Mercruiser Pre Alpha Outdrive on 2040-parts.com

Making of the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo (video)

Porsche has released a video chronicling the development of the Panamera Sport Turismo as the first model extension of the Panamera. Earlier this month we had a video from Porsche of the Panamera Sport Turismo on the move with comments and insights on the design process, and now we get a more detailed look at the development and thinking behind the transition from ugly duckling Panamera to stunningly good looking Panamera Sport Turismo. Porsche don’t want to call the Sport Turismo a Station Wagon, but that is effectively what the Sport Turismo is (and it can’t be a true Shooting Brake with four doors).

Ford future products: New vehicles get lighter, faster and move upscale

Ford Motor Co.'s future-product focus is on improved fuel economy by making its vehicles smaller and engines lighter without sacrificing performance, safety or luxury. It also wants to push the Ford brand more upscale to capture customers orphaned by the shutdown of the Mercury brand, and to attract new buyers with more product offerings. Ford has said 90 percent of its North American nameplates will be available with direct-injection turbocharged EcoBoost engines as standard equipment or as an option by 2013.

Domagoj Dukec on BMW's 2 Series [w/Video]

Following last week's reveal of the BMW 2 Series Coupé, the carmaker has released a video featuring head of exterior design Domagoj Dukec, in which he talks us through the car's design. The video, which also features BMW product manager Thomas Ebner, sees Dukec explaining how the three air intakes at the front – which also integrate the Air Curtain technology – set a marker for the car's "sportivity", before he explores the way in which new design features such as the grille and headlamps differ from those of its predecessor, the 1 Series. Moving on to to the side profile, he discusses what makes the silhouette typically BMW and what separates it from bigger coupés, while identifying the DLO as a special feature of the 2er.