55125-95500 Suzuki Anode on 2040-parts.com

What's different about electric cars this time? A column by Kevin A. Wilson

Thirteen years after the General Motors EV1 was rolled out to cheers from advocates of a revolution in the way we power automobiles, those same advocates are out front cheerleading yet another revival of an idea as old as the automobile itself: Run 'em on batteries. Batteries aren't a source of energy. They're just storage units, a convenient means of making power portable.

Video: Jaguar's Wayne Burgess and his design credos

Jaguar production studio director Wayne Burgess discusses his design credos and offers advice to aspiring car designers in a video from our friends at Jalopnik. He describes his design process as "creating order from chaos", channeling a burst of eclectic ideas down into a simple, pure form. "Design is an iterative process where it's all about throwing it out there, getting a load pinned up to a board and then looking to see what is working best.

Volkswagen Passat R36 (2006): first official pictures

By Phil McNamara First Official Pictures 17 November 2006 10:13 VW Passat R36: the lowdown Volkswagen has pulled the wraps off its 'R' flagship Passat – and the five-door is the fastest estate VW has ever made. Scooped by CAR Online a few weeks back, the R36 puts out 296bhp, which launches the estate fromk standstill to 62 in 5.8sec. Available as a saloon, too, the R cars go on sale in early 2007, with prices starting at an estimated £28,000.