Volkswagen Passat Engine Brain Box Electronic Control Module; 4 Cyl 02 on 2040-parts.com

Akio Toyoda named Toyota president amid global crisis

Akio Toyoda, scion of Toyota Motor Corp.'s founding family and now its next president, will bring a U.S. perspective to the automaker as it battles falling sales and an unprecedented financial crisis. Toyoda, 52, will succeed current President Katsuaki Watanabe in June, the company said Tuesday, ending weeks of speculation.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage S: The Video

Aston Martin V8 Vantage S on track at the Ascari Circuit in Spain We’re always up for a bit of Aston Martin goodness, so we were more than happy to report in January that Aston Martin has added a bit of extra oomph to the V8 to create the Aston Martin V8 Vantage S. To be honest, there’s not a huge amount of extra power on the Vantage V8 S – just 10bhp – but there are a chunk of tweaks that make it very appealing, including a new seven speed Sportshift ‘box, sharper steering, better braking and a bit of suspension tweaking to make the V8S that bit more aggressive. All this new V8 S goodness was served up at the Geneva Motor Show last week, but we got a bit sidetracked with the new Aston Martin Virage – or DB9 Ghia – in a marmite shade of orange hogging AM’s Geneva stand.

Alfa Romeo Celebrates Giulietta Anniversary With Retro Price Tag

ITALIAN car maker Alfa Romeo has made one customer very happy, after turning back the clock to 1954 prices for a brand new Giulietta. The original Giulietta Sprint was first unveiled to the public on April 19 1954 at the Turin Motor Show, and later sold for the princely sum of just £1,250. To celebrate the iconic model’s 60th anniversary, Alfa Romeo UK entered all customers who ordered a new Giulietta during the 60th anniversary event (April 7-22, 2014) into a prize draw, offering one customer the chance to be refunded the difference between the 1954 and 2014 prices.