N 168 Honda Cr 85 2003-2012 Graphics Decals Kit on 2040-parts.com

SAE approves new fast-charging standard for EVs, plug-ins

SAE International said it has approved a new technical standard that will dramatically reduce charging times for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. The global engineering group said the new charging standard, developed with the cooperation of more than 190 automakers, utilities and equipment builders, will allow charging times to be reduced from as long as eight hours to as short as 20 minutes. Automakers want DC direct charging to take less than 10 minutes, or roughly the time it takes to fill a tank with gasoline.The goal is to accommodate currents as high as 500 volts distributed from public charging stations.

First Sight: BMW 4 Series

Within BMW, it was an ongoing discussion for two decades: what to call the coupé version of the 3 Series? With the new model pictured here, the advocates of change got it their way. The proliferation of models most likely tipped the scales – besides the 3 Series sedan, there is the Touring, the 'Gran Turismo' and the China-only long-wheelbase version.

Cars Land comes alive

It's like stepping through the movie screen—or the looking glass, or maybe the windshield—and right into your favorite animated car movie. After five long years of painstaking work and three years of construction, Disney and Pixar have finished a splendid collaboration to bring the town of Radiator Springs to full-size, three-dimensional life at Cars Land, opening June 15 at Disney California Adventure next door to Disneyland. Now you can take a stroll down the main drag of Radiator Springs, which, you'll recall from the movie, is “the cutest little town in Carburetor County.” The 12-acre attraction has every building and bauble from the movie, from Flo's V8 Caf