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.

BMW 6-series Coupe (2011) first official pictures

BMW today released the first pictures of the production 6-series coupe, on sale in the UK in October 2011. Old news... the 6-series launched last year in Paris, didn't it?

Ferrari black: Prancing Horse turns a profit in first quarter

Ferrari racers have always worn red. But black has been the standard-bearer for the company so far this year, as the Prancing Horse turned a $72 million trading profit in the first quarter. Making money amid the global economic crisis is no small feat--and Ferrari posted the gain despite a slip in sales and revenue.