Dorman 579-008 Locking Ring on 2040-parts.com

Tomorrow's world: lightweight carbon composites

Once all the dust settles on The Great Battery Farce (the idea that the world's ills will be taken care of by sticking a battery in everything that moves and charging it up) we may eventually face up to the fact that the best way to move something around more economically, is to move less of it. That means making things lighter, a lot lighter. Car makers are working on it and manufacturers like Audi and Jaguar have already become masters in bringing aluminium to the mass production.

T-Mobile offers service to block cell calls, text messages while driving

The next step in the effort to keep people from using cell phones for calls and text messages while driving has arrived--a service that senses when the phone is moving at carlike speeds and automatically handles calls and messages. T-Mobile is providing the service, called DriveSmart, for its customers who use the LG Optimus T, a mobile phone that runs the Android operating system. T-Mobile says it will make the service available on other handsets soon.

Ford electrifies the Focus

Don't be fooled by the Aston Martin-like grille and the stretched headlights--the Ford Focus electric has some serious green-car ethos. The Focus five-door hatch will be Ford's first-ever all-electric passenger car when it launches in late 2011. It can travel at speeds up to 84 mph and takes three to four hours to charge on a 240-volt outlet.