2007-2011 Mercedes W204 C300 C350 C63 Trunk Lid Power Assist Electronic Motor on 2040-parts.com

Ford preparing fastest ever four-door—in Australia

Ford's struggling Australian outpost is set to unleash its fastest-accelerating car yet in the form of a limited- edition version of the four-door Falcon GT Boss 335 sedan running various chassis-based performance enhancements, according to Australian media reports. Known internally at the company's Ford Performance Vehicles division under the code name Panther, the Blue Oval's supersedan is set to run the same supercharged 5.0-liter V8 as the standard Falcon GT Boss 335—itself a locally developed version of the Mustang's 90-degree Coyote unit with unique cylinder heads and renamed Miami. It delivers 449 hp at 5,750 rpm and 420 lb-ft of torque at 2,200 rpm.

VW Group planning 10-speed DSG, new powerful diesel engine & more plug-in hybrids

The end of the internal combustion engine is nigh, they say, as the world tries to clean up its environmental act and works towards a goal of electric motors to power our personal transport. But car makers are fighting that belief by extracting more power for less fuel from ICE engines, and there’s still a very long way to go before the ICE engine is consigned to the history books. Volkswagen has already reduced the fuel consumption of both their diesel and petrol engines by 30 per cent since 2000 and plan a further reduction of 15 per cent by 2020.

Volvo’s ‘World Premier’ is a bit of a damp squib

We had been hoping – and, to a degree, expecting – that Volvo’s big ‘World Premier’ they’ve been teasing for today would be the new Volvo XC90, a long overdue replacement for the (still surprisingly good) current model which is now more than a decade old. But it’s not. Instead, the big news is that the facelift Volvo XC60 is getting a global launch with Swedish House Mafia’s ditty ‘Leave the World Behind’ as its sound track.