Gates 9580 Automotive V Belts on 2040-parts.com

It looks like Aston Martin could be getting AMG/Mercedes platforms too

Mercedes/AMG platforms would make the Lagonda SUV a reality We’d been expecting Aston Martin to get access to Mercedes platforms ever since the Lagonda SUV – based on the underpinnings of the Mercedes GL - arrived in all its ‘beauty’ in 2009. The Lagonda SUV was met with wails of anguish from lovers of Aston Martin’s timeless beauty but, despite the horror at the looks of the SUV, the prospect that Aston Martin could be heading down a collaboration route with Mercedes was welcome. It was welcome because without the support of a major car maker – and access to its technology – Aston Martin would have little chance of a bright future; there is no way a minnow like Aston Martin could afford the development cost of new engines and platforms.

Video: A Caterham Supersport and a snow-covered road

Anyone born before the automakers started trying to push front-drivers on us knows that rear-wheel drive and a set of decent tires will get you just about anywhere you want to go, even in deep snow. Skeptical? Take it from EVO magazine, which posted this video of editor Henry Catchpole enjoying a Caterham Supersport in all its sideways glory.

General Motors will wind down the Hummer brand after sale collapses

General Motors will wind down its Hummer brand after a proposed sale to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. Ltd. fell through.