Dodge 91 Shadow Rear Defrost/defog Defroster Switch 1991 on 2040-parts.com

Battery breakthrough set to accelerate electric-car development

A team of scientists working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are claiming a significant breakthrough in recharging times for lithium-ion batteries. According to findings published in the scientific journal Nature, MIT researchers Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder have unlocked the potential of lithium-ion batteries by patenting a unique process which is claimed to allow a typical laptop power pack to be fully recharged in less than a minute--an improvement in recharging performance of roughly 90 percent over existing lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries generate electric current via the flow of lithium ions across an electrolyte, from an electrode to a cathode.

VIDEO: Porsche Panamera

Porsche revealed the first images of its new four-door, four-seat super sedan last week, and now we've got two new videos to supplement our updated gallery. The video on the left is stock footage, while the car is put through its paces on a winding road perched high in the mountains in the video on the right. See below for our previous news articles on the Panamera and our 23 image gallery.

Honda delays Civic redesign

Honda's redesigned Civic will not arrive until 2011, well past the typical five-year product cadence that would have landed the next-generation subcompact in dealer showrooms this fall. Changing market conditions and tougher fuel economy and emissions regulations affected the development of the upcoming Civic, John Mendel, American Honda Motor Co.'s executive vice president, said in an interview. Mendel said the next Civic would come next year, although he declined to give a specific month.