40,000 Volt Coil 3.0 Ohm, 40501 Pertronix on 2040-parts.com

Honda CR-Z Hybrid by 2010

Honda are bringing the Honda CR-Z Hybrid to market next year, based on the CR-Z Concept from 2007 Honda’s first production Hybrid – the Honda Insight, recently called the worst car in the world – has not been a resounding success. True, it looks better than the Toyota Prius but – and we haven’t driven one yet so we can’t comment from our own experience – it’s not a great car. It has also been eclipsed – after a promising start – by the Toyota Prius, which has doubled its sales in Japan.

Longtime auto journalist David E. Davis Jr. dies

David E. Davis Jr., inarguably one of the deans of automotive journalism, died on Sunday, March 27, at age 80. Davis had been suffering from bladder cancer and underwent surgery a few days earlier.

Kia goes (dark) green

By Jesse Crosse Motor Industry 23 September 2008 11:00 Kia has unveiled a portfolio of new environmental technologies, including a 1.4-litre Ceed with stop-start (due in the UK in 2009), a Ceed hybrid and the latest version of its fuel cell-powered Sportage. The Korean manufacturer is investing heavily in research and development and will increase its spend on R&D from £2.2 billion this year to £2.6 billion by 2010, combined with a 40 percent increase in manpower at its research centres around the globe. The money is being spent on developing downsized, turbocharged engines, efficiency improvements to conventional engines such as friction reduction and the separation of accessories like water pumps from the engine.