Rugged Ridge 11235.13 D-shackles on 2040-parts.com

World premier for the Fiat Trepiuno concept at the Geneva Motor Show

Fiat has announced that its "move into the past for a fresh look to the future" is to be seen at the Geneva Show, where it shall unveil the Trepiuno. The name is very unusual (and one can't help wondering how they will spell and pronounce it outside the borders of Italy), but the car concept is not. The new small car is actually intended to be a modern remake of the Fiat 500 (not Cinquecento) success.

Tesla Motors open-sources patents

Since Elon Musk founded Tesla Motors a decade ago, his electric car venture has been a thorn in the traditional auto manufacturers' side. Now, Musk has made another disruptive move by announcing he is scrapping the firm's patents. In a blog post on the Tesla website, he wrote "[the patents] have been removed, in the spirit of the open source movement, for the advancement of electric vehicle technology.

Ford Escape recall addresses door handle issue

Ford is recalling Escape SUVs from the 2013 and 2014 model years for a problem that can make the doors difficult to close or -- more ominously -- can cause the doors to open while driving. A total of 581,986 SUVs made between October 5, 2013, and April 10, 2014, are affected; Ford blames the recall on assembly misalignment between the exterior door handle and the door outer panel. The danger of this assembly issue involves the possibility of an unbelted passenger falling out of the SUV, though Ford has not indicated that any such incident has occurred.