Servo Assymbly, 2268a1, 4006451-0501, As Removed on 2040-parts.com

It looks like Aston Martin could be getting AMG/Mercedes platforms too

Mercedes/AMG platforms would make the Lagonda SUV a reality We’d been expecting Aston Martin to get access to Mercedes platforms ever since the Lagonda SUV – based on the underpinnings of the Mercedes GL - arrived in all its ‘beauty’ in 2009. The Lagonda SUV was met with wails of anguish from lovers of Aston Martin’s timeless beauty but, despite the horror at the looks of the SUV, the prospect that Aston Martin could be heading down a collaboration route with Mercedes was welcome. It was welcome because without the support of a major car maker – and access to its technology – Aston Martin would have little chance of a bright future; there is no way a minnow like Aston Martin could afford the development cost of new engines and platforms.

McLaren Special Operations: Bespoke bits for your McLaren

McLaren Special Operations - your McLaren, your way We reported last week that McLaren had taken a customised MP4-12C to Pebble Beach and that it heralded the start of ‘McLaren Exclusive’ to customise customer cars. We were close, but its actually McLaren Special Operations -  and not McLaren Exclusive –  that’s doing the customising. But the principle is the same; McLaren will do pretty much anything you want done to your McLaren – as they always have – but with the McLaren Road Car division growing all the time it will all now come under the banner of the new  McLaren Special Operations division.

NHTSA safety consultant dies at 64

Miami trauma surgeon and preeminent car-crash researcher Jeffrey Augenstein would often tell the story of the time he was talking to a crash victim who collapsed and died from hidden injuries in the middle of the conversation. The experience led Augenstein to research and then call attention to the unexpected injuries that could occur when drivers interacted with airbags. It's but one example of the achievements of Augenstein, who died recently at age 64.