2012 Ford Flex Owners Manual on 2040-parts.com

Lotus Elise (2010): a new face for evergreen roadster

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 16 February 2010 15:19 Lotus has just whisked the covers off the new, sleeker 2011 model year Elise – with a new fish-eyed face inspired by the Evora and a one-off 2007 'concept toy car' made for model car specialists Hot Wheels. The 2011 Lotus Elise will be shown at the 2010 Geneva auto show next month. It's a modest facelift with those wedgier lamps, LED day-running lights, more pronounced grille and fresh rear bumper and engine deck, but many of the changes are under the skin.Lotus Elise 2011: the engineering changesNorfolk continues its engine partnership with Toyota and has swapped the 1.8-litre four-pot for another Japanese-sourced four cylinder, this time downsized to 1.6 for the entry-level Elise S, sporting 134bhp and 118lb ft.It's the 1ZR engine with Valvematic breathing apparatus and a lower redline than the previous, manic 1.8.

Kia Soul EV revealed at the Chicago Motor Show

The new Kia Soul EV (pictured) has been revealed in Chicago The Kia Soul EV is Kia’s first effort at a proper mass production EV, and if you’re looking for an electric car it does look promising. Due to go on sale later in 2014 in the US – initially in California, New York and Oregan because of their charging infrastructure – and, Kia promised, the UK and Europe later in 2014 or early 2015, the Soul EV offers a real world driving range of 80-100 miles from a recharge taking half an hour for 80 per cent on a rapid 50kW charger or up to 5 hours for a full recharge from a UK 240 volt supply. The range is helped by Kia’s third-generation regenerative braking system which manages to capture 12 per cent of the car’s kinetic energy, feeding it back in to the battery as electricity during braking and coasting, with four different regeneration modes.

Radical new group-based car insurance scheme

REX Innovation and car insurance aren’t entirely strange bedfellows. After all, the concept of ‘black box’ insurance that uses a device to monitor you as you drive has taken off so fast it could well become mandatory in the future. But it’s still unusual to come across something truly revolutionary.