Accel 8848 Custom Fit 8.8mm; Spark Plug Wire Set on 2040-parts.com

A look at Toyota future products

Toyota has slipped behind competitors in drivetrain technology and now must play catch-up against the likes of Ford, Hyundai and Mazda. Much of Toyota's lag stems from engineering resources being diverted by the unintended acceleration crisis and other quality miscues in the past two years. Now expect Toyota to focus more on turbocharging and direct injection, and it may even bring a couple of diesels to the United States as part of midcycle changes.

2014 Skoda Yeti Facelift – now comes as Town or Country

The Skoda Yeti gets a facelift for 2014 – and a split personality The Skoda Yeti has been a big success for Skoda – and rightly so, it’s very able and decently priced – but it’s been around for a while and is ready for a facelift. So Skoda has done the usual facelift tweaks for the Yeti – which will be revealed in public at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show – with new grill and lights at the front, titivated tailgate and lights at the back, some new colour options - Moon-White, Jungle-Green, Metal-Grey and Magnetic-Brown – and new alloys. Inside the tweaks are even less obvious with titivations for the steering wheel, dashboard trim and upholstery and the arrival of a rear view camera and automatic parking the main highlights.

BASF annual color trend report

Materials giant BASF has presented the findings of its annual color trend report, created by a team of designers scouting out global textile and furniture trade shows for information. And while some may think color trends are simply at the whim of designers, BASF's report identifies influences such as socio-political climate, interior design, architecture, technology and pop culture. 'Green luxury' is not an oxymoron The trend towards blues is continuing, while earthy tones and colors also reflect ecological awareness.