Haynes Toyota Tacoma Tacoma / 4runner / T100 Repair Manual on 2040-parts.com

Parade celebrates astronauts and Corvettes

After Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into outer space in 1961, General Motors executive Ed Cole presented the astronaut with a new 1962 Chevrolet Corvette, customized with a space-age interior. Shepard had brought along his own 1957 Corvette when he reported for the space-training program in 1959. Thanks to a special lease arrangement between the space men and a Melbourne, Fla., Chevy dealership, six of the Mercury Seven astronauts were Corvette owners.

Ford to open Silicon Valley lab

Ford Motor Co., aiming to keep ahead of technology trends, will establish a research lab in the heart of California's Silicon Valley. The automaker said Friday the lab will open near Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., in the first few months of this year. Ford wants the lab to take on a start-up feel and expand beyond the traditional automaker mindset to encourage innovation and improve mobility and safety.

Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept Details

Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept Ahead of a launch at Detroit next week, Volvo releases details of the XC60 Plug-in hybrid concept and a raft of photos. Despite calling the Detroit-bound Volvo XC60 hybrid a concept, it’s clear that the hybrid crossover/SUV is heading for a production model, probably sometime later in 2012. And what better place to showcase a petrol-engined hybrid (the XC60 Hybrid is a petrol-engined hybrid, unlike the diesel-engined V60 plug-in hybrid) than in the US, where diesel is still the fuel of Satan for most?