Lexus Cover, Engine Under, Rear Rh 5143-50030 on 2040-parts.com

BMW to develop small hybrid with Peugeot Citroen

BMW are developing a small hybrid with Hybrids may be just a passing fad, but that’s not stopping car makers piling in to them in droves to battle CO2 and emissions targets. For BMW, their hybrid foray has so far been limited to the top end of their range, but that is set to change. We already know that BMW are developing a small, front wheel drive range which will sit underneath the current 1-Series, and it’s for these cars – and possibly for MINI too – that BMW has embarked on a partnership agreement with PSA (Peugeot Citroen) to jointly develop a small hybrid.

Post-World War II Japanese tin toys on display in New York

During the rebuilding of Japan after World War II, a Japanese toy designer took a discarded tin can and molded it into an intricate model car. Just inches in length, it created a phenomenon in the 1940s and '50s in Japan called “buriki.” Buriki is derived from “blik,” which is Dutch for "tin toy." A collection of 70 tin-toy vehicles manufactured in Japan is currently on display at New York's Japan Society Gallery. The exhibit, called “Buriki: Japanese Tin Toys from the Golden Age of the American Automobile, The Yoku Tanaka Collection,” runs until Aug.

Chevrolet Volt faces toughest test--consumers

Scientists, journalists and a slew of other alleged experts have all weighed in on the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, and now the only verdict that truly matters--the public's--will be rendered. General Motors said 6,348 consumers have taken the extended-range car for a spin during a 12-city “Volt Unplugged Tour,” and not surprisingly, GM's reviewers like it. Still, initial feedback does appear to be truly positive.