2004-2009 Prius Auxiliary Battery Tray (small) on 2040-parts.com

Alfa Romeo 8C GTA rendered

Alfa Romeo are planning a hard-core version of the 8C - the Alfa Romeo 8C GTA But it’s been on the cards for a while that Alfa Romeo will produce and all carbon version of the 8C. And the likely début for that car – The Alfa Romeo 8C GTA – is likely to be 2010, the 100th anniversary of Alfa Romeo. The carbon fibre Alfa 8C GTA should shed at least 250lbs over the normal 8C.

Toyota shelves A-BAT pickup concept

Toyota won't build the small, ultramodern A-BAT hybrid pickup concept that was a head-turner at the 2008 Detroit auto show and looked like a good bet for production. "We have a lot of top priorities, and A-BAT is not one of them right now," Bob Carter, Toyota Division's general manager, told the Web site PickupTrucks.com. "It's on the shelf." A Toyota official confirmed Carter's comments.

ZF boss thinks 9 speeds is enough for transmissions

The nine-speed transmission might be where the race to add gears ends, ZF Friedrichshafen CEO Stefan Sommer said. He referred to nine speeds as the "natural limit" because going beyond that number adds weight and complexity that cannot be offset by gains in fuel efficiency. "There is no hard line, but you have to consider the law of diminishing returns.