Convertible D Roadster Window Drivers Side on 2040-parts.com

General Motors will prep plants in 2012 for next-generation pickups

General Motors will begin retooling assembly plants next year to build the next generation of its full-sized pickups, GM's U.S. sales chief Don Johnson said. "We have some scheduled plant downtime in 2012 as we convert to the next generation of our pickups," he said.

More on Alfa Romeo's rear-drive strategy

The revised Alfa Romeo plan that Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is expected to announce next April focuses on a new, still unnamed rear-wheel- and all-wheel-drive architecture. A key aim of the new plan is to boost Alfa's global presence. "With our current segment coverage and our geographical footprint, we compete in about 5 percent of the global market," Alfa's European boss, Louis-Carl Vignon, said in an interview.

The Bentley Art Project

Designers at Bentley have collaborated to create one-off works of art to benefit the Christie, a specialist cancer center in Manchester, UK. The collection, which features a vast array of sculptures, paintings, digital art and photography created in many different media, will be auctioned off at an exclusive event at Bonhams in London on December 1. The unique pieces, created by created by Bentley's head of design, Dirk van Braeckel; head of interior design Robin Page; chief designer Raul Pires and 20 other designers, digital designers and clay modelers, draw on the skills and techniques utilized in their roles and their enthusiasm for art.