Alfa Romeo Steering Wheel on 2040-parts.com

Japan hopes to make EV recharging technology the global standard

Japan's automakers aim to cement their lead in electric vehicles by making Japanese recharging technology the global standard and bringing it to the United States. A coalition of manufacturers, including Nissan and Toyota, is teaming with Japan's biggest electric company and the government to make it happen. They aim to corner the market on one of the technologies that will be key to the eventual acceptance of electric-powered cars: the high-speed charging points that will act like gasoline stations of the future and enable drivers to recharge and keep driving after their batteries run low.

Spyker C8 Aileron GT (2011) first pictures

Spyker is readying a new endurance racer, the C8 Aileron GT. and it's unveiled the car on the eve of the 2011 Geneva motor show. It's more good news for the fans of the obscure Dutch brand: last week the company that builds the cars in the UK bought the brand from holding company Spyker Cars N.V, there's a waiting list that stretches into early 2012, and now Spyker is committing to endurance racing for the next few years.  Based on Spyker’s new flagship C8 Aileron, the new GT racer is being designed and developed to meet the GTE regulations set by the ACO, the governing body of the Le Mans 24hrs.

U-turn for wheelchair row taxi firm

A TAXI firm that refused to pick up wheelchair users has had to perform a U-turn. Middlesbrough-based Boro Cars, the largest taxi firm in the North East, had originally said refusing disabled passengers was "morally wrong", but it brought in the policy anyway. The firm insists that minibuses cost drivers more to rent and that the standard fares, which are the only fares that can be charged to disabled passengers, are not high enough to earn operators any money.