Porsche® 911/914 Oil Sump Kits, 1965-1983 on 2040-parts.com

Book Review: Car Guys vs Bean Counters

Designers are the surprise heroes of a new book by former General Motors vice chairman Robert Lutz, called Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business. "The real car guys are in design," Lutz told me during his recent book tour.

Maserati banks on Chrysler to boost global sales

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has bold plans for the automaker's Maserati luxury sports car unit: to boost annual sales almost tenfold to 50,000 units from 5,675 last year. Three new models are key to this midterm goal and all are based on systems and components from Chrysler Group. Maserati will introduce two new sedans to replace its Quattroporte flagship model using technology from Chrysler's large sedans such as the Chrysler 300 and the Dodge Avenger.

U.S. seeks 5 percent annual fuel-economy gains through 2016

The Obama administration today proposed gasoline mileage and greenhouse-gas pollution standards for new vehicles for model years 2012 to 2015, filling in the blanks for manufacturers en route to a 35.5 mpg national target in 2016. The Transportation Department and EPA proposal calls for fuel economy to increase by about 5 percent each year, starting from an average of 27.3 mpg for the 2011 model year, the agencies said in a statement. The average car buyer would save more than $3,000 in fuel costs over the life of a vehicle, the statement said.