Acdelco 24256861 New Electronic Control Unit on 2040-parts.com

Dodge to gatecrash Fiesta party

By Phil McNamara Motor Industry 30 July 2006 01:40 American brand Dodge is plotting a small hatch to take on Ford's Fiesta, with sales likely in 2008. Chrysler Group is in talks with three potential partners, to share a chassis for the baby Dodge. Chrysler boss Tom LaSorda told CAR Online that talks were ongoing with car makers from 'western Europea and Asia', and that he would make a decision on the project by the end of 2006.

Old is new again: Will a floor-hinged throttle pedal be in your future?

If you think that every little nut, bolt, switch, gear or widget in your new car wasn't scrutinized by a team of highly educated, overworked car geeks (read: engineers), think again. A couple of recent conversations with automotive engineers confirmed that virtually nothing that goes into a car today is taken for granted. During the recent Pebble Beach weekend, I had the pleasure of spending time with an engineer for Jaguar, and the subject turned to materials used for various switches in the cabin.

Toyota says software glitch in data boxes can give faulty speed readings

A top Toyota executive says the crash data boxes in its vehicles are reliable but a bug in the software that reads the information can provide inaccurate vehicle speeds. The disclosure comes as the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration continues its investigation into unintended acceleration of Toyota models. “Toyota has acknowledged previously that the event data recorders are not accurate,” said Takeshi Uchiyamada, executive vice president in charge of research and development.