Ingersoll Rand 236 1/2" Impact Wrench on 2040-parts.com

BMW goes front-wheel drive for the 2-series Active Tourer

BMW's long-held reputation for producing only rear- and four-wheel drive vehicles comes to an end with the the new 2-series Active Tourer, its first-ever front-wheel-drive production model. The cornerstone of BMW's Geneva show stand next month, the 2-series Active Tourer marks a significant turning point for the German automaker, adopting a transverse-mounted engine and standard FWD. It arrives here in early 2015.

Volkswagen's de'Silva aims for positive influence on Porsche styling

Volkswagen Group design director Walter de'Silva hopes to add "something positive" to the design of Porsche's new models, beginning with the Cajun SUV. Porsche AG is set to become Volkswagen AG's 10th brand and Porsche design director Michael Mauer now reports to de'Silva, along with the heads of the styling centers of the other VW group brands such as Skoda, Seat, Bentley and Lamborghini. De'Silva said he has just started working with Mauer and their relationship is off to a good start.

One Lap of the Web: Porsche flat-fours, hot rod artists and German car shows

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- You've heard of watching paint dry, but NHTSA has a new hobby: watching Fords rust.