Aisin Dlt027 Door Lock Actuator on 2040-parts.com

Mazda hires VW alum Derek Jenkins to head U.S. design staff

Former Volkswagen designer Derek Jenkins has been hired to be the design chief for Mazda in America. Jenkins, 39, fills a position vacated last summer by Franz von Holzhausen, who left to take the top design post at electric-vehicle maker Tesla Motors. Jenkins had been chief of design for the Volkswagen Group in North America, which he joined in 2000.

Will the new Ford Mondeo (2014) end up a re-badged U.S. Ford Fusion?

With the 2013 Ford Mondeo now becoming the 2014 Mondeo with the closure of Ford’s Genk factory, will Europe now get a re-badged US Ford Fusion? The Genk Plant makes the Ford Mondeo and the Galaxy and S-Max (which are built on the Mondeo platform) and, at its peak, was building over 300,000 Mondeos and over 100,000 MPVs. But by last year the Mondeo production had dropped below 100,000 mark and MPV production had dropped to 80,000.

Mini Countryman John Cooper Works edition revealed prior to Geneva show

Mini has revealed the new Mini Countryman John Cooper Works edition, which comes with all-wheel drive and an improved engine making 211 hp. It debuted on Tuesday ahead of its live reveal next week at the Geneva motor show. The Countryman JCW edition will be the first of the performance Minis to offer an automatic transmission in place of the standard six-speed.