Yamaha 6t0-45693-00-33 Plate, Shift on 2040-parts.com

Range Rover Sport sets desert crossing record

A RANGE Rover Sport has set a new record for the fastest crossing of one of the harshest desert environments on Earth. The new off-roader, which was standard apart from an additional protection plate under the chassis, crossed the Empty Quarter in the Middle East between Wadi Adda Wasir in Saudi Arabia and the border of the United Arab Emirates in 10 hours and 22 minutes at an average speed of 51.87mph. Covering 530 miles en route to the new record, the Range Rover Sport was driven by veteran Dakar rally expert Moi Torrallardona, a man who understands everything there is to know about driving large off-road vehicles in demanding desert conditions.

Mercedes E class Cabriolet (2010) – Air Cap

The 2010 Mercedes E Class Cabrio with AirCap deployed The next generation Mercedes E Class Cabriolet is due to turn up at next month’s Detroit Motor Show and go on sale in the Spring in the UK – just in time for some open-topped motoring as the sky clears and the sun starts to shine (or it pours with rain – global warming, don’t you know). Which is all fine and dandy if you’re just cruising round town at low speeds and you’ve got hats on, otherwise the expensive coiffures of your passengers may well get wrecked by the buffeting once the roof is down as you blat along, leaving them looking as if they’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards. But not any more.

Orphan Car Show highlights long-gone classics

Marvelous as it is a setting for car shows, Riverside Park in Ypsilanti, Mich., does present a risk: The park is built in the floodplain of the Huron River. When organizers showed up to stage this year's Orphan Car Show--the nation's largest to feature cars built by companies that no longer do business in America--on June 6, they found the judging stand underwater. An impromptu “show” throughout nearby Depot Town and at the host Miller Motors Hudson/Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum wasn't quite the same thing.