Visteon Alternators/starters 13578 Alternator/generator-reman Alternator on 2040-parts.com

Race2Recovery starts new Dakar challenge

A TEAM of disabled ex-soldiers has arrived in South America to take on this year’s Dakar rally, known as the toughest motoring challenge on the planet. Race2Recovery, the team of severely injured servicemen and civilian volunteers, is taking a second shot at the Dakar after last year becoming the first all-disabled team in history to complete it. This year the 5,600-mile course travels through Argentina and Chile, crossing the Andes mountain range and the Atacama Desert, where temperatures are expected to top 40 degrees Celsius.

Mercedes SLK55 AMG (2011) at the Frankfurt motor show

This is Merc's hot rod drop-top, the SLK55 AMG. It's the most powerful SLK of all time, because under that bonnet and behind that three-pointed star is a new 5.5-litre V8 producing 416bhp. So the badge finally corresponds to the engine size?

Meguiar's condition improves to stable

Avid car collector and TV host Barry Meguiar is in stable condition and his health is improving, according to a statement from Meguiar's Inc., the car-care-products company that bears his family name. Meguiar, 67, was hospitalized in Monterey, Calif., last weekend while attending the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and on Wednesday, his condition was reported as serious. The company statement, released on Thursday afternoon, said Meguiar had contracted an undiagnosed virus recently while recording his TV show, "Car Crazy," outside the United States.