Honda Acty 2001 Rear Drum [9844480] on 2040-parts.com

Who's Where: Christopher Weil becomes head of Mini exterior design, Marcus Syring head of Rolls-Royce exteriors

An internal reshuffle in Munich has seen Christopher Weil appointed head of exterior design for Mini, replacing Marcus Syring who takes up a similar position at Rolls-Royce. The changes see Weil return to Munich after just over a year as director of automotive design at BMW DesignworksUSA in LA. His portfolio includes the BMW 328 Hommage, F30 3 Series, 5 Series GT, current 7 Series and 4 Series.

Audi A1 E-tron takes the win at the Silvretta Electric Car Rally

Audi and its electrified A1 E-tron took an overall win at the Silvretta Electric Car Rally in Austria on July 9. It was the second year in a row the company won the contest. Last year's event was won by the company's R8 E-tron electric car.

NHTSA unveils new safety ratings; BMW and Hyundai first to get five stars

The 2011 BMW 5-series and the Hyundai Sonata were the first two cars to achieve five-star ratings under NHTSA's revised safety ratings announced on Tuesday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will rate a total of 24 cars, 20 SUVs, nine pickups and two vans for the 2011 model year. The federal agency has significantly modified its rating process and will now grade side-pole testing and crash-prevention technologies such as lane-departure warning and electronic stability control.