Ferrari F40 Embossed Schedoni Leather 5x7 Collectable on 2040-parts.com

Saab 1947-2009: GM 'will close Saab'

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 18 December 2009 20:33 It's a sad day for Saabphiles, as GM announced – one week to the day before Christmas – that it has failed to find a buyer for Saab. It will begin winding down the Saab operation immediately. There had been a glimmer hope for Saab earlier this month, as supercar maker Spyker stepped in as a possible suitor after similarly small sports car specialist Koenigsegg walked away from a potential deal in November 2009.But GM admitted it could not viably sell Saab to Spyker – and no other bidders were forthcoming.

BMW announces DesignWorksUSA studio and ConnectedDrive lab in Shanghai

BMW has opened both a DesignWorks studio and a ConnectedDrive lab in Shanghai, China, as a means of gathering information and insight into the Chinese market as the company looks to increase its presence in Asia. Adrian van Hooydonk, Director BMW Group Design, said, "Creating this foothold for both BMW Group Design and DesignworksUSA in Shanghai is of great importance from both strategic and creative standpoints." President of BMW Group DesignWorksUSA Laurenz Schaffer said, "Our new studio in Shanghai places DesignworksUSA at the epicenter of the most rapidly growing and influential consumer market in the world and provides an indispensable resource for shaping our global perspectives for clients." The new studio will perform functions including product, transportation, automotive, environmental and interaction design; color, material and finish design; design communication, research and strategy as well as sustainability consulting. Designers from DesignworksUSA studio in Los Angeles, Munich and Singapore will supplement a local design team.

Mazda Tribute recalled for same fix as Ford Escape

Mazda is recalling 217,500 copies of the Tribute SUV--from the 2001 through 2008 model years--to fix a sticking throttle. The same problem prompted Ford to recall the mechanically similar Escape SUV on July 26. Ford built the Tribute for Mazda, as well as the Escape.