Study finds design flaws, not parts defects, account for most interior-quality issues

Design problems, not bad parts, are to blame for consumers not liking car interiors, the latest results from an annual study by J. D. Power and Associates shows.

Ralliart unit folds, but Mitsubishi keeps name

Mitsubishi will continue using the “Ralliart” brand name despite the demise of the Japanese racing parts company this week. Ralliart Inc., a wholly owned Japanese subsidiary of Mitsubishi Motors Corp., informed global distributors on Wednesday that it would cease business operations March 31. In the United States and Europe, Mitsubishi markets a Ralliart sports version of its Lancer, which has become a sporty halo car for the brand.

SoCal stuff you just have to see

If you live in Southern California or might visit anytime soon, here are a few things to do: Legends Of Riverside III Riverside International Raceway may have been closed for 22 years, but it has never left the memories of those who drove on it and the fans who sat in the brown dirt and scrub brush around the outside. For the last three years, the Riverside International Automotive Museum has honored those memories with a big reunion of great drivers, race cars and movies. In 2009, the featured hero was Southern California's own Dan Gurney.