Oval Craft Alum Power Steering Tank W/line on 2040-parts.com

Tour of quake zone shows Akio Toyoda 'the depth of destruction'

Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda toured Japan's earthquake disaster zone, including the damaged assembly plant opened there in January, as the world's largest automaker struggles to get a grip on the supplier crisis and resume production. Toyoda's trip on Sunday and Monday took him to Miyagi prefecture, near the epicenter of the killer March 11 quake and an area being positioned by Toyota as its domestic center for small car production.

Mercedes-Benz found guilty of price-fixing in China

Associated Press Mercedes-Benz has been found guilty of fixing prices of car parts in China – with BMW, Audi and Chrysler also facing penalties. China’s state news agency, Xinhua, reports that the German manufacturer has been found guilty of using its power to control the prices of parts. The Chinese government is cracking down on monopolies and has been accused of being too harsh on companies from abroad.

Why we love Maximum Bob: A column by Dutch Mandel

In announcing that he will leave General Motors at the end of this year, product czar Bob Lutz bows out gracefully and elegantly and does it in the style that forged his legend. It's also a move made none too soon and if not hastened by Beltway functionaries, then punctuated by it. But make no mistake: Bob Lutz is not running from the fight engulfing Detroit and the rest of the automaking world.