Rzr Spare Tire Holder on 2040-parts.com

Pace cadets: At AMG academy, students take their finals with their right feet

Mercedes-Benz USA launched the AMG Challenge in 2002, a program touted as "a chance to experience the thrill of driving the newest Mercedes AMGs on some of America's best racetracks." This year, MBUSA abandoned the Challenge in favor of the AMG Driving Academy, a multistage driver-development program pioneered by AMG in Europe. The difference? According to Greg Clark, AMG manager, "the Challenge was more about the cars, while the Academy is more about the driver." Having participated in both the Challenge and now the Academy, we'd say that difference is subtle, at least as it applies to the one-day program.

Third annual World Automotive Design Competition

The third annual World Automotive Design Competition, sponsored by Alias, was hosted by the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, Ontario, on February 12. Britain's Coventry School of Art and Design, and Tsinghua University in Beijing, China were the big winners, together garnering seven of the eight prizes. Ninety-four students from twenty design schools from China, Brazil, Japan, France, Korea, England, Wales, Italy, Spain, India, Sweden, the USA and Canada competed to win over US$140,000 in prizes.

Hyundai explores pickup plans with Chrysler, report says

Hyundai proposed plans to Chrysler earlier this year to work together on a truck derived from the Ram chassis for Hyundai, Reuters is reporting. Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne rejected the overture from the South Korean company, Reuters says, but it's possible Hyundai could make another offer. The move could allow Hyundai to tap into a lucrative part of the U.S.