Mercedes Steering Wheel Black W109 W111 W110 on 2040-parts.com

Who's Where: Luc Donckerwolke appointed Head of Advanced Design at VW Group

Luc Donckerwolke has been appointed Head of Advanced Design at the Volkswagen Group effective August 1, 2011. In this new function, he will report directly to Walter de'Silva, Volkswagen Group's Head of Design. Donckerwolke's successor as Director of Design at the Seat brand is Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos.

Beanz Meanz More Eco-Friendly Future Fords

THE car industry is full of interesting and unusual business partnerships, but this latest tie-up between Ford and Heinz promises to be one of the more intriguing. Far from seeking to produce 57 varieties of any particular new Ford model, the two firms are exploring the use of tomato fibre to develop a sustainable composite materials for use in vehicle manufacturing. For example, boffins believe that dried tomato skins could become the wiring brackets in future Ford vehicles or the storage bin a customer uses to hold coins and other small objects.

Wild weather forecast to herald 2014

PARTY-GOERS out celebrating the new year may well avoid a drenching tonight, but further rain and gales are expected to herald the start of 2014. Thousands of people across the UK are still recovering after storms last week caused widespread misery, with power cuts and flooding ruining Christmas for scores of families. And forecasters say there is more bad weather to come, with the Met Office issuing a severe weather warning for rain on New Year's Day, affecting southern England and western Scotland.