Panther 559100 Motor Mount Bolt Bar / Motor Mount Bolt Bar on 2040-parts.com

Analysis: why GM is pulling Chevrolet out of Europe

The news that Chevrolet is to leave the western European car market (while staying in eastern Europe and Russia) is not a huge surprise, but it provides an interesting contrast to the success of fellow Koreans, Hyundai and Kia. “Fellow Koreans?” you might say, “but isn’t Chevrolet American?” Yes and no. The Chevrolets we were getting were all made in Korea in the factories that used to be owned by Daewoo, except for the handful of Camaros and Corvettes, which were authentically American.

One Lap of the Web: Winter project car edition

-- The gents over at Chromjuwelen compiled a list of their favorite car builds of 2013. Number 10 starts off with a BMW 525i station wagon from the 1990s that's received an LSX V8 engine swap, just to give you some idea what kinds of "builds" Chromjuwelen is talking about. -- If you've seen the 1975-1979 Chevrolet Monza V8, you can bravely click on this link to read its fascinating (in a not-particularly good way) story.

Hiromu Naruse: ‘Godfather’ of the LFA ‘Not Famous Enough’

Hiromu Naruse & Lexus LFA Last year we reported the death of Hiromu Naruse, Toyota’s chief test driver and a man considered to be the ‘Godfather’ of the Japanese performance car, and particularly the Lexus LFA, a car which consumed the last decade of his life and became the final testament to his enormous skill. At 67, Naruse-san was still as involved as ever, and it was whilst driving a Lexus LFA with the Nurburgring Package he met his end on a public road near the Nurburgring. A track, incidentally, he had driven more than any other Japanese driver.