99 Honda Prelude Cruise Control Switch/a78 on 2040-parts.com

Infographic: How much clay do Ford’s design studios use each year?

Ford has offered an insight into its clay modeling processes with a series of videos and an infographic that charts the process involved in turning a designer's sketch into a full-size model. The infographic uses data taken from all of Ford's global design studios in 2012 to give an idea of how much clay is used in a year, plus how much paint and di-noc film is used to cover each model. Ford has also released a video that gives a behind-the-scenes look at the firm's clay modeling studio in Merkenich, Germany, including interviews with members of the modeling team.

Aston Martin Rapide Shooting Brake heading for production?

Is the Bertone Jet 2+2 (pictured) heading for production as the Rapide Shooting Brake? At the Geneva Motor Show in March, we saw the Bertone Jet 2+2 – essentially an Aston Martin Rapide Shooting Brake – designed by Bertone as a one-off customer car. But it looks like the Rapide Estate may be heading for production.

One Lap of the Web: Panteras, Battlebirds and Patrick Dempsey's entrepreneurial brilliance

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- Sure, later versions of the De Tomaso Pantera looked a bit outrageous with their wide fenders and Countach-like spoilers.