Lower Door Lock Springs Mercury 1939-40 on 2040-parts.com

Interior Motives China Conference to explore new design directions

Chinese consumers are driving new design directions, and CDN's Interior Motives China Conference in Beijing next week is set to explore how. Titled ‘New brands and the search for a design identity', the conference features an impressive speaker line-up that blends the international (Chris Bangle and VW's Wolfgang Muller Pietralla) with the regional (GM PATAC's Friedhelm Engler, Ford China's Chelsia Lau and PSA-Peugeot/Citroën China's Robert Walker), with the domestic (Shan Wei of the Beijing Automotive Technical Center (BATC), and Ken Ma of SAIC). The annual conference is the third in China to be hosted by CDN's magazine Interior Motives, and will be held on Wednesday 21 April, and Thursday 22 April, just in advance of the opening of Auto China 2010 in Beijing on Friday (23 April).

Diesel joins Porsche Panamera lineup

Porsche has put forward some eye-catching fuel-economy figures for the Panamera diesel--although we may never see the car in the United States. Set to go on sale across Europe in August, the four-door is claimed to return a combined city/highway driving fuel economy of 36.2 mpg in standard guise under European testing procedures. When fitted with optional low-rolling-resistance tires, the fuel economy climbs to 37.3 mpg on the European test--a figure that gives the Panamera diesel a theoretical range of 800 miles on its 21-gallon fuel tank.

BMW 7-series (2009) first pictures

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 05 July 2008 00:00 This is BMW’s fifth-generation 7-series, and despite looks inspired by the Concept CS, if we’re honest the new car doesn’t look much different from the old car. Worry not though, as there are plenty of technical highlights to surprise and delight. Rear-wheel steer, Efficient Dynamics technology, night-vision, unrestricted internet access, a revised iDrive system and an all-new 3.0-litre diesel engine stand out.