Toyota Crown Majesta 2000 Hood [4310500] on 2040-parts.com

1884 De Dion Runabout sells for $4.62 million at RM auction

Two weeks ago we told you about one of the world's oldest running motor cars going up for auction in Hershey, Pa. That car, the 1884 De Dion Bouton Et Trepardoux Dos-A-Dos Steam Runabout, sold on Oct. 7 for more than double its estimated price--a cool $4.62 million.

BMW and Toyota to team up for sports car

BMW and Toyota have agreed to jointly engineer and produce a new sports car as part of a broad-reaching technical partnership that is also set to center on lightweight construction solutions, fuel-cell development and hybrid powertrains. The announcement of the deal builds on an existing agreement for the supply of BMW diesel engines for various Toyota models, agreed to in December 2011. That was advanced with the signing of a memorandum by BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer and Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda in Munich, Germany, on Friday.

AutoWeek office swag: Mazda rotary-engine keychain with realistic motion

When I got the keys to our long-term 2011 Mazda 5 last week, they came with a surprise--this aluminum-and-brass keychain in the shape of a rotary-engine housing, complete with moving rotor. The rotor doesn't just rattle around or spin in a circle. Thanks to a thumbwheel on the back of the housing, coupled with a timing gear and offset crank journal, the thing actually moves in an approximation of epitrochoidal motion just like a real Wankel.