* Horton Assy, Journal-bracket, Mid-mount, 98a4193 on 2040-parts.com

Akio Toyoda waves family flag, heir makes crisis personal challenge

The reclusive Akio Toyoda is taking the rare step of waving the family flag, as the scion to Toyota Motor Corp.’s founding dynasty tries to steer the world’s largest car company out of a spiraling safety crisis. In testimony prepared for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, President Toyoda pursues a rare personal tack on the emergency, saying “my name is on every car.” “As you well know, I am the grandson of the founder, and all the Toyota vehicles bear my name,” Toyoda says in prepared comments circulated ahead of Wednesday’s committee hearing in Washington. “For me, when the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well.” The intimate reflection is a departure for Toyoda, who has spent most of his career sidestepping public discussion of his lineage.

Mini Paceman Concept (2011): first official pictures

These are the first official pictures of Mini’s not-so-mini Paceman Concept. Mini calls it a Sports Activity Coupe (SAC), but really it’s just a two-door Countryman. And as CAR revealed way back in April 2009, a second sportier version of Mini's biggest model is on the way: the Paceman will almost certainly reach production.

New Skoda Octavia (2013) revealed

The new Skoda Octavia arrives as a third generation offering more room, more efficiency and a new look. Arrives in the UK spring 2013. We’ve had a trio of new cars built on the VW MQB platform  recently – the new VW Golf, the new Audi A3 and the new SEAT Leon – and now we have a quartet with the arrival of the new Skoda Octavia.