Viair Braided Stainless Steel Leader Hose 92803 on 2040-parts.com

Rockin' Supercar: The Rebirth, Short Life, and Death of a Shark-Fin-Equipped '85 Toyota Tercel Wagon

Sometimes a very ordinary car becomes something special, maybe even loved, but that's not always enough to keep it out of the jaws of the crusher. This is the story of a second-gen Toyota Tercel wagon (known in Japan as the Sprinter Carib) and its journey from auction to lumber-hauler to kid transportation to a Chinese steel factory. Around the turn of the century, while I was working at a doomed dot-com in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, I discovered that the city auctioned off all the unclaimed tow-away cars every week at nearby Pier 70.

BMW Alpina B5 Bi-Turbo Touring (2011): first pictures

Alpina has released first details of the estate edition of its 5-series based B5 Bi-Turbo. The wannabe M5 Touring car will be officially unveiled at the 2011 Geneva motor show next week. Alpina has been tuning BMWs for more than 40 years with the factory's blessing and increasingly close collaboration. Presaging the recent move by BMW M to forced-induction engines, Alpina first turbocharged the 5-series when they launched the B10 Bi-Turbo of 1989.

Mini hits three million milestone

THE MUCH-LOVED new Mini has reached two major milestones this week. Since BMW took over the brand in 2001, three million Minis have now been produced at the plant in Oxford and the company has also reached the two million mark in Minis for export. The three millionth Mini is a five-door Hatch Cooper S and has a special exterior design to celebrate its heritage and British roots.