Vintage Vehicle Jack; W.e. Pratt Manufacturing Co.chicago; Industrial Steampunk on 2040-parts.com

Porsche 959 prototype to cross the block at Barrett-Jackson

When Professor Helmuth Bott arrived at the fledgling Porsche sports-car company in 1952, he was in his late 20s. The young engineer's first assignment was setting up a gearbox test stand for the company's new all-syncromesh Type 519 transaxle. Thirty-one years later, he gave the go-ahead for the development of a car that was to be the ultimate bleeding edge of what Porsche knew about building a rear-engined sports car.

Buick prices LaCrosse four-cylinder model, due early next year

The Buick LaCrosse will get a four-cylinder engine that could get up to 30 mpg early next year. The LaCrosse, Buick's highly touted new sedan, will start at $26,995 with this powerplant. The direct-injection 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder makes 182 hp and 172 lb-ft of torque.

Alfa Romeo to dump front-drive hatches for rear-drive saloons

Alfa Romeo is set to drop the Mito and Giulietta hatchbacks around 2015, as it switches to solely rear-wheel drive models, CAR's Georg Kacher reveals today (Friday 19 July). The sensational news, which will be music to car enthusiasts' ears, is part of a radical, new plan involving closer collaboration between Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Starting in 2015, Alfa will roll out a BMW 3-series rival, followed by a 5-series rival in 2016.