Central Tools 6425a Digital Electronic Caliper on 2040-parts.com

Home of NAIAS to be updated

The spiritual home of the NAIAS is set to be rejuvenated. The Cobo center in Detroit, home of the North American International Auto Show for over 24 years, is part of a $221 million project that will see it extended and renovated extensively. The Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority have announced that many of the improvements to the Cobo center will be ready for the 2012 NAIAS, although the project is unlikely to be finished until 2014.

Fiat Americanizes its 500, complete with cupholders

The Fiat 500 subcompact might be Italian through and through, but the U.S. version that arrives in dealerships late this year will cater to American tastes. The American car will have a more powerful engine than the European version, a slightly softer ride and--most important--more substantial, American-style cupholders.

Porsche says 1952 356 Cabriolet is oldest one sold in the U.S.

A 1952 Porsche 356 cabriolet owned by Robert Wilson of Oklahoma City, Okla., has been named the winner of a contest to find the oldest Porsche sold in America. Porsche Cars North America ran the contest, which asked owners to submit documentation showing when their cars were first sold, as part of its celebration of 60 years of selling cars in the United States. Wilson's car, which he found in a salvage yard, was imported in November 1952 by Max Hoffman, who started bringing Porsches to the United States in 1950.