Jeep Commanche Fender Emblem on 2040-parts.com

Joel Piaskowski becomes Director of Exterior Design at Ford North America

Joel Piaskowski is set to become Ford's North American Director of Exterior Design. He will be filling the position previously vacated by Moray Callum, who was promoted to Executive Director for Ford Americas design when Peter Horbury went back to head up Volvo's design efforts earlier this year. "I'm very much looking forward to working with the team at Ford," Piaskowski told Car Design News.

Former General Motors CEO Robert Stempel dies

Former General Motors CEO Robert Stempel, who led the automaker during a turbulent period of recession and restructuring in the early 1990s, has died at the age of 77. "Bob was a very popular chairman with employees, and his many accomplishments as a visionary engineer included leading the development of the catalytic converter, one of the great environmental advancements in auto history," GM said in a statement. "His knowledge of battery development led to the push for the EV1 electric car, and Bob continued to build his expertise in the electrification of the automobile after he left GM in 1992." Stempel died Saturday in Florida, the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press reported Monday night.

Radical SR8LM Nurburgring Record – The Video

Video of the Radical SR8LM Nurburgring Record Below Back in August we reported that the Radical SR8LM had taken the Nurburgring record for a production car, just a week after Gumpert had claimed the record for themselves. Not that it was the first time Radical had held the record. They achieved a time of 6:55 in 2005 with the Radical SR8, but this time was 7 seconds faster that that at 6:48.