13413769 #0263023095 For Gm Reversing Radar Pdc Parking Sensor Ultrasonic Sensor on 2040-parts.com

The 500-hp club: The room is getting crowded

At a time when fuel economy counts for just about everything, there's still a horsepower war raging in the United States. The number of fire-breathing wedge-shaped supercars and hot sedans and coupes that can pump out 500 hp or better has nearly doubled in the past five years to more than 70. A decade ago there were just two members of the 500 hp club in the United States: the Ferrari 575M and Lamborghini Murcielago.

Michael Mauer appointed head of design at Porsche

Porsche AG has anounced the appointment of Michael Mauer to take over as chief designer from Harm Lagaay, who will retire on July 1 after 15 years in the post. Michael Mauer, 41, studied automobile design at Pforzheim University, and started his career at Mercedes-Benz. In 1989, he was appointed design project leader for the Mercedes V Class models, and was in charge of design work for the first SLK model generation.

German new car sales drop 11 per cent – pre-reg accounts for 33.5 per cent

New car sales in Germany dropped by 11 per cent in September with pre-reg cars accounting for over a third of all sales. That drop of 11 per cent in Germany is despite deep discount offers – an average of 12.2 per cent in September – with even the previously invincible Mercedes and VW having to offer discounts of up to €3k, despite which VW’s sales fell by 20 per cent in Germany and Mercedes by 12 per cent. What’s perhaps most interesting about the decline in car sales in Germany is the number of pre-reg cars sold (pre reg cars are cars registered by dealers to hit sales targets and then sold at a discount of up to 25 per cent).