Starter Motor-new Remy 99405 on 2040-parts.com

2012 Volvo S60 & XC60 R-Design get more oomph

Volvo V60 R-Design - finally, more get up and go We’re quite partial to the Volvo S60 (actually, we’re even more partial to the Volvo V60) and we like how Volvo’s R-Design pack makes a real impact without making the car look like a boy racer’s wet dream. What’s also nice – in this age of parsimony – is that even if you opt for a lowly diesel version you can still have a Volvo that looks like it gets there in a hurry, even if it doesn’t. But our preference is always for a bit more power, especially if all the visual cues make you smile in anticipation, so we have been know to bemoan the lack of any sort of power boost – even as an add-on option – on Volvo’s R-Design cars.

Film Friday: Auburn Speedster tackles the Bonneville Salt Flats

Inspired by a recent trip to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Ind. (more to come on that soon!), we're diving into the historical film archives for some A-C-D goodness. And it doesn't really get any better than vintage footage of the classic Auburn 851 Boattail Speedster tearing up the Bonneville Salt Flats circa 1935 followed by a demonstration of the big Duesenberg streamliner, “The Mormon Meteor” thundering across the lake bed.

The other side of the curtain: A look back at Lada, Volga and more

While Americans in the 1960s and '70s were enjoying the heyday of muscle-car madness, our friends over in the Soviet Union were treated to an entirely different kind of automobile. Fiat-based Ladas and Russian-born Volgas were the cars of the day, and our friends at Retronaut have gathered some press materials and advertisements for the compact sedans. Lada was named after a famous Czech manufacturer of sewing machines in the 1960s.