1963 Studebaker Lark Accessory Catalog on 2040-parts.com

Ford and Dow Chemical to experiment with carbon fiber

Ford is hatching a weight-loss plan for its cars and trucks that should result in a 750-pound-per-car weight reduction before the end of the decade. The company even hired a “personal trainer,” Dow Chemical, to help it get there. So, what's their plan?

Porsche Cayman Black Edition revealed

Porsche has revealed its latest limited-run sports car: the Cayman S Black Edition. Created as a send-off for the current Cayman lineup, which is set to be replaced within the next 12 months, the coupe is planned to go on sale in July with a more powerful engine, a larger wheel-and-tire package and greater standard-equipment levels than those of the existing Cayman S. Taking a page from Henry Ford, the Cayman S Black Edition is available in any color you like--as long as it's black Inside, the Porsche gets black trims, black sport seats, a sport steering wheel, darkened instrument graphics, stainless-steel scuff plates with “Black Edition” inscriptions and a commemorative badge identifying it as one of a limited build of 500 units.

'American Nitro' is back!

"Seventies drag-race mayhem is back!" bills "American Nitro," a schlocky drive-in exploitation film whose only quote of praise, from a dog-eared period issue of "Car Craft," reads, simply, "SPECTACULAR CRASHES!" Director Bill Kimberlin says that he made "American Nitro" in 1979 as a response to Tom Wolfe's influential 1965 essay, "The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby." "I was just getting out of high school in a small town in Northern California when Wolfe's book came out," he said. "Nitro came about as my response to the car culture I was exposed to in the small valley town of Boonville, Calif. Instead of 'American Graffiti,' I made 'American Nitro.'" A fitting comparison, in fact, considering Kimberlin later worked for George Lucas at ILM, starting with" Return of the Jedi." Now the movie is being released on DVD for the first time -- beware of bootlegs, warns the website -- and digitally remastered, while retaining the explosive charm and goofy narration of the 1979 original.