Daihatsu Mira 1998 Radio Cassette [0016120] on 2040-parts.com

Tesla Model S performance version to rival BMW M5

Tesla Model S with M5 Performance Our inherent scepticism about Elon Musk’s claims for the Tesla Model S refuses to go away, but Tesla are convinced they can deliver the Model S with a 300-mile range, great looks, great performance and top-end tecchy goodness at a sub-$70k price tag. And now, it seems, there is going to be a Tesla Model S with performance to rival the BMW M5. At an event yesterday in California, Elon Musk revealed that at launch – the Model S is expected to be hit the road in 2012 with UK cars arriving in 2013 – the Model S will in fact have four variants on offer.

Feds researching fire risks from EV batteries, regulator says

Federal safety regulators have begun an $8.75 million study of whether lithium ion batteries in electric vehicles pose a potential fire hazard, officials said Thursday. Kevin Vincent, chief counsel of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said researchers are looking at whether the high-voltage batteries can cause fires when they are being charged and when the vehicles are in an accident.

One Lap of the Web: 'Mad Men,' the Euro cars and the 2013 Trans Am

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- "Mad Men" aficionados are deep into a plot line that has the the fictional New York advertising agency beginning work with Chevrolet to create a campaign for the ill-fated Vega.