Rugged Ridge 18401.41 Suspension Lift Kit on 2040-parts.com

Four car things to do in SoCal

UPDATED: Here are four things to check out if you live in or might be visiting Southern California soon: 1. Art Center Car Classic '11, Oct. 23: This great gathering of cars and car designers is held (almost) every year on the big lawn to the east of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena's main building.

VW Phaeton - the new one coming in 2015

A brand new Volkswagen Phaeton Mk2 will be launched in 2015, based on a new architecture being masterminded by cousins Audi. Dubbed VW631, the new VW Phaeton will be based on MLM Evo (modular longitudinal matrix) which makes provision for a plug-in hybrid option, an aluminium-intensive body structure and a much more advanced and less nose-heavy dynamic layout. Although VW chairman Martin Winterkorn has in the past black-flagged the Avantissimo (A8-based) and the Passat Variant Plus (A6-derived), there is still a lot to be said for a second more practical bodystyle in addition to the four-door notch which is almost compulsory in this segment.

Nissan Celebrates 80 Years

Nissan held a little gathering at its Yokohama headquarters two nights before the Tokyo Motor Show opened to celebrate 80 years of building cars. It has been making them longer than any other Japanese manufacturer. CEO Carlos Ghosn, who can do everything except maybe juggle, addressed a crowd of several hundred executives, suppliers, car club members and even some media, giving his remarks in what sounded like pretty good Japanese.