Mercedes R107 Nardi Steering 450sl on 2040-parts.com

Toyoda testimony: As automaker grew, safety suffered

Toyota Motor Corp. president Akio Toyoda plans to tell lawmakers on Wednesday that the company regrettably chased growth at the expense of safety in recent years, and he will announce steps to improve Toyota's handling of customer complaints. Toyoda's written testimony to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee says the automaker's priorities “became confused.” “We pursued growth over the speed at which we were able to develop our people and our organization,” Toyoda says.

Driven: Volkswagen Golf Mk7

Walking up to the seventh-generation VW Golf, redesigned flip key in hand, you're in no doubt that this is a) new or – perhaps more importantly – b) a Golf. It's the "200 meter test" lead exterior designer, Andreas Mindt tells us and, while we're suspicious of the idea of self-conscious ‘iconic design', you have to concede he's right. In fact the Mk7 Golf's pared-back graphics and a return to a true two-box proportion create a more accurate vision of what we imagine when we think ‘Volkswagen Golf' than either of its two most recent predecessors.

Making famous friends at the Petersen museum

Celebrities, they're just like us! And aside from the public adulation and fame, plus our sneaking suspicion that the 12 or so really well-known car guys can actually afford their lavish hand-picked choices without so much as entering a PIN or presenting a letter of credit, celebrities bicker and fret over the cars with which they'd fill their dream garages. Difference is, when they fill their dream garages, people pay attention.