04 05 06 Volvo S40 L. Side View Mirror 181831 on 2040-parts.com

Beanz Meanz More Eco-Friendly Future Fords

THE car industry is full of interesting and unusual business partnerships, but this latest tie-up between Ford and Heinz promises to be one of the more intriguing. Far from seeking to produce 57 varieties of any particular new Ford model, the two firms are exploring the use of tomato fibre to develop a sustainable composite materials for use in vehicle manufacturing. For example, boffins believe that dried tomato skins could become the wiring brackets in future Ford vehicles or the storage bin a customer uses to hold coins and other small objects.

Chrysler is set to invest $500 million in Toledo Jeep assembly plant

Chrysler Group plans to invest $500 million in its Toledo North Assembly Plant and hire a second shift of workers over the next year to build a new Fiat-based SUV for Jeep, as well as other vehicles. "This plant has been chosen to build the future Jeep SUV to replace the current Jeep Liberty that will be exported to markets all over the world," CEO Sergio Marchionne said at the plant Wednesday. "Jeep is at the heart of our plans to internationalize Chrysler, a process which is being accelerated by Chrysler's access to Fiat's distribution capabilities in Europe and Latin America." Toledo North is Chrysler's only assembly plant with only one shift of workers.

Simeone museum lays out history of competition sports cars

Unlike Europe, with its multimillion-dollar manufacturer-sponsored auto museums, the United States has built its auto museums almost entirely with private money. Traveling around the country, you can find spectacular collections such as the Nethercutt in Sylmar, Calif., small enthusiast-run museums such as the Pierce-Arrow museum in Buffalo and everything in between. There are museums for hearses, microcars, tractors and every conceivable form of transport--including a museum in Ferndale, Calif., for human-powered vehicles.