Mercruiser 6.3l, 383ci, 350hp, Carbureted - Complete Engine Package - Inboard on 2040-parts.com

Infiniti prices the 2012 QX and EX

Infiniti is sticking with 2011-model-year prices for the 2012 QX luxury SUV, hoping to maintain a positive sales response since last year's redesign. Meanwhile, the 2012 Infiniti EX crossover models will have higher stickers across the board, with sporty rear-wheel-drive models starting at about $1,000 more for 2012. The base rear-wheel-drive, V8-powered Infiniti QX56 with seven-speed automatic transmission starts at $59,690, including destination.

Ford completes $14 million overhaul at its German design studio

Ford has opened a $14.5 million expansion of its design studios at Merkenich-Cologne in Germany. Global design work for Ford's subcompact and compact vehicles, including the Fiesta and the Focus, is done at the center, which is close to the automaker's Cologne factory where the Fiesta is built. The expansion is the largest since the studios were constructed in 1968 and increases the size by about 32,300 square feet to about 172,000 square feet.

Carlos Ghosn's automaker mantra: Go big or you'll go away

Size matters in auto company survival, Renault and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told an audience in Detroit on Tuesday. To cope with the escalating costs and scope of a global industry, successful automakers must complete a trifecta--be able to compete in every technology, every market and every segment, Ghosn said during a luncheon speech at the Detroit Economic Club “No 3 million-unit carmaker can make it,” Ghosn said, explaining why his Renault-Nissan alliance forged an alliance with Germany's Daimler AG. Competency in one or two of the three skills is not enough, and only very large companies can afford all three, he said.