Porsche 914 Emblem.... on 2040-parts.com

Transmissions gone wild!

If you've been car shopping recently, or just paying attention to Autoweek car reviews, you've noticed that the six-speed automatic -- de rigueur as recently as a year ago -- suddenly has ratio envy. The new hotness? Eight- and nine-speed automatic transmissions.

Nissan gets a new 'Leaf' on life

On Thursday, Nissan announced that its all-electric Leaf will be added to its Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles program. Starting in September, Nissan will back all used Leaf vehicles to provide years of performance and quality at a competitive value. The program will not only provide buyers with eight-year/100,000-mile battery warranty coverage, but also with five-year/60,000-mile coverage for battery-capacity loss that falls below nine bars, which is imperative when you're relying solely on electricity to power your vehicle.

Ford C-Max facelift (2006): first official pictures

By Phil McNamara First Official Pictures 05 December 2006 09:00 Facelifted C-Max: the lowdown It's facelift time for Ford's C-Max, three years after it was launched. And the look is in keeping with the newly anointed European Car of the Year, the S-Max. So there's a new bonnet with more sculpture, funkier headlamps and a new grille with lashings of chrome.