Standard Lx218t - Tru-tech™ Ignition Control Module on 2040-parts.com

Spy photog Brenda Priddy gets a turn in front of the camera lens

Why would anyone be willing to spend more than two months every summer crisscrossing the desert in the Southwest? Well, if you're spy photographer Brenda Priddy, it's because you're hunting Rabbits, and sports cars, and SUVs and occassionally minivans. Priddy, whose work appears here at autoweek.com and in AutoWeek magazine as well as in our sister publication Automotive News and other outlets, took a turn in front of the lens recently.

2014 Audi R8 to drop manual gearbox

2014 Audi R8 to lose manual gearbox It’s reported that the new Audi R8 – due in 2104 after a facelift in 2012 – will lose the manual gearbox option. It’s at least two years before the next generation Audi R8 arrives in 2014, but if reports from CAR are right then Audi’s next sporting flagship will do without a manual gearbox altogether. With all that’s on offer in the current R8 apart from the manual ‘box being the rather poor R-Tronic ‘box, that may seem like a recipe for sales disaster for the R8.

More drivers opt for speed awareness course

Drivers caught speeding are now more likely to take a driver education course than accept points on their licence, according to the latest government statistics. 953,428 motorists took a speed awareness course last year – a hefty increase over the 500,000 that took part in 2010. New so-called ‘stealth’ speed cameras: don’t panic “Black box” drivers hit by speeding fines from insurers This is partly down to the rise in speeding fines from £60 to £100 – taking a speeding awareness course usually costs around £85 (depending on the area), which means it’s now less rather than more than the cost of a fine.