Hyundai Coffee Mug on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes AMG engine guru to join VW

The man credited with development of Mercedes-Benz AMG's latest line of high performance gasoline engines, Friedrich Eichler, has been lured to the Volkswagen Group, where he will take up an as yet unspecified position this summer, sources with knowledge of the move tell Autoweek. Eichler, who joined AMG after working his way up through the ranks at Porsche, was instrumental in the development of AMG's naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8, twin-turbocharged and naturally aspirated 5.5-liter V8 and twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 that powers the Pagani Huayra. Friedrich Eichler also developed turbocharged four-cylinder engines for upcoming Mercedes AMG cars.

Opel teases upcoming Cascada convertible

General Motors is teasing a new convertible set to go on sale in Europe early next year. Named Cascada, the four-seat convertible is based on the Opel Astra platform but is slightly larger than the Audi A5. U.S.

Film Friday: A Wonderful New World of Fords has descended from the heavens!

In a day when every automaker seems to be eager to latch on to the smallest details -- a few pounds of weight shaved here and there, some silly feature designed to keep you and your family protected in an accident, a flashier infotainment setup -- to sell their product, this 1960 Ford spot is a breath of fresh air. There's none of this oh-so-carefully hedged “our cars are pretty OK!” nonsense in this spot for the 1960 Thunderbird, Falcon and Galaxie. There's nary a world about fuel economy (OK, one mention -- the Falcon supposedly gets up to 30 mpg).