Victor Reinz Exhaust Seal Ring/turbocharger Gasket F17355 on 2040-parts.com

Cadillac ConverJ unveiled at Detroit auto show 2009

By Tim Pollard Motor Shows 12 January 2009 14:29 GM came out fighting with new product in tune with the times at the Detroit auto show 2009. The Cadillac ConverJ is an electric-powered limousine not seen until press day, harnessing the same plug-in hybrid tech as the Chevy Volt. GM product overlord and everyone’s favourite sound-bite merchant Bob Lutz said the Volt’s drivetrain had been renamed the Voltec system and it was this lithium-ion battery set-up that underpinned the ConverJ concept car.

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.

CAR prangs Ferrari FF

CAR's Jethro Bovingdon gets in a mess with the Ferrari FF It’s happened to us all on a car review, but not necessarily whilst piloting a £230k Ferrari FF. Ferrari has been hosting a playday in Italy for print media to come and torment the Ferrari FF, to see if its deserves to be a real Ferrari despite its pseudo SUV, Shooting Brake styling. CAR Magazine sent along hack Jethro Bovingdon to fly the CAR flag in Italy, and put together a piece for the magazine and (fortunately for us) a video piece for the website.