Engine Valve Cover Dorman 264-974 on 2040-parts.com

Center stack is new high-stakes battleground; showdown with safety regulators looms

For auto suppliers and gadget companies eager to get a piece of the auto industry, the hottest chunk of vehicle real estate now is the center stack. That corridor of interior space, running from the driver's right hip up through the center of the cockpit to the bottom of the windshield, has become a California gold rush of opportunity. But it is less so for traditional suppliers of molded plastics, cables, levers, buttons and radios.

Paint your nails with Ford Mustang colors!

When the Ford Mustang came out in 1964, some dared deride it as a "secretary's car," as if just happening upon the discovery that women might -- for some reason, who knows, the harried dames -- enjoy driving automobiles as well. What a concept. Fifty years later, Ford seems to be making the same discovery all over again.

Toyota testing breathalyzer unit on 30 commercial vehicles

Toyota Motor Corp. began road tests last week of a breathalyzer that is mounted on the instrument panel and locks a truck's ignition if it detects the driver has had too much to drink. The road tests involve 30 commercial vehicles.