2011 Harley Davidson Street Glide Tire And Wheel on 2040-parts.com

Readers chat it up live with AW associate editor Jon Wong

For those who have ever stared longingly at a Mazda RX-8, or who love the symphony of a Honda four-cylinder engine turning at 200 rpm short of the redline and the tactile joy of the shifter sliding flawlessly from gear to gear, you have a friend in AutoWeek associate editor Jon Wong. On Friday, readers took the opportunity for a virtual mind meld, as Jon fielded questions in an online chat at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

Design Contest: LA Design Challenge 2008

The entrants for the fifth annual Design Challenge, part of the Design Los Angeles automobile designers' conference, have now been announced. Nine Southern California automotive design studios - including Audi, BMW, GM, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volkswagen - have been pitted against one another and asked to develop a concept which best answers a brief entitled 'Motorsports in 2025'. "Automotive designers have always been fascinated with motorsports and this year's Design Challenge has provided them with the opportunity to use their creative talent to look at these cars with new eyes, using innovative technologies and approaches," said Chuck Pelly, director of Design Los Angeles and partner in The Design Academy, Inc.

GM sees no potential buyers for Saab

General Motors has found no interested buyers for Saab, sources familiar with efforts to sell the Swedish brand say. GM put Saab under "strategic review" as part of the long-term viability plan submitted to Congress last month. In a subsequent interview with Automotive News, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said strategic review is "code for we realize they're not working and something needs to be done." GM has not announced a decision to sell the brand, but has quietly shopped it around, the source said.