99 Honda Prelude Steering Column Cover/a78 on 2040-parts.com

CES: GM to open the dashboard to developers

At last year's Autoweek Design Forum, father of the iPod and Nest Labs co-founder Tony Fadell suggested that automakers concentrate on designing and building cars, leaving handset makers to handle infotainment. The latest announcements from Ford and GM -- in conjunction with the International CES -- suggest that automakers would rather treat the dashboard space as a handset. Yesterday, Dearborn, Mich., announced the Ford Developer Program, which opens up Sync to outside application development; now General Motors has announced a similar initiative.

B.R.A.K.E.S. teen driving school's western debut a smash hit

All four classes of the teen driving school B.R.A.K.E.S. were packed last weekend as 160 teens age 16 to 18 from all over Southern California took part in the school's West Coast debut. "It's a lot more intense than I expected," said 18-year-old Dylan Wright, who spent part of the morning flinging a Dodge Avenger sideways on a wetted-down skidpad.

Mercedes GLA crossover (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

This is the new Mercedes GLA crossover, an A-class in combat trousers and hiking boots. Previewed by the Concept GLA displayed at Frankfurt earlier in 2013, the production GLA is available with two- or four-wheel drive, manual or twin-clutch transmissions, and a range of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines shared with the A-class hatch. Mercedes GLA: the styling In principle, the GLA is an A-class on stilts, and in the metal, that’s exactly what it looks like.