Tyc 20-6026-00 Headlight on 2040-parts.com

Cash for clunkers plan revives trade fight

Import brand automakers and dealers warned on Thursday that a vehicle scrappage proposal before the Senate would violate trade agreements and could weaken the economy. The Senate could vote on the plan on Thursday, which would offer $10,000 to any moderate- or low-income consumer who trades in a car or truck that is at least 10 years old and buys a new one that is more fuel-efficient and "assembled in the United States." The trade-ins would be scrapped rather than resold. The U.S.-made mandate "smacks of the protectionism that led to the Great Depression," said Barbara Nocera, the top Washington lobbyist for Mazda North American Operations.

Fuji Heavy Industries celebrates 60th birthday

Fuji Heavy Industries, the corporate parent of Subaru, celebrated its 60th birthday a few days ago. The storied multinational company makes everything from wind turbines to airplane parts, and conducts business in more than a hundred countries. Even though the origins of the company date back to 1917, the Fuji Heavy Industries we know today was formed in 1953.

Double Oh My! James Bond Aston Martin sells for $4.6 million

Perhaps the single most breathtaking car of the fall auction season, a 1964 Aston Martin DB5--better known as the James Bond car--sold for $4.61 million to Ohio collector Harry Yeaggy on Wednesday at the RM Auctions Automobiles of London sale. The Aston was expected to sell for more than $5 million, and the sale fell a bit short of that, registering a final bid of 2.6 million British pounds, or $4,114,760. Buyer's premiums raise the total sale price to $4.61 million.