Jeep Liberty Wrangler Grand Cherokee Chrome Center Cap Hubcap 2004-2010 on 2040-parts.com

Why Steve McQueen canceled a $3 million life insurance policy

Spurred by the story of our ride in Steve McQueen's Jaguar XKSS, Richard Haight felt inclined to chime in with the fact that he not only raced motorcycles with (and against) McQueen, but knew him all the way until the King of Cool's death. Haight raced motorcycles on and off for 50 years. McQueen would come and race at the local American Motorcycle Association District 37, usually entering under assumed names like "Harvey Mushman" to enjoy some semblance of normality.

Merc to revive straight six, plus 4cyl and smaller V8s

Mercedes has just signed off a new engine family which will see most full-sized Mercs in future run four-cylinders, downsized V8s and… straight sixes. A friendly Mercedes engineer recently met CAR to disclose the engine plans for future models, including the surprise disclosure that Merc plans to switch to straight sixes, like its rivals over in Munich.  It's fair to say I almost choked on my breakfast croissant when I found out the details of the next MB engine generation which has just been signed off for release in 2015. Mercedes' future four-cylinder engines Again, there will be a family of new low-cost fours, and the big-bore V8s will be replaced by a series of downsized turbocharged 4.0-litre units.

The scramble for scarce tires

North American automakers are struggling with a nagging shortage of tires, caused in part by tire plant closings and rising demand for low-volume specialty tires. Automakers are paying much higher prices -- double-digit percentage increases from a year ago -- as tire makers gain pricing power. "We have been bombarded from every side for additional tires, and we can't keep up," said David O'Donnell, Continental Tire's vice president of original equipment in the Americas.