Schaeffer Manufacturing Co. 0190-011s Penetro 90, 13 Oz. on 2040-parts.com

Lajdziak replaces Schembri as the president of Smart USA

Jill Lajdziak, Saturn's former top executive, was named president of Smart USA just three days after starting with the company. David Schembri, who previously held the job, will take an unidentified position with the Penske Automotive Group, which distributes the Smart ForTwo microcar in the United States, the company said. "Dave will transition into retail operations at Penske Automotive Group with our dealerships," said Penske spokesman Anthony Pordon.

Mercedes-Benz introduces nine-speed automatic gearbox

Mercedes-Benz has quietly slipped a new nine-speed automatic into its lineup as standard equipment on the European market E350 BlueTec. The new in-house produced unit, known internally under the name 9G-Tronic, has long been slated for selected Mercedes-Benz models. However, its existence was officially denied until the weekend, when Mercedes-Benz's German language website configurator went live with various updates for the E-class lineup -- including an entry signaling the 9G-Tronic is now available on the standard rear-wheel drive E350 BlueTec in place of the older seven-speed.

Nissan offers glimpse of 2013 Altima [w/video]

Nissan has offered a new video in a series of previews of the 2013 Altima that will be heading to the New York Auto Show next month. The video shows the rear of the new D-segment Altima, and indicates the 2013 model will be more expressive in design than the outgoing model. This is not the first preview of the new Altima we've seen.