Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

EV maker Coda trims staff

Not much more could go wrong for electric-car maker Coda, which has struggled to sell its four-door EV in the United States since officially launching it here in March. But Web reports, first seen at www.plugincars.com, say the company laid off 50 employees, or 15 percent of its workforce, last week, mostly in the sales and marketing departments. Efforts by Autoweek to contact Coda have not been successful.

Exclusive: 2012 Bentley Continental GTC spied – with new V8

First photo of a V8 Bentley Continental We had the launch of the new Bentley Continental GT – the 2011 car – back in September at the Paris Motor Show, but we’re still waiting for what will now be the 2012 Bentley Continental GTC – the drop-top Conti. We had a photo of the new GTC – complete with a slightly odd two-tone paint job – drop in last week, and we’d planned to run the story today – it’s a good filler for a Sunday. But it’s turned in to a bit more than that.

Who's Where: Peter Arcadipane appointed BAIC's design director

Peter Arcadipane has joined BAIC as its new design director. Based at its new hi-tech design facility in Beijing, China, he oversees a team of around 130 designers. The Australian designer, formerly of Mercedes-Benz, has been challenged to steer state-owned BAIC towards a more coherent and strategic position within China, with its chairman wanting to take the carmaker more upmarket.