Austin Healey 100 Accelerator Pedal With Shaft Lh Steering Nos on 2040-parts.com

Volvo Concept You (2011) at Frankfurt motor show

The Concept You, says Volvo, combines a sleek coupe-like exterior with a high-tech interior that keeps the driver in command via intuitive smart-pad technology. It also gives us a first taste of Volvo’s design direction as it readies the next-gen S80. Designed by Peter Horbury, Concept You builds on Concept Universe, which was shown at Shanghai 2011, and is based on Volvo’s new Scalable Platform Architecture.

Watch the sad, final moments of a crusher-bound heap

Automotive wrecking yards are good places to reflect on the real-world values of heavily depreciated vehicles versus global current scrap-metal prices, and to see which cars have suddenly had the fix-it-versus-total-it line moved by insurance companies (the early-21st-century Subaru Legacy Outback, for example, appeared in large numbers in high-turnover wrecking yards just during the last year, as fairly minor collision damage on these cars is no longer worth fixing). You'll see the things that a car's last owner does in a desperate attempt to sell (or at least live with) an increasingly decrepit heap (as we learned in "Repo Man," you really will find a Little Tree in every car). During a recent trip to a San Jose, Calif., yard, I encountered this sad yet strangely compelling scene.

Wheel maker connects with exotic clientele via social media

Reaching potential buyers of custom wheels for exotic cars takes more than buying ads in magazines. Miami-based ADV.1 Wheels is building a business fueled by a social-media approach that includes car-forum interaction, photo shoots and short films on the Internet. The company launched a Facebook fan page in late March, has received more than 59,000 “likes” and aims for 100,000--at which point ADV.1 Wheels has promised to give away a set of the company’s Trakfunction wheels.