2003 S10 Xtreme Clean!!!! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Watch this week's Top Gear America used-car challenge

Top Gear America is back for the penultimate episode of the first season. Used car challenges were some of the highlights of the original UK edition. In our exclusive clip, Tom Ford, Antron Brown and William Fichtner run their $7,000 sports cars in a drag race. As expected, the trio chose very different cars for the challenge. Watch the video to see if a Subaru WRX's all-wheel drive can overcome a power deficit to beat a Ford Mustang and a Chevy Corvette. Brown and Fichtner also spend some time relaxing with an old Jeep Wagoneer. Like them, we're really hoping Jeep will bring back the Wagoneer nameplate. Brown also drives a Maserati Levante, proving that not all family cars need be boring. This week's guest star is actor, rapper and former host of Pimp My Ride, Xzibit. Top Gear America airs Sundays at 8 p.m. Eastern on BBC America. Related Video: Celebrities TV/Movies Chevrolet Ford Subaru Top Gear exclusive top gear america

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla's Europe plans, Chevy Bolt details

Hybrid Cars takes a close look at the battery cooling system and gearbox in the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt. While information is still limited, we can make educated guesses about the car's inner workings. The Bolt's liquid battery cooling system appears simpler than that of the Chevy Volt, eschewing active inter cell cooling plates for what appear to be bottom cooling plates. The Bolt has a coaxial gearbox, with the electric motor and the drive shaft on the same axis. It uses a simpler parallel-helical gear set rather than the planetary reduction set used in the Chevy Spark EV. These simplifications have the benefit of helping lower the cost of the Bolt. Read more at Hybrid Cars. Tesla is planning to expand its Supercharger network in Europe in 2016. While a handful of countries in western and central Europe have an established Supercharger network, many European countries still have no Tesla presence. That should change this year, as a map of planned locations includes Spain and Portugal, Ireland, Scandinavian and Italian expansions, and the first Superchargers in many eastern European nations, including Poland, the Balkans, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and even Moldova. By the end of the year, you should be able to take that electric road trip from Lisbon to Moscow you never knew you were planning. Read more at Teslarati. National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe sat down for an interview with the Tampa Bay Times. In the interview, Jobe discusses biodiesel's environmental impact and relationship with the fuel market. He talks about its production, and its differences from the other major biofuel, ethanol. Jobe says the biggest challenge is dealing with the petroleum industry, which biodiesel needs to work with despite their differences. "It's a threat when you have the largest, wealthiest most powerful industry in human history making it a top priority to eliminate policy that is aimed at helping incentivize renewable energy," says Jobe. Read more from the Tampa Bay Times. Related Gallery 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV: Detroit 2016 View 10 Photos News Source: Hybrid Cars, Teslarati, Tesla Motors, Tampa Bay Times Green Chevrolet Tesla Alternative Fuels Biodiesel Electric recharge wrapup

GM says EVs are the future — but trucks are going to take it there

In the PowerPoint deck for the General Motors Capital Markets Day presentation, one of the more disturbing things comes early on, during GM President Mark Reuss' initial remarks, in an area where he is discussing the company's overall strength in trucks. The point being made is that GM has a truck for all and sundry. And there it is, a phrase on a slide that should send chills up the spines of those who still pine for the old Bob Seger "Like a Rock" Silverado ads: "Little bit country. Little bit rock 'n' roll." That's right. Donny and Marie. Somehow the Denis Leary snark in the F-150 ads is all the more appealing. The Capital Markets Day presentation was chock full of observations about electrification and automation (Reuss and CEO Mary Barra both noted that the corporation's vision is one of "Zero Crashes. Zero Emissions. Zero Congestion." Dan Ammann talked about the progress being made at Cruise Automation; Reuss rolled out the plan for an array of electrified vehicles, with a luxury EV and a compact SUV being the "Centroid Entries" for the modular bases of many others). But it is worth noting that there is no getting away from the power of pickups in the U.S. market, as that was the central topic in Chief Financial Officer Dhivya Suryadevara's comments, with "Truck Franchise" being flanked by "Key Financial Priorities" and "Financial Outlook." Clearly, to gloss the old phrase, the truck segment is where the money is. Suryadevra enumerated how the truck segment is significantly different than other types of light vehicles. Among her points: GM, Ford and FCA have more than 90% of market share. The truck parc has been growing and aging over the past 10 years. Customers are fiercely loyal to the segment—as in 70% of truck buyers are truck buyers. A good number of the vehicles are for commercial use (40 percent). Trucks are "less prone to. . .mobility disruption." Trucks offer high margins. Translaton: The segment is one that they're solidly positioned in. There are lots of old trucks on the road that will need to be replaced by new ones. Perhaps buyers may switch from a Sierra to a Canyon, but it will be a truck. If your livelihood depends on that type of vehicle, even if gas prices go up or the economy begins to go south, you're going to stick with it. Most of the country isn't San Francisco, so trucks will continue to be essential. And, well, they're profitable in the extreme.