Harley Davidson Windsheild Mounting Hardware Memphis Shade on 2040-parts.com

Central Academy of Fine Arts degree show 2009, China

China's home grown car makers are increasingly ambitious, as illustrated by plans to grow rapidly at home and, in some cases, expand abroad and compete with foreign rivals in cutting-edge technologies. One big impediment they face in taking on their foreign rivals is design. Top dogs in the global auto industry invest heavily in engineers and designers.

Mazda to recall more than 500,000 vehicles

Mazda plans to recall about 514,000 vehicles to repair power-steering systems that fail suddenly. The recall will affect the Mazda 3 and the Mazda 5 manufactured in Japan from 2007 to 2008, according to a report in Reuters. Currently, Mazda has filed recalls for 215,000 vehicles in the United States and more than 10,000 in China.

Expert: Fisker Karma's engine packaging, not batteries, likely caused fire

A garage fire last week in suburban Houston has been linked to a Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid, but the company quickly noted that the battery remained intact and unplugged -- and did not appear to be the cause. But if not the battery, then what? More likely, poor packaging in the engine compartment and exhaust routing generated excess heat.