10 Mitsubishi Lancer Axle Shaft 302079 on 2040-parts.com

LX-rated love-in: Web forum members make their virtual passion real

The Dodge Charger, the Challenger and the Chrysler 300C share more than what Chrysler calls its LX platform. They also share an enthusiastic owner base at the www.lxforums.com Web site, where for the last six years more than 33,000 enthusiastic owners have met virtually to share information, photos and love for their cars. Event founder and 2005 300C owner John Fortuno calls it a "modern-day version of the car club." Five years ago he decided to "bring the virtual to reality" by staging a Spring Festival car show in Southern California where members could meet in person.

Chinese Grand Prix (2013) RESULT

Qualifying for the 2013 Chinese Grand Prix produced a fascinating grid, with three former world champions at the front on soft tyres, two more world champions lurking down the grid on mediums – hoping a different strategy would see them rise to the top – and Red Bull’s Mark Webber starting from the pit lane after running out of fuel in qualifying. And the three world champions who started at the front – Hamilton in the Mercedes, Raikkonen in the Lotus and Alonso in the Ferrari – did indeed make it to the podium, but not in the order they started. Alonso had a cracking start, overtaking Raikkonen for second place at the start and taking Hamilton for the lead by lap five, but stopped two laps later to change his softs for mediums and coming out behind Vettel and Button, who had started on mediums, and Hulkenberg.

Hot seats: from design to delivery [sponsored]

As the user demands on car interiors are increasingly influenced by their growing design consciousness, so suppliers like Lear strive to bring better-engineered seating to satisfy. 2013 was another big year for Lear, as Jeanette Puig-Pey, its global fabric & leather design manager, enthuses: "At our ‘Design2Perform' event we celebrated the unveiling of our brand new collection, with special emphasis on color and texture and our TeXstyle Enhance product, perfect for customization. Laser etching is part of this offering, it is exclusive to Lear Corporation and can be used to add refined design elements to cloth and leather." A mix of fabric and leather in seating is not new but is often seen by the consumer as a cheaper alternative to full leather.