11 Toyota Sienna Dr Handle, Exterior 563090 on 2040-parts.com

Land Rover start Freelander assembly in India – Engine Plant to follow?

The Land Rover Freelander 2 in the JLR assembly plant in Pune, India We reported last year that Land Rover were going to start building Freelanders in India this year. Well, bolting them together from CKD (Complete Knock Down) imported from Halewood, anyway. And, bang on target, Land Rover has had a bit of an event at Pune to celebrate the opening of their new assembly plant.

The cars were stars at the Television/Motion Picture Car Club's first show

When we first heard about this show, we figured it would be all famous cars from famous movies: the real Bullitt Mustang, the real Herbie, the real pod racer from Star Wars. While there were some actual movie cars at the first show of the newly minted Television/Motion Picture Car Club--including the Charger from Fast & Furious and a real Dukes of Hazzard General Lee--the majority of the wheels were tribute cars made by fans who happened to work in the movie industry. The only Star Wars car was a converted Honda Civic Del Sol with a stuffed green Yoda riding shotgun.

Who's Where: Nicolas Huet named PATAC exterior design director

Nicholas Huet has joined PATAC as exterior design director. Based in Shanghai, he will report directly to design director Holt Ware. French-born Huet, who spent 20 years at BMW as a designer, is in charge of the exterior PATAC design department, working on Chinese-specific programs as well as GM Global programs.