Sigtronics Spa-400 Intercom on 2040-parts.com

Volkswagen L1 concept

Volkswagen chose the Frankfurt motor show to unveil the revolutionary L1 Concept - a diesel-electric hybrid vehicle constructed from aluminum and carbon fiber.  Weighing 380kg, the L1 can seat two occupants in tandem. They enter through a side-hinging, electrically operated canopy which maximizes aerodynamic efficiency. It has a Cd figure of just 0.195.

Chevrolet Volt uses parts made from oil-collecting booms

General Motors is transforming about 100 miles of boom material used to soak up oil in the Gulf of Mexico into auto parts for the Chevrolet Volt. The oil-soaked plastic material collected off the Alabama and Louisiana coasts will keep more than 100,000 pounds of waste from the nation's landfills. The project is expected to make enough plastic to supply the first-year production of Volts with plastic parts for under the hood.

The thinking man’s M3: Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo is world’s fastest diesel production car

German tuning firm Alpina has been tweaking BMWs since it started back in 1965 – in fact, it helped BMW develop the legendary 3.0 CSL, so it seems it knows its onions. However, its latest effort is something a little different. Not quite a conventional performance car, the 2013 Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo is actually the world’s fastest diesel production car, according to the firm.