1950 Dodge Dome Light on 2040-parts.com

Fisker, Energy Department face tough Congressional hearing on federal loans

Struggling Fisker Automotive took a bludgeoning Wednesday on Capitol Hill from top congressional Republicans who compared Fisker to failed automotive startups of the past and lambasted the Department of Energy for allowing the electric-car producer to draw down nearly $200 million in taxpayer-funded loans. House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., told Fisker founder Henrik Fisker that he will be remembered fondly for his design work for BMW and Aston Martin. But he compared Fisker to Malcolm Bricklin, John DeLorean and Preston Tucker -- three entrepreneurs known for their failed startup car companies.

Faulty airbags cause recall of 3.4 million cars

Toyota, Honda and Nissan are recalling more than 3 million vehicles made between November 2000 and March 2004 for faulty airbags from parts supplier Takata, Automotive News reported on Thursday. So far, 1.73 million Toyotas, 1.14 million Hondas, and 480,000 Nissans are involved in the recall. But the report from Automotive News suggests Takata also supplied other manufacturers with the same airbags.

Lexus CT 200h: The CT 200h Kylie advert

Kylie has work for the Lexus shilling. Last month we reported that Lexus had splashed a chunk of Toyota’s rainy-day money on bagging Kylie Minogue to promote the Lexus CT 200h. Which seems like a very good idea.