Bj1a2291 2003 Johnson 50 Hp J50plstd Propeller Shaft Pn 0439138 Fits 1998-2005 on 2040-parts.com

Audi R8 GT Spyder (2011) sketches

This is the car to render the Lamborghini Gallardo Performante pointless – it’s the Audi R8 GT Spyder, a drop-top version of the lighter, faster R8 GT coupe. Previewed in these design sketches from Audi, the R8 GT Spyder is expected to be revealed in full at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show in September. So this Audi R8 GT Spyder is a R8 GT without a roof? Essentially, yes.

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.

Mercedes Vito London Taxi comes out fighting

Mercedes has come out fighting against the Nissan NV200 London Taxi with an assertion of the benefits of the Mercedes Vito Taxi. Yesterday we had the news that Nissan, not content with just undermining the Crown Victoria as the NYC Yellow Cab, have turned their attention  to the London Taxi with their NV200 take on the Black Cab. So far, LTI hasn’t responded to the imminent threat to their business from Nissan (but then they still haven’t really reacted to Mercedes entry in to the market), but Mercedes has, coming out fighting this morning with a press release extolling the virtues of the Vito Taxi.