Volkswagen Oem 561881405gufe Front Seat-seat Cover on 2040-parts.com

GM profits surge to $3.2 billion in first quarter

General Motors on Thursday posted net income of $3.2 billion for the first quarter, its fifth straight quarterly profit since emerging from bankruptcy. Stripping out one-time charges and gains, including $1.6 billion in income from the March sale of GM's ownership in Delphi Automotive, GM earned $2 billion before interest and taxes. GM's net income for the January-through-March period a year earlier was $865 million.

2012 Mercedes SL Spied

2012 Mercedes SL caught testing When the fifth generation Mercedes SL hit the headlines back in 2002 it was a revelation, offering as it did the best of a coupe and a convertible and a completely bonkers performance version in the SL55. But eight years is a long time in the life of a car – even with a cosmetic facelift in 2008 – and the SL has lost its way as the flagship of the Mercedes range. More powerful cars like the SLS have put the SL in to the shadows, and even its little brother – the Mercedes SLK – is probably more desirable.

Fuel magazine films Ford designer Craig Metros in his Melbourne workshop

Australian auto culture magazine, Fuel, has created this beautiful short film, Factory 6, featuring an interview with Melbourne-based, Detroit-raised Ford Chief Designer, Craig Metros. The film explores the shared Melbourne workshop space in which Metros and five other designers work on a number of automotive and art projects in their spare time. It offers a great insight into his inspirations, his feelings on making the jump from Detroit to Melbourne and how it feels to have fulfilled a childhood dream.