Craftsman Professional 3/4 Stubby Wrench on 2040-parts.com

Fisker Automotive lays off some workers as government reworks loan

Work on the Fisker Nina family sedan has temporarily halted at the Fisker Automotive plant in Wilmington, Del., while the carmaker and the federal government hash out details of the company's $529 million Department of Energy loan. The interruption has resulted in the layoff of 26 people at its Delaware plant and a number of contract engineers at Fisker's Anaheim, Calif., headquarters. Fisker Automotive said some of the engineering-staff reductions in Anaheim were already planned to occur in between development of the Karma and the Nina.

Subaru appoints sales specialist as its new global president

The maker of Subaru-brand cars has tapped a marketing and sales specialist to be the company's new president and lead global automotive operations in the post-quake era. Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, 57, is currently an executive vice president at Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. He takes the title of president and COO, pending approval at the company's annual shareholders' meeting on June 24, Fuji Heavy said May 10.

Art Center BMW/Exa project

There's a new sponsored project that is just getting under way at Art Center College of Design, the likes of which hasn't been seen in a very long time - if at all. The school's Transportation Design department has helped bring together BMW with Exa Corporation, a Boston-based virtual aerodynamic simulation company, and has tasked the students to re-design the current BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle with the hope of dramatically increasing its aerodynamic efficiency while still retaining the BMW flagship SAV design language. This brief is quite timely in the context of the industry's ongoing focus with sustainability and strikes at the core of the BMW Group's long term energy strategy known as the concept of Efficient Dynamics.