Mercury Mariner 40hp Plate-baffle-exhaust Manifold 90421 1 on 2040-parts.com

The Jaguar F-Type's a closet Star Wars geek

Our friends over at Jalopnik are currently at Jaguar F-Type media event over in Seattle, where they had a chance to catch up with its design Wayne Burgess (check out our full interview with him here), who revealed some interesting sources of inspiration for some of its detailing. The first is a real easter egg - a detail that once you've discovered it you can't help but see - the front lamp cans are based on Star Wars' TIE Fighter. What has been seen can not be unseen.

Fewer people being killed in car-truck collisions, study finds

Death rates in crashes between big trucks and cars dropped 64 percent in 2008-09 compared with 2000-01, according to an insurance-industry study of government data. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety cited changes in vehicle design, particularly for SUVs and pickups, as a key factor in the decline. The number of deaths for car and minivan passengers involved in crashes with larger vehicles fell from 44 per million in 2000-01 to 16 deaths per million in 2008-09, the study found.

Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85 unveiled at LA Auto Show

By Digby Fullam Motor Shows 20 November 2008 16:04 Spyker whisked the covers off a new special-edition, Le Mans-inspired model at the LA Auto Show. The striking orange colour of the C8 Laviolette LM85 is designed to ape the livery of the firm’s GT2 Le Mans cars. The LM85 nameplate refers to the race car’s starting numbers.OK, it's got a special paint job, but what else?Underneath the novel paint, this car is all about aluminium.