One Lap of the Web: The Markchurian Candidate

-- When does a cartoonist become a short-track racer? When he's Bob Englehart of the Hartford Courant, and he writes a book about his childhood in and around Indiana, a childhood spent fixated on oval racers. Englehart, a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his political cartooning, explores why America's youth are willing to risk their lives to drive in circles -- and why he himself is so addicted to it.

2012 BMW 3 Series launches in the UK from £29,060

The 2012 BMW 3 Series is launched in the UK The 2012 BMW 3 Series has been launched by BMW UK, with just three engines available at launch and prices starting at £29,060. It’s taken a few months from the debut of the 2012 BMW 3 Series back in October to actually launching it in the UK, but now BMW UK has officially launched the sixth generation of the car that underpins their sales. Last week we had the prelude to the official UK launch with a huge gallery of UK-specific new 3 Series Photos, and there’s not a lot more to say we haven’t covered already – we even had UK prices for the new 3 Series back in October.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-400 released

Mitsubishi has released the fastest Evo in the UK market - the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-400 And now it’s getting really serious. The 2.0 litre, turbocharged MIVEC engine in the FQ-400 will propel this four-door saloon to 60mph in around 3.7 seconds. That’s on a par with a Nisan GT-R, a Ferrari F430 and significantly quicker than an Aston Martin DBS.