BMW 328 Hommage concept headed to Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este at Lake Como

BMW has a history that is nearly unparalleled, and in celebration of the German company's unique blend of luxury and sport, it will showcase a tribute concept called the 328 Hommage this weekend at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on the shores of Lake Como in Italy. The 328 Hommage will employ a straight six-cylinder powerplant and the familiar kidney-shaped BMW grille stretched upright in dramatic fashion. The interior and exterior make heavy use of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic and there are no doors--just deep recesses.

Crunch watch Dec 08: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard and Simon Stiel Motor Industry 31 December 2008 14:05 Wednesday 31 December 2008• GMAC, GM's finance arm, said it would immediately revise its criteria for providing loans, after the US government bail-out of the General's credit arm. It will now supply credit for anyone with a score of 621 or more on the Fico scale, the scale used to assess Amercian customers' creditworthiness (Financial Times)• The news means that 80% of US consumers would now qualify for a loan from GMAC – which should improve sales in the depressed US market (Detroit News)• Chrysler is being lambasted for taking out full-page adverts in the American national press thanking the nation for supporting its auto industry. But critics point out this is a fresh waste of bail-out resources, as pages in the Wall Street Journal – one of the titles in which the ad ran – reportedly cost up to $264,000.

Fans pay tribute to actor Walker

THOUSANDS OF FANS, friends and car enthusiasts descended on a Los Angeles suburb to pay tribute to Paul Walker at the site where the Fast & Furious actor died in a fireball car crash. The Santa Clarita memorial, planned through social media, was due to begin at noon, but mourners began arriving hours earlier to leave flowers, candles, stuffed animals and other tributes. Throughout the afternoon, thousands of people, including entire families, arrived.