CAR interviews Chris Bangle: what he did next (2009)

By Nargess Shahmanesh Banks Motor Industry 22 December 2009 12:30 Chris Bangle is a hard act to follow, even for Chris Bangle. Like him or loath him, the former BMW design director is one of the most famous car designers of our times, recognised for shaking the established status quo with his ‘flame surfacing’ and his radical take on car design.  Then in March 2009, after 16 solid years, Bangle announced his retirement from the Bavarian brand and – seemingly – car design.

MG Rover – Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to investigate

The Rover 75 Coupe - one of MG Rover's last big ideas before its collapse in 2005 MG Rover was bought from BMW for the princely sum of £10 after BMW had had enough of trying to make a viable company out of a business that was still undermined by the woes – and attitudes – of the British Leyland years. That £10 purchase price also came with £425 million in loans from BMW, so MG Rover had a chance. But the collapse, and the subsequent sale of the rights to the MG trademark to SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation), brought accusations that the ‘Phoenix Four’ – Directors and owners of MG Rover – has acted fraudulently when it was revealed they had acquired more than £40 million in pension rights, salary and assets in the intervening five years between purchase from BMW and collapse.

Mustang's 5.0-liter V8 now ready for your car

The new, all-aluminum 5.0-liter V8 that is the heart of the 2011 Ford Mustang GT--and is destined for future duty in Ford's F-Series pickups--has popped up as a new entry in the Ford Racing Performance Parts catalog. With a suggested retail price of just a buck less than $7,000, you can get the same 412 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque sits under the hood of new Mustangs. And since the engine mount bosses and bellhousing mount pattern are common with Ford's 4.6-liter V8, the 5.0-liter is an easy swap for older Mustangs.