92180-0150 Shim, T=0.8 on 2040-parts.com

No sign of global auto meltdown at Tokyo Auto Salon

With more than 600 cars on display and a record number of exhibitors, nothing at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Salon tuner show hinted at the global economic downturn. As always, there was a great mix of styles, from hard-core, 1,000-hp, supertuned machinery to weird customized scooter tricycles. Auto manufacturers tried hard to capture the minds--if not the wallets--of the younger-than-30 crowd with customized versions of production cars, while tuners were busy persuading power junkies to choose them for their next engine modification.

Video: Volvo designers offer an insight into inspiration

A film crew has visited Volvo's Gothenberg design studios to meet two of its design team and find out what makes them tick. Exterior designer Peter Reuterberg and Interior designer Axel Ernstsson are filmed both in the classically Scandinavian studio and strolling in slow motion through a typically-Swedish snowy landscape. Ok, it may be a little cheesy, but it certainly rams home the company's nationality.

Future products: 3 new vehicles on the way for Jaguar, but don't hold your breath

India's Tata Motors, which bought Jaguar from Ford Motor Co. two years ago, recently approved a product plan that gives Jaguar three new models: a small sports car, an entry-level sedan and a station wagon. They will be the first new vehicles to be fully developed under Tata, but they are all several years away.