1989 Mazda 929 Workshop Service Repair Manual on 2040-parts.com

Vauxhall Ampera & Chevy Volt win European Car of the Year 2012. Are they mad?

Vauxhall Ampera - European Car of the Year 2012 The Vauxhall / Opel Ampera (& the Chevy Volt) has won the European Car of the year 2012. Which seems completely stupid. Last year we had a car that almost no one is buying – the Nissan LEAF – voted Car of the Year.

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2011 preview

Lord March has kicked off the countdown to the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed at the annual press preview. The theme is Racing Revolutions - Quantum Leaps That Shaped Motorsport. Lord March said it meant a mouth-watering array of cars, celebrating tech advances such as 4wd, carbonfibre and monocoque construction. Naturally, there are a number of anniversaries to celebrate: the centenary of the Indianapolis 500 race, 100 years of Chevrolet, the Jaguar E-type's golden birthday and 110 years of Skoda motorsport involvement.

Tesla asks NHTSA to investigate fires

In response to concerns following a recent accident which appeared to result from road debris damaging the underside of a battery compartment of a Tesla Model S, causing a fire in the engine compartment, the company has announced that it has requested that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conduct a full investigation into the fire incidents. In a blog post, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote the following about the investigation: "While we think it is highly unlikely, if something is discovered that would result in a material improvement in occupant fire safety, we will immediately apply that change to new cars and offer it as a free retrofit to all existing cars. Given that the incidence of fires in the Model S is far lower than combustion cars and that there have been no resulting injuries, this did not at first seem like a good use of NHTSA's time compared to the hundreds of gasoline fire deaths per year that warrant their attention." Tesla has also released a software update to the cars which will maintain their standard ride height at highway speeds, preventing the air suspension from lowering the car an extra inch at highway speeds for greater aerodynamic efficiency.