97-03 Pontiac Grand Prix Passenger Rear Door Handle on 2040-parts.com

Lexus ES sedan production coming to Kentucky

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to invest $360 million to bring production of the Lexus ES sedan to Kentucky, making it the first model from Toyota's premium brand to be built in the United States as the carmaker pushes to localize more manufacturing. Under the plan announced Friday in New York by CEO Akio Toyoda, Toyota will boost annual capacity at its Georgetown, Ky., plant by 50,000 vehicles to accommodate ES output.

Who's Where: John Puskar and Liz Wetzel appointed to new roles at GM Design

As part of an ongoing strategy at General Motors, this past month has seen a series of moves taking place within the company's design organization in Europe and the US. Two of the key changes have been the appointment of John Puskar to the role of Director of Cross-Brand Strategy, C&T and Components in North America, and that of Liz Wetzel, who has been named Director of GME Design Interior – effectively filling Puskar's role. Puskar, who until recently headed the Opel/Vauxhall Interior Design at the European Design Center in Russelsheim, Germany, majored in Industrial Design at the Cleveland Institute of Art and worked at Ford in both the USA and Germany before joining General Motors as a creative designer at the GMC Brand Center in 1999.

Volkswagen Golf GTD Mk 7 revealed

The 2013 VW Golf GTD has been revealed ahead of a Geneva Motor Show debut with 181bhp, 67.3mpg and 109g/km emissions. The new VW Golf GTD get VW’s new 2.0 litre 4-cylinder diesel which offers an impressive 181bhp and a very decent 280lb/ft of torque, enough to get to 62mph in 7.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 143mph. The extra power (up 13bhp and 22lb/ft of torque) may mean better performance than the Mk 6 GTD, but it’s not at the price of poorer economy.