1980 Hot Rod Magazine October Rat Rod Hot Rod Kustom on 2040-parts.com

BMW 640d xDrive announced

On Thursday, Greg Kable waxed effusively about the new BMW M550d xDrive coupe, suggesting that it was the ultimate 5-series for everyday use. On Friday, Munich announced that the 5's two-door sibling will receive an AWD diesel variant: the 640d xDrive. While not quite as high-zoot as the 5-series' top oil burner, the 640d's 3.0-liter, twin-turbo straight-six cranks out a respectable 465 lb-ft of almighty torque between 1,500 rpm and 2,500 rpm, plus 313 hp at 4,400 rpm—numbers that, according to BMW, will carry the 6-series to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds.

Luxgen Luxgen5 sedan

Luxgen, Taiwan's only automotive manufacturer with its own design and development center, has announced the launch of the Luxgen5 sedan, which the company says has three design aesthetic elements: surfacing performance, re-curved strokes and intelligent airfoil. What this translates to is a silhouette comparable to the Opel Insignia, with an arcing A-pillar that runs through the cant rail onto the high rear deck. The DRG boasts a large grille, where the chromed ‘wing' motif runs into the LED lamp graphics. The sculpted flanks feature an array of character and detail lines that fall into the ‘re-curved strokes' category of the Luxgen design language.

Saab files for bankruptcy: the end of the Swedish saga

Saab has reached the end of the road - for the second time in two years, just before Christmas. Parent company Swedish Automobile today announced that Saab had filed for bankruptcy. Owner and acting CEO Victor Muller had been trying to sell Saab as a going concern and had come close to signing a deal with Chinese car makers Pang Da and Youngman, but the deal was blocked by former owner General Motors which feared its technology - powering the new 9-5, plenty of the 9-3 range and the 9-4X - would fall into opposition hands in China.