Suzuki Dr650se Rear Fender W/ Taillight Dr 650se 2011 Mint on 2040-parts.com

Driven: Ford Flex

When Ford unveiled the Fairlane concept in 2005, the company attempted to "rewrite the people mover story", according to Group Vice President of Design and Chief Creative Officer, J Mays. The Minivan, once the symbol of suburban America, had fallen out of favor - its dowdy, "soccer mom" image eschewed in exchange for upscale, aggressive SUVs. According to Mays, the idea with the Fairlane was to "move people emotionally as well as physically", something few minivans had done before.

Crunch watch Dec 09: the auto industry in crisis

Welcome to CAR's news aggregator as we round up the seismic change in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour Wednesday 30 December 2009• Saab's PR chief told AN that GM is extending the deadline for a sale to 7 January – and the Trollhattan factory will resume limited manufacturing in early January to build the new 9-5 and some 9-3 cabrios (Automotive News, subscription required)• Last night Bloomberg reported a Saab board member claiming that the 31 December deadline for a Saab sale or closure 'is not holy'. If GM receives a bid that is 'sufficiently interesting', it'll extend the deadline, said the Saab suit (Automotive News, subscription required)• GM is offering massive discounts on Pontiac and Saturn cars, as it seeks to get rid of the remaining stock from these terminated brands.

CAR interviews the retiring Bob Lutz (2010)

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 09 March 2010 15:34 General Motors' 78-year-old product chief Bob Lutz (insert 'car tsar', 'car guy', 'Maximum Bob' cliché here) announced his retirement shortly after the 2010 Geneva motor show. CAR Online caught up with Maximum Bob to hear of his thoughts on the new GM, future products and exactly what happened behind the scenes during GM's collapse into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. CAR: GM's been on quite a journey over the past 18 months.