American Autowire Junction Box P/n 500155 on 2040-parts.com

Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez on the Mercedes tie-up, the rise of turbo cars and the end of the Lagonda SUV project

MSN Cars is in Palm Springs, California, to drive the new Aston Martin Vanquish Volante and V12 Vantage S. Aston Martin, voted the second coolest brand in the world behind Apple, is celebrating its 100th year. Over an informal dinner, MSN Cars was given an exclusive chance to talk shop with Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez to see what the future holds for the Gaydon-based company.

BMW offers new M Performance accessories for M5 and M6

Tuners Alpina and AC Schnitzer aren't the only ones offering just about everything in carbon fiber for BMWs these days, and BMW has introduced performance accessories for their M5 and M6 cars, including the M6 Gran Coupe, Convertible, and Coupe. On the performance front, car owners will be able to purchase and retrofit an exhaust system developed by BMW's M division and engineering company Akrapovič -- one made entirely of titanium. This new exhaust system will be available for the M5, and all versions of the M6 and will result in a weight savings of approximately 22 pounds.

2012 Audi R8 facelift, more power & S-tronic ‘box

Audi R8 getting a facelift - and more power - in 2012 The supercar with a mainstream car maker’s badge attached that is the Audi R8 has been something of a success as a halo car for the Audi range since it arrived in V8 form in 2007 (well, probably 2008 by the time most customer cars turned up). Since the original V8 R8 arrived we’ve had an absolute deluge – in supercar terms – of R8 models from Audi including the R8 V8, R8 V8 Spyder, R8 V10, R8 V10 Spyder and the rather costly R8 GT and R8 GT Spyder. But through that time the engines – apart from in the R8 GT – have remained the same, as has the woeful R-Tronic gearbox.