When Ford launched the redesigned Escape and Mariner compact CUVs last year, the bodies and interiors were all new but the powertrains were largely carried over from the first-generation models. For the 2009 model year, that issue has been addressed with thorough upgrades to both four- and six-cylinder engines. We'll talk more about the engine upgrades next week after we drive them. In the meantime we got an early look at the new automatic transmission for the non-hybrid models. The previous fou

In an episode of "Seinfeld," Kramer and a car salesman vowed to drive a Saab 900 "into the slash" just to see what would happen. Kramer said he had done it once but blacked out and woke up in a ditch with a full tank of gas. There's now a website that would have benefited from Kramer's experiment. Tank On Empty is collecting stories and experiences of how far each model of car can go past the slash be

Greenpeace is quite unhappy with recent proposals to use carbon capture technology (CCT) at power plants that burn coal. According to the environmental group, CCT is like burying money. Their reasons? First and foremost, the technology is not yet 100 percent ready, and won't be until 2030. Meanwhile, the need to reduce carbon emissions is quite immediate. Secondly, Greenpeace claims that CCT wastes energy: about 10 to 40 percent of the energy produced by the power plant where carbon is captured

Click above for a high-res gallery of the ACS1 Cabrio.

Fiat Spain has decided to make an effort to reduce the amount of water used to wash cars by using a special wax. The wax will be used at dealers and repair shops when cars are cleaned before delivery to customers. What will it do? Fiat expects the wax to reduce water use by up to 145 million liters of water (about 40 million gallons) per year.

Hey, Seattle's not the only town looking for people willing to dump their cars, at least temporarily. May marks Ann Arbor, Michigan's 4th annual Curb Your Car Month. All month, participants are encouraged to leave their cars at home and choose an alternative such as walking, biking, carpooling or public transit. One of the centerpieces of the month-long program is the Commuter Challenge, in which

While Jonathan's shots of the new 370Z were seductively cryptic, these newest images from Car do more to confuse than enlighten. Car was attending a presentation by Nissan design chief Shiro Nakamura, and with their camera phone at the ready, snapped off a few shots of Infiniti's upcoming small sports car that looks more like Han Solo in carbonite than a swoopy coupe.

Last week, Mascoma and GM announced that the automaker would invest an undisclosed amount in the cellulosic ethanol process being developed by Mascoma Corporation. Perhaps its a sign of the times that

Volkswagen has already announced its intentions to build a factory in the U.S., narrowing down the possible sites to Alabama, Michigan and Tennessee. Now, in advance of a shareholder meeting in Germany, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler is reportedly saying that Audi is considering a U.S. plant, as well. The move on both automakers' parts is an attempt to capitalize on the weak U.S. dollar, the stronger euro and the fact that material costs are on the rise and a U.S. plant could mitigate some of those exp