Genuine Mopar Line 4779013ac on 2040-parts.com

Carmel kicks off concours craziness

Consider the Monterey car week begun! The Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours-on-the-Avenue launched with its best-ever crowd and what many were calling the best-ever show for the free-to-the-public event held every Tuesday before the Pebble Beach Concours on Ocean Avenue in Carmel. Eighteen blocks total were shut to traffic and jammed with collector cars, everything from classic 911s celebrating that car's 50th anniversary to Ferraris, Trans Am racers and a whole block of Shelby Cobras.

McLaren mysteries: Some things you might not know about the P1 and its maker

The McLaren P1 is one of the most spectacular supercars in the world, and it's been an object of fixation for enthusiasts since it debuted as a concept last fall in Paris. The basics are well known: a 903-hp hybrid powertrain, carbon-fiber for almost everything, and taut, curvaceous styling that introduces McLaren to a fresh generation. The P1 grew out of a somewhat hokey mission statement that McLaren produced back in 2009.

Tesla pays off its government loans

Tesla paid off the last of its $465 million government loans May 22, nine years ahead of schedule, thus outperforming most U.S. college graduates and the vast majority of American homeowners. Tesla used funds from a stock offering to finish the loan with a whopping bank transfer of $451.8 million Wednesday, pointing out that it was “…the only American car company to have fully repaid the government.” Apparently no one at Tesla was even born when Lee Iacocca paid off Chrysler's $1.2-billion government bailout ahead of schedule back in 1983.