Harley Davidson Helmet on 2040-parts.com

Porsche uses phone-formatted bar codes to connect with customers

Porsche is harnessing the power of smartphones, using Microsoft Tag bar codes to provide dealership customers with unique information about the cars they're looking at. Buyers can scan the square stickers with a properly equipped phone, and the application will take them to dedicated microsites where they can see stats, videos and pictures of the car, along with audio clips of a flat-six engine revving up. Through the microsite, buyers can provide contact info for a follow-up call from Porsche salespeople.

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2011 preview

Lord March has kicked off the countdown to the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed at the annual press preview. The theme is Racing Revolutions - Quantum Leaps That Shaped Motorsport. Lord March said it meant a mouth-watering array of cars, celebrating tech advances such as 4wd, carbonfibre and monocoque construction. Naturally, there are a number of anniversaries to celebrate: the centenary of the Indianapolis 500 race, 100 years of Chevrolet, the Jaguar E-type's golden birthday and 110 years of Skoda motorsport involvement.

Aston Martin Rapide: Is the Rapide not selling?

Aston Martin Rapide - doesn't seem to be selling It took AML an age to get the Aston Martin Rapide to market, but they eventually managed it and the first customer Rapide finally left Magna Steyr in May 2010. The general consensus was that the Rapide was something of a triumph for Aston Martin. They’d managed to squeeze an extra pair of doors in to a stretched DB9 and made the back seats of the Rapid just about commodious enough to be useable.