric motors in-house and says it is investing $246 million in the project.

BMW experiments with laser headlamps

Headlamp technology is rapidly advancing, and as LED lights become commonplace, many wonder what's next. BMW suggests lasers, which could offer new safety and function. Compared with today's LED headlamps, BMW's laser-cut lights have intensity a thousand times greater than that of LEDs while consuming about half the energy.