It's no secret that there have been some significant issues on Top Gear in recent months.
The night-vision equipment used by almost every soldier today represents one of the biggest improvements in combat gear in recent years.
With the Bush administration signaling a go-slow approach toward North Korea, that country has pushed its diplomacy into high gear in recent weeks, establishing ties with a wide variety of countries.
But with the economy clearly having shifted into a lower gear in recent months, some investors have been betting that the Fed will go a step further and drop its policy stance that inflation is still a risk.
The talks, which appeared to be on the brink of collapse just a few months ago, kicked back into gear in recent weeks as political and practical realities prompted a newfound urgency among American negotiators.
Negotiations over the government's bailout of Chrysler and General Motors have shifted into high gear in recent days, and from this point until the end of June, things are likely to get more tense and more complicated.
It is also trying to sell its fibre-optics business, which could raise $5 billion but is having problems finding a buyer.Like its competitors, the company has been hit hard by the steep fall in demand for telecommunications gear in recent months.
Mullins, who lists Pele as his sporting hero, has seen a successful career move into fifth gear in recent years with the support of powerful backers, such as the shades-wearing American banker Ricci.
The left-right-left swerves, with a huge compression and then steep rise to a crest, are taken at more than 180mph and were once the most difficult in F1, but advances in car design have meant they could be taken flat-out in top gear in recent years when it was dry.
If the five-toed shoe and the kettle bell were among the biggest innovations in workout gear in recent years, how do you make them better?
