2003 Kia Sephia Valve Cover on 2040-parts.com

Electric cars must get noisier, ICE cars must get quieter

Electric cars will have to make a noise to protect pedestrians It’s four years since the Lotus solution for making electric cars noisy raised its head, since when the US has had a go at the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act in 2010 to do the same thing, the Japanese are playing too, and Toyota revealed the Prius Vehicle Notification System, and now the EU has decided its time to act to make EVs emit ‘noise’. Despite the most appealing part of an EV being that it makes our cities quieter, legislators worry about the blind, partially sighted and distracted pedestrian (think earphones and a Smartphone) being mowed down by a stalking electric car and feel the need to act. So the European Parliament has decided that by 2019 new models of electric vehicle will have to make a noise in cities, and that by 2021 all new hybrids and electrics must be noisy too.

2011 Volkswagen Jetta Revealed!

A larger, more upscale version of the Volkswagen Jetta was revealed on Monday for the 2011 model year. It will start nicely loaded at about $16,000 when it arrives in October. The powertrain lineup will consist of four engines, including a 2.0-liter turbodiesel making 236 lb-ft of torque.

Jenson Button takes pole for McLaren at Spa

Jenson Button has driven his McLaren to a convincing pole position for tomorrow’s F1 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. Believe it or not, Jenson Button hasn’t had a pole position for McLaren. Or at least he hadn’t until today when he crushed the competition to take pole in tomorrow’s Spa Grand Prix.