14-17 Mercedes B250e Electric Vehicle High Voltage Battery Contactor on 2040-parts.com

Alfa Romeo to go all-RWD

And Alfa Romeo's saga of restructuring, postponing and rejiggering continues, swathed in announcements, reports, rumor and innuendo. A few months ago, the product plan at the Italian automaker centered around the existing MiTo and Giulietta (cousins of the 500 and Dart, respectively), the almost-at-hand 4C, the upcoming Giulia sedan and the Duetto, a roadster based on the next Miata. Forget that.

BMW's Vision EfficientDynamics concept bound for Frankfurt

BMW has revealed a radical vision for its future performance-oriented models in a spectacularly styled concept car whose combination of M3-rivaling acceleration and Mini Cooper-beating fuel economy will likely make it one of the stars of this year's Frankfurt motor show. Called Vision EfficientDynamics, the one-off coupe is a mobile showcase for lightweight construction and plug-in hybrid drive technology, while featuring a variety of futuristic styling, packaging, aerodynamic, lighting and interior ideas under development at the German carmaker's heavily cloaked FIZ development center in Munich. Many of the concepts are planned for use on upcoming BMW road cars, including an exciting Z10 EfficientDynamics range-topping model due by 2015.

Ford posts $2.4 billion profit

Ford Motor Company reported a profit of $2.4 billion on revenues of $35.5 billion, excluding Volvo, during the second quarter, the automaker said Tuesday. A year ago, Ford posted net profits of $2.6 billion on revenue of $35.07 billion, including Volvo. Excluding Volvo, Ford's revenue in the second quarter of 2010 was $31.3 billion.