Firefighters Red Dice Auto Car Truck on 2040-parts.com

Kustom kar kings' Dean Jeffries dead at 80

UPDATED: Dean Jeffries, a contemporary of California's great kustom kar kings in the early 1950s, who would go on to fame making cars for TV and movies, died Sunday, May 5 at 80. Jeffries grew up in Lynwood, Calif., across the street from Indy racer Troy Ruttman and around the corner from Sam and George Barris' shop. He spent his days hanging around the greats: George Cerny, Von Dutch and Big Daddy Roth.

Toyota FT-1 Concept revealed – it’s a new Toyota Supra (video)

Toyota FT-1Concept revealed – it’s a new Toyota Supra Toyota teased us with a concept photo back in December that looked like it was previewing a Supra for the 21st century, and it’s been revealed today at the Detroit Auto Show as the Toyota FT-1 Concept. The FT-1 Concept is the result of Toyota’s Calty design studio in California to create the ultimate sports car and, say Toyota, is a strikingly modern design that makes reference to past Toyotas like the  2000GT from the 1960s. Toyota aren’t making any claims for the FT-1′s powertrain yet (FT stands for ‘Future Toyota’ and the ’1′ the ultimate) and comes with a front engine/ rear wheel drive configuration, with a cockpit set back within the wheelbase and wraparound screen.

MINI Countryman Cooper & Paceman Cooper get ALL4 4WD

The MINI Countryman Cooper (pictured) & Paceman Cooper get ALL4 4WD We always find it astonishing that car makers ‘ration’ the availability of four wheel drive platforms in their cars, usually citing a ‘lack of demand’. But that lack of demand is usually predicated on the lack of supply, and increasing the supply of 4WD cars would see more sold, especially after a series of harsh winters where many motorists struggled to keep their cars in a straight line. So the decision by BMW to extend the availability of their ALL4 4WD setup to a wider range of MINIs is welcome, with the petrol Countryman Cooper and Paceman Cooper now getting the ALL4 option too.