05-07 Ford Five Hundred 500 3.0l Upper & Lower Intake Manifold Assembly Factory on 2040-parts.com

Collector electrifies a 1955 LaSalle Roadster

Just months after Joe Bortz's unveiling of the restored 1955 Chevrolet Biscayne, the auto archeologist and collector is moving into the second phase of restoration with another General Motors Motorama concept car: the 1955 LaSalle Roadster. But here's the key difference--the LaSalle is going electric. As the LaSalle's motor was never completed, the roadster is considered a “push mobile.” To prepare the car so that it can be driven--rather than pushed--on the road, Bortz has teamed up with Pioneer Conversions, an Illinois business focusing in the electric conversion of various vehicles.

Mini nears big sales record

BMW's Mini brand will reach an all-time sales record this year, BMW sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson said. BMW sold 132,000 Minis in the first half. "If you double the half-year total, you aren't far off results for the year," Robertson told Automotive News Europe.

U.S. auto sales continue to plunge in February

February sales for each of the top six U.S. automakers plunged more than 37 percent in February--the worst month since December 1981. "We are in an automotive depression amid 'The Great Recession,' " Standard and Poor's analyst Efraim Levy said in a report.