Standard Motor Products Vc388 Vacuum Advance Control on 2040-parts.com

2014 Acura RLX Sport Hybrid to make 377 hp

The 2014 Acura RLX Sport Hybrid will make its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week. It will feature a new three-motor hybrid system and Acura's torque-vectoring Super-Handling All-Wheel-Drive, along with 377 combined hp. The RLX continues with Acura's 3.5-liter V6 making 310 hp with variable cylinder management.

Smart Forspeed concept signals new design direction

Smart will unveil a new concept at the forthcoming Geneva motor show that signals a new design direction, hints at future product and confirms parent company Daimler's renewed commitment to the brand. Car Design News was granted early access to the concept, baptized Forspeed, at a secret photography studio in Stuttgart last week and heard the head of advanced design, Steffen Kohl, explain how the two-seat, electric-powered vehicle prefaces design themes in both the next Fortwo and the revived Forfour, which will be launched in 2014. "The fullness of this concept's exterior surfaces is important and will be reflected in future production models," said Kohl, "Smart will still be short, spacey, agile, and with wheels at the corners of the car, but with an added sporty and emotional design and without losing all the brand's iconic elements like its ‘plastic fantastic' aspect and the safe and hi-tech modular tridion shell assembled with all these changeable body parts.

GM agrees to sell Saab to supercar company Koenigsegg

General Motors confirmed Tuesday morning that it has a tentative agreement to sell Saab to a group led by Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg Automotive. The deal would close by the end of the third quarter and put Saab in the hands of an upstart, boutique car company known for producing eye-catching cars with gaudy horsepower ratings and even gaudier price tags. The agreement includes $600 million in financing from the European Investment Bank.