Homemade Racing Car Frame on 2040-parts.com

Toyota outlines quality reforms; chief bows out of U.S. hearings

Conceding that breakneck expansion led to Toyota Motor Corp.'s current recall crisis, president Akio Toyoda outlined reforms meant to get quality back on track, including more active use of the car's so-called black box crash data recorder. Toyoda, grandson of the carmaker's founder, also indicated he won't sit before Congressional hearings into the quality lapses that have triggered recalls of more than 8.5 million vehicles since last fall. Yoshimi Inaba, the head of Toyota's U.S.

Honda prices 2014 Odyssey minivan

The 2014 Honda Odyssey minivan will start at $29,655 including destination when it hits dealerships in July. The upper echelon family hauler will sport a six-speed automatic -- replacing the five-speed -- and 3.5-liter V6 making 248 hp and 250 lb-ft of torque. Fuel mileage is up to 19 mpg in the city and 28 on the highway in part because of Honda’s Variable Cylinder Management.

Volvo XC60 gets R-Design package

The Volvo XC60 is the next in line to get the R-Design treatment, and it will debut in September at the Frankfurt auto show. The R-Design brings sporty looks to the XC60 with a vamped-up style, a specially tuned sports chassis and a more direct steering gear ratio. The exterior resembles R-Design features on the C30, the S40, the V50 and the XC90.