Raptor 660 Starter Gear on 2040-parts.com

One Lap of the Web: A podcast anniversary and a Facellia

-- Ford's F-350 can tow 35,000 pounds, which is pretty nifty. But it's lacking one crucial element in race-car transporting: it really could use Plymouth logos and a red, white and blue paint job with the word "REBEL" emblazoned on the side in the same lettering that announced Roosevelt's presidency. Hence, this 1965 Dodge C500 ramp truck built to look like something you could find in the paddock of Fontana Drag City circa 1965 with an altered-wheelbase Belvedere Funny Car on the back and a case of Tecate where the Mac tools go.

News watch Feb 2010: today's auto industry news

Tuesday 2 February 2010• Spyker has outlined its plans for Saab, which include a new 'all Saab' 9-3 to be launched in 2012. Read the full story here (Saab)• EuroNCAP has named the VW Golf as 'Safest Car of 2009' after ranking all the 33 models it crashed last year (Volkswagen) • Toyota's massive recall to fix fault accelerator pedals could cost the company £1.25bn in lost output and sales (BBC)• Ford will unveil an Edge SUV at next week's Chicago auto show with a turbocharged four-cylinder Ecoboost engine, but the extensive visual mid-life facelift has been made economically possible thanks to Ford's worldwide consolidation of its model ranges (Detroit News) • Toyota has denied that it ignored warnings and acted slowly over reports of unintended acceleration in its vehicles (Detroit News) Monday 1 February 2010• Lotus's vehicle engineering director Roger Becker announced his retirement today. Becker, 64, joined Lotus in 1966, worked alongside Colin Chapman and helped develop every single model since (Group Lotus)• Tata Motors' total sales last month hit 65,478 vehicles – a rise of 77% over January 2009.

Toyota recalls Toyota Avensis & Lexus IS 250

Toyota recall the Avensis & Lexus IS 250 Toyota must have a sinking feeling of deja vu today, as the spectre of last year came back to haunt. 2010 was the year of the Toyota Recall, with millions of cars worldwide recalled to address the ‘Throttlegate’ issue of sticky accelerator pedals. But today’s recall announcement is not in that league, affects less than 20,000 cars in the UK (although over 1 million worldwide) and there have been no reports of any accidents relating to the recall in the UK.