Porsche 944 5r Intermediate Shift Lever (used) 944.424.013.02 on 2040-parts.com

Designer Albrecht Graf Goertz dies

One of the world's legendary designers, Albrecht Graf Goertz, has died aged 92. Goertz was best known for his work at BMW, though he also worked with Porsche, Nissan and Toyota during his career. His most acclaimed works are the BMW 503 and 507 models - but Goertz also had a hand in the design of the 1964 Silvia 1600 Sports Coupe.

New 2014 MINI – Details revealed ahead of debut in November

New 2014 MINI – Details revealed ahead of debut in November As well as new engines, the new MINI will get new transmissions too with the manual option getting a gear sensor to match engine speed when changing gear and the auto ‘box coming with stop-start and input from the SatNav to make sure the car’s in the right gear for the road and terrain. MINI has also updated the chassis with adaptive dampers on offer with two settings – Sport and Comfort – so the MINI can be set up for a blast or a cruise at the flick of a switch. There’s still multi-link suspension at the back, although it’s been heavily reworked, with a wider track all round, variable resistance electric power steering and active rotational damping to keep torque steer in check.

General Motors to keep green car technology in house

For the first time in its 100-year history, General Motors plans to design, develop and manufacture electric motors for its growing array of gasoline-electric hybrids and electric vehicles. The electric motors used in GM's current lineup of hybrids are made to GM specifications by outside vendors. GM wants to bring the design and manufacturing in-house to save money and to apply its own technology to boost performance, lower weight and reduce power consumption, said Larry Nitz, GM's chief hybrid powertrain engineer.