Yamaha 40hp 40 Hp F40hp 4-stroke Powerhead Crankcase Assembly 2001 Four Stroke on 2040-parts.com

BMW ActiveHybrid X6 (2009) first pictures

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 13 August 2009 10:30 This is BMW’s new ActiveHybrid X6, the company's first full production hybrid car. With two electric motors mated to the twin-turbo V8 powerplant, BMW claims its new SUV is not only the world’s most powerful hybrid, but also offers a reduction in fuel consumption and emissions over the equivalent petrol-only X6 by around 20%. And all to the ‘joint enhancement of driving pleasure and efficiency’. Mmmm… No – there’s actually two electric motors.

Multi-touch UI reduces touchscreen interaction to simple swipes [w/video]

Touchscreens have become widespread standard features in many cars over the last few years, consolidating the modern car's many functions into one interface. But despite their advantages there's the big downside of driver distraction, something user interface designer Matthaeus Krenn believes he has solved with his UI. Unlike most other touchscreens, Krenn's interface isn't organized into menus and small, hard-to-hit buttons, but instead makes use of multi-touch gestures, reducing the accuracy and attention needed to operate key functions.

Mercedes launch new 9G-Tronic gearbox on E350 BlueTec

New Mercedes E350 BlueTec (pictured) gets 9-speed 9G-TRONIC auto It’s not exactly a million years ago that automatic gearboxes offered poorer performance and economy than manual gearboxes, and came as standard with just three gears. But now, automatic gearboxes are so good they can  change quicker than any driver and, with the proliferation of eight-speed auto ‘boxes, offer improved economy and performance too. The next logical step is even more ratios in an auto ‘box, and Land Rover has already revealed they’ll be fitting the Evoque with a 9-speed ZF ‘box from 2014, and the new Jeep Grand Cherokee gets a nine-speed auto ‘box too.