Optima Batteries 8078-109 Redtop; Battery on 2040-parts.com

Henrik Fisker launches new luxury sports car company

Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler have announced the opening of a new luxury car company, Fisker Coachbuild, based in Southern California to appeal to the global market. The focus of the company will be on designing and manufacturing exclusive high-end sports cars, which will be limited to 150 units per design and sold under the Fisker brand name, with world-wide distribution. The first public unveiling of the new designs will be scheduled towards the end of 2005, with production to commence during the second quarter 2006.

One Lap of the Web: The lost F-Type, a velvet Panamera and Lutz on being king

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- Long before there was a Jaguar F-Type, there was the XJ41, originally conceived to be a lightweight successor to the XKE.

Decision time at the dawn of the automated car

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers sent out a press release earlier this month in which they claim that by 2040 75% of the vehicles on the road will be autonomous. As much as I love driving, I have to admit that I won't bemoan the death of the traffic jam. I'll happily give up the crowded freeways and city streets if it means cheaper gas and abandoned back roads.