Window Switch Honda Civic 1995 95 15430 on 2040-parts.com

Better Place EV Battery Swap business goes bust

It seemed like a good idea: take the cost of batteries out of the cost of buying an electric car and instead charge EV owners to use ‘Battery Swap’ stations where depleted batteries could be swapped for fully charged ones in the time it takes to fill an ICE car with petrol. But it’s all gone a bit Pete Tong. Better Place – which partnered with Renault in 2009 to make the battery swap technology viable – has failed to find anyone to add to the $750 million already involved in the project and has filed for bankruptcy.

Chevrolet Mi-ray Concept Seoul Debut

The Chevy Mi-ray - a two-seater hybrid roadster GM are big in Korea, make no mistake. Well, South Korea, certainly. So big are Chevrolet in Korea that they rank only behind indigenous makers Kia and Hyundai, and Seoul is GM’s world centre for small cars – think of stuff like the Chevrolet Cruze and Chevrolet Aveo.

Caterham Seven 165 prototype stars at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show

2013 marks 40 years of Caterham Cars since what was originally a Lotus dealership took over production of the Series 4 Lotus Seven in 1973. Now, at Frankfurt 2013, the British manufacturer is debuting its newest model – the Seven 165 prototype – set to become the entry-level version and the lightest, most efficient Caterham ever when it goes on sale in the UK in 2014. We like the fact that you will be able to buy a Caterham for less than £17,000 and still be able to embarrass much more expensive machinery when the going gets twisty.