Flaming River Fr1715dd Steering Universal Joint Summit on 2040-parts.com

One Lap of the Web: Remembering the dearly departed

-- With news that Toyota is leaving the great state of California for the greater (by landmass, anyway; your own opinion may vary) state of Texas, it's worth reminding ourselves that Toyota in America started as one lonely building on 6000 Hollywood Blvd., having taken over a former Rambler dealership. (The site is still a successful Toyota dealership.) That first year of sales in 1958 saw 287 Toyopet Crowns and one Land Cruiser sold -- more as curiosities than as practical transportation, we'd wager. -- At any rate, Toyota's move from California to Texas is moving from "one of the most eco-friendly states in the union," according to Ward's Auto, "to the U.S.’s equivalent of China." -- Ten years ago today, the last Oldsmobile rolled off the line at Lansing Car Assembly.

Cars in the living room--art or furniture?

It takes a special kind of person to put a $100,000 supercar in the living room instead of the garage, but we say if you have the means, go ahead and do it. A photo collage that appeared on www.home-designing.com last week showed Ferraris, Maseratis and Lamborghinis sitting in houses as showpieces, like the works of art they are. Our enthusiast side says the owners should be out driving these spectacular pieces of machinery, but something tells us that if you have a Gran Turismo in the rumpus room, there's probably another one in your garage, too.

Jay Kay's LaFerrari to star at Salon Privé

CAR BUFFS will have a unique chance to get up close to some of the fastest, most exciting cars in the world today when the 2014 Salon Privé show arrives in London next month. Among the star cars at the Syon Park event will be Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay’s spearmint green LaFerrari; the only example anywhere in the world in that colour. All the cars present will be ultra-rare, ultra-exclusive hypercars with sub-three-second 0-62mph sprint times and top speeds well in excess of 200mph.