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Ford's automotive assembly line celebrates 100th anniversary

A mere century ago, on Oct. 7, 1913, Henry Ford rigged up a rope tow to get Model T chassis across the floor of his Highland Park assembly plant -- essentially winching cars across the factory floor and adding a set schedule of parts at certain intervals. The implementation may have been a bit primitive, but Ford was on the cusp something big: applying the concepts of the moving assembly line to the complicated, costly process of automobile production.

2014 MINI leaks ahead of reveal

2014 MINI leaks ahead of reveal MINI has been busy teasing the new MINI for a while, with an official reveal planned for later today to coincide with the 107th birthday of the Mini’s creator – Sir Alec Issigonis. But the best laid plans of MINI have garnered a bit of a wrinkle with the first official photos (above) of the new MINI leaking out online ahead of the official reveal. They don’t really tell us much we don’t already know – especially with the MINI Vision Concept previewing the new MINI – but do confirm the new MINI still looks as we would expect, just bigger and better equipped and based on a new BMW platform.

Gray Design imagines a new Saab 9-3

Swedish design firm Gray Design gave us its take on a new Saab 9-3 on Friday. The sleek, spaceship-like car reminds us again of what Saab’s future could have looked like. Gray Design says the Saab 9-3 Mark III is an attempt to take design elements from past Saabs and blend them into modernity.