Mylaps New Style Transpondor Bracket - Tran X160 on 2040-parts.com

GM agrees to sell Saab to supercar company Koenigsegg

General Motors confirmed Tuesday morning that it has a tentative agreement to sell Saab to a group led by Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg Automotive. The deal would close by the end of the third quarter and put Saab in the hands of an upstart, boutique car company known for producing eye-catching cars with gaudy horsepower ratings and even gaudier price tags. The agreement includes $600 million in financing from the European Investment Bank.

Happy 80th Birthday, Syd Mead!

Take a poll among car designers to name their greatest influence, and one name is sure to appear at the top of the list: Syd Mead. The car designer, illustrator and futurist has inspired generations of the men and women who shape the cars we drive or admire. Syd has created the designs for the movies Blade Runner and Tron, while the illustrations published in his books such as Oblagon and Sentury (sought-after collector items today) depict the vision of a future dominated by superior technology and aesthetics.

AutoWeek office swag: Mazda rotary-engine keychain with realistic motion

When I got the keys to our long-term 2011 Mazda 5 last week, they came with a surprise--this aluminum-and-brass keychain in the shape of a rotary-engine housing, complete with moving rotor. The rotor doesn't just rattle around or spin in a circle. Thanks to a thumbwheel on the back of the housing, coupled with a timing gear and offset crank journal, the thing actually moves in an approximation of epitrochoidal motion just like a real Wankel.