Datsun 510 521 620 L16 1968--1973 New Camshaft on 2040-parts.com

Jaguar tops J. D. Power Survey again in 2013

Even though the Jaguar XF actually slipped from 2nd to 3rd in the top cars section (although it was the ‘Best Executive Car’), behind the Skoda Superb and Skoda Yeti, it received five star ratings for performance, service and running costs and owners rated it as ‘Excellent’ across all categories. And it was more good news for Jaguar Land Rover as Land Rover was rated the most improved brand in 2013, jumping in to the top ten (in 6th place) for the first time, with Freelander owners noting an improved dealer experience and Discovery owners reporting 30 per cent fewer faults – and actually leading the SUV sector for reliability. That’ll help the still lingering perception that JLR’s cars can be ‘fragile’.

Porsche museum holds treasure trove of history

Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche shared one characteristic with other automotive icons such as Enzo Ferrari and E. L. Cord: a complete concentration on building the future and little interest in the past.

Smart car inventor Nicolas Hayek dies

Nicolas Hayek, the engineer and industrialist who founded the Swiss watch company Swatch and brought the world the Smart car, died on June 28 of heart failure at his office in Switzerland. He was 82. Hayek saved the Swiss watch industry from lower-priced Asian competition in the early 1980s by offering colorful, inexpensive Swatch timepieces that he backed with equally colorful marketing.