Visteon Alternators/starters 7776 Alternator/generator-reman Alternator on 2040-parts.com

Honda goes social with the Sounds of Civic songwriting contest

It seems all automakers are tapping the social-media networks these days. From the Ford Mustang Mayhem package to the Toyota Prius plural campaign, conventional wisdom is there's nothing a few thousand Facebook fans can't handle. The latest automaker to hop the train is Honda, which is sponsoring a creative songwriting competition called the Sounds of Civic to mark the debut of the 2012 Honda Civic.

MINI: Meet the MINI Family Video

MINI sends us a 2011 family video Many moan that MINI has become a parody under BMW, but the truth is that it’s just become an enormous success with BMW doing what BL tried to do a generation ago – and failed. BL failed to grow and develop the Mini beyond the 1960s, although it had success in the ’60s with badge-engineered Minis (Riley Elf, Wolsely Hornet), Mini Coopers and Countrymans, and even a grown-up Mini – the Austin/Morris 1100. So BMW are really only carrying on what BL did in the ’60s, just in spades.

Bentley designers create one-off pieces to benefit The Prince's Trust

Bentley Motors graduates are to stage an auction of handcrafted collector's items in a fundraising event for The Prince's Trust. Workers from the Tooling, Woodshop and Styling teams at the manufacturer have crafted around 20 different stylish and high-end products to auction off online in aid of the UK youth charity, which is headed by the Prince of Wales and provides practical and financial support to 14 to 30-year-olds. Display items include a chess set with pieces tooled from aluminum set on a classy veneered board and a table crafted from a polished V8 engine from the Bentley Mulsanne and a cutlery set commissioned by Robert Welch, engraved with the Bentley emblem.