2013-2015 Honda Civic Hybrid Driver Side Axle on 2040-parts.com

Alfa Romeo 4C convertible likely for 2015

Conventional wisdom holds that if you want to take on Porsche's 911, you need a convertible variant. And although Alfa Romeo's often marched to the beat of a wonderfully idiosyncratic drummer, it sounds as if it's hewing to general sporting-car rules of thumb with the 4C. According to a report in Britain's Autocar, sources have confirmed that a 4C convertible will follow the launch of the coupe by about a year.

Volkswagen trots out Mini Vader for Chattanooga plant inauguration

Volkswagen is hoping that a little advertising goes a long way. The company brought its Super Bowl star Mini Vader back for an encore during the opening ceremonies for VW’s new Chattanooga factory. The pint-sized Dark Lord gave a final blessing to the plant before pushing a red button to make things official.

Ford S-Max

Following the 'concept' unveiled at the Frankfurt show a year ago, Ford has now released pictures of the near-identical production version of the second-generation S-Max. The car will make its public debut at the Paris Motor Show next month, and goes on sale in early 2015. Although it's designed in Europe for the European market, the S-Max has still received the One Ford global design treatment.