Vintage Chevy Corvair Horn Cap on 2040-parts.com

One Lap of the Web: Are race-car drivers athletes?

-- Should we consider race-car drivers athletes? Well, they certainly have the neck muscles for it. And racing around a circuit, pulling considerably more gs than Donovan McNabb during a Chunky Soup commercial certainly requires athletic prowess.

2014 BMW X5 M50d: Specs, photos and price ahead of November on sale

The 2014 BMW X5 M50d (pictured) goes on sale November 2013 The new BMW X5 goes on sale in November – after a public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month – including the most powerful diesel X5, the 2014 BMW X5 M50d. Because the M50d is a bit special, BMW has seen fit to relay not just a pile of new photos of the M50d (above) but specific details on its spec and options ahead of the on sale date in Europe. Just as in the first X50d, the new X50d gets the world’s most powerful in-line 6-cylinder diesel engine under the bonnet, which means a thumping 376bhp and a planet turning 546lb/ft of torque, enough to sprint to 62mph in a very un-diesel like 5.3 seconds.

Chevrolet Volt chief leaves GM

A key driver of the Chevrolet Volt project is defecting to start his own consulting firm, according to published reports. Volt chief Bob Kruse, 50, has left General Motors. He's been replaced by GM engineering veteran Micky Bly, who has also been involved with development of the Volt.