Daihatsu Hijet 2001 Front Right Strut [3950110] on 2040-parts.com

Jason Castriota to head Saab Design

When Car Design News spoke to Jason Castriota about the new design consultancy he had set up in New York and Turin back in March, the designer told us he was working on a very exciting automotive project that he couldn't talk about at the time. It turns out that automotive project was for Saab, as last week the Swedish automaker announced it had hired Jason Castriota Design to oversee the development of a new generation of Saab products – the first to be completed under the tenure of its new owners, Spyker. Castriota's new appointment marks the shift from Saab's former position – where the brand was an integrated company within GM – to its newfound placement as an independent automaker, with Castriota essentially filling the role previously occupied by Mark Adams, GM Europe's Vice President of Design.

BMW M3 Competition Package – UK details

BMW has announced the Competition Package for the M3 We’ve had something of a run of updates and tweaks for the BMW 3 series this year. We’ve had changes for 2010 to the 3 Series Coupe and Convertible and last month we reported that there was going to be a BMW M3 Competition Package on offer very soon. BMW has now caught up with our story and have revealed the details of the M3 Competition Package for the UK.

GM's historic Willow Run plant closes

After 68 years of arming the nation and putting America on wheels, the Willow Run manufacturing plant in southeast Michigan closed on Thursday. The 5-million-square-foot powertrain plant, owned by Motors Liquidation Corp., the remnants of the former General Motors Corp., has fallen victim to GM's 2009 bankruptcy and subsequent restructuring. About 300 workers left at the plant will either “retire, transfer to another campus or go on layoff,” said Chris Lee, a spokesman for the reorganized General Motors Co.