Continental A50 Airplane Engine 4 Cylinder (core Engine) on 2040-parts.com

2013 BMW 5 Series Facelift – Saloon, Touring & GT

Facelift for the 2013 BMW 5 Series We knew the next BMW News would be the arrival of a facelift for the 5 Series, especially after BMW accidentally previewed it with a configurator that went online too early. But now the 5 Series facelift is here, and what it lacks in real changes BMW has made up for in photos – they’ve sent us over 200 photos of the new 5 Series – Saloon, Touring and GT – maybe in the hope that a mass of photos will make us think the changes are extensive. They’re not.

Mitsubishi closes California design studio

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. closed its design studio in Cypress, CA last Thursday – just one month shy of its 25th anniversary. A result of the recent downturn in the global economy, the closure of the facility will eliminate 33 design positions as part of a personnel cull that has seen 60 people within the automaker's US operations lose their jobs.

Volkswagen plans 4 million cars from one platform

Volkswagen is pushing the global-platform concept to a level unprecedented in the auto industry, introducing a modular platform this summer that eventually will be the basis of microcars, sedans, crossovers and SUVs for its four largest brands. While automakers now share platforms across brands and sometimes even segments, the VW initiative that starts this summer is far more ambitious than anything seen so far. By 2017, some analysts estimate, the MQB platform that debuts with the Audi A3 eventually will be used in 4 million units a year--close to half of VW's annual production.