Raybestos Tie Rod End on 2040-parts.com

Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger to get a new lease on life

With Fiat-based replacements still at least two years away, the Chrysler Group has delayed plans to kill its slow-selling Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger, sources say. The two sedans were all but left for dead by previous owner Cerberus Capital Management. Now insiders say Chrysler intends to freshen the cars and keep them on the market until late 2012.

Lotus Elise Club Racer Launched

The Lotus Elise Club Racer Lotus may have plans to be the next Aston Martin, but for now it’s stuck with an Evora that’s not selling as well as it should and an Elise that is basically the same as the car that launched a decade ago. The plan with the Evora – apart from the rather odd move of getting Mansory to tart up an Evora – is to get the Germans in to give the Evora’s interior some class. As for the Lotus Elise, all there really is to do – because it has a hard-core clientele anyway – is to divvy up the odd special.

Japan automakers extend shutdowns as quake impact widens

Japan's seven big automakers are extending nationwide production shutdowns amid growing concern about supply chain interruptions, power shortages and export difficulties following the massive earthquake and tsunami that hammered northern Japan, killing thousands. Toyota Motor Corp., one of the few automakers with a major manufacturing presence in the quake zone, suspended all manufacturing--at both assembly and parts plants--on Monday and extended the shutdown through at least Wednesday as an added precaution. The company will lose output of roughly 40,000 vehicles over the three-day period, spokesman Dion Corbett said.