Heater Core (ford & Mercury) on 2040-parts.com

Marcello Gandini laments today's 'fake' concepts

Marcello Gandini has branded current concept cars fakes and "little more than maquettes" in an interview about Bertone's extensive concept car history. The enigmatic designer, whose work with the design house stretches back to the late ‘60s, expressed his dislike of today's "fiberglass cars" and claims they can't hold a candle to the well-built concepts of old. He praises Nuccio Bertone's vision and his insistence on producing fully working, "almost driveable" concepts throughout the coachbuilder's existence.

Lexus Hybrid sales top half a million

Lexus has revealed that they’ve sold more than 500,000 hybrid cars, with the Rx 450h the top seller and the CT 200h catching fast. Unsurprisingly, as it was the first Lexus hybrid to be introduced in 2005, the biggest seller - accounting for half of all Lexus hybrid sales to date (259,000) – has been the RX 400h / RX 450h, but the CT 200h, which was only introduced in 2011, is catching up fast with sales to date of 122,000 to date. During the last seven years Lexus hybrid sales have risen from 26,000 to 113,000 a year and 25 per cent of those Lexus hybrid sales now happen in Europe, even though we don’t get cars like the HS 250h (56,000 sales) and the ES 300h (8,000 sales).

Ferrari auction raises funds for Japan relief

Car lovers came together for a good cause at the Italian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday. More than 200 people participated in a Ferrari charity auction, which raised more than 500,000 euros, or about $723,000 at current exchange rates. Proceeds will benefit the city of Ishinomaki, which was severely hit by the earthquake in Japan in March.