2001 Hyundai Accent Engine on 2040-parts.com

Survey reveals in-car climate clashes

CLIMATE change isn’t just leading to arguments in politics – it’s causing heat in cars, too, because it seems men and women simply can’t agree on what temperature to set. A new study from Kwik Fit has revealed that 52% of couples whose cars have air conditioning argue over what temperature to set it at, and it’s usually men who want it cooler than their female companions. And as many as 250,000 drivers across the country say their air-con preferences are so different to their partner’s that they simply have to keep the system turned off to avoid bust-ups.

Flower Power: Ford considers using dandelions to grow its green efforts

When most people see dandelions, they go for the weed killer. Ford goes for the fertilizer. The dandelion is a sustainable material being looked at for its use in cars--specifically, the rubberlike substance that the Russian breed of the plant secretes.

BMW i8 Winter testing (video)

The BMW i8 is caught on video cold weather testing We have video of the BMW i8 winter testing in deep snow, in what looks to be a a much closer to production i8. The BMW i8 has been floating around for nearly three years as BMW’s nod to an eco future for supercars. Starting with the Vision EfficientDynamics concept we saw back in 2009, BMW went on to reveal their ‘i’ Brand and reveal the  BMW i8 last summer. With the i8 not likely to hit showrooms until late 2013 or early 2014, BMW are out doing what car makers do and testing their new cars in extreme weather, this time it’s cold weather testing and footage of the i8 frolicking with the snow ploughs.