Strategic Tools No-mess Oil Filter Wrench 0fr01 on 2040-parts.com

Bungling thief caught after stealing hire car's steering wheel

A DIM-WITTED criminal has been convicted of theft after stealing parts of a brand new Audi A3 hire car and replacing them with old bits taken from his much older Audi S3. Alexander Keating, a 23-year-old former bodyshop technician who lost his job following the conviction, stole parts as obvious as the steering wheel and gear knob from the A3 that his mum had hired after damaging her car in an accident. Keating foolishly believed no one would notice the battered old steering wheel on the otherwise shiny, new car, but sure enough the mismatched parts were spotted and the hapless bungler was caught by the car hire firm’s bespoke anti-fraud team Asset Protection Unit (APU).

BMW designer Schaffer to lead U.S. studio

Laurenz Schaffer, an 11-year veteran of BMW AG's design staff, will take charge of the automaker's studio in California on Dec. 1. He will replace Verena Kloos, 48, as president of DesignworksUSA.

Nissan GT-R SpecV (2009) first pictures and video

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 08 January 2009 09:52 Porsche watch out! This is the new Nissan GT-R SpecV, with lighter exterior bodywork, a stripped-out interior and more grunt from the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 engine. It's just been unveiled in Japan, costs over £100k and Nissan says the new car is ‘targeted specifically at enthusiast drivers who desire race car-level performance in a street-legal vehicle’.