Volvo Penta Aq 131, 151, 230 Heads Cover on 2040-parts.com

Ford's NA Design Director aims to shorten product lifecycles

Peter Horbury, Ford Motor Company North America Design Director, has told Automotive News he intends to shorten product lifecycles at the ailing company from an average five years to three years starting this decade. "We feel there is no value in minor changes but a huge value in major changes," Horbury told the industry weekly. Ford needs to ensure that buyers continue visiting showrooms as the giant automaker struggles to retain market share.

A CAR reader’s festival ride in the Jaguar XKR 75

CAR reader Archie Robertson, from Hertfordshire, won a money-can’t-buy prize at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed thanks to CAR Magazine and Jaguar: an XFR super saloon for the weekend and VIP tickets to Goodwood including an unforgettable ride up the hill. Archie and his wife Judy spent Friday at the Festival of Speed with Jaguar hospitality thrown in. But the highlight of the day was a ride in the new Jaguar XKR 75, sitting alongside Jaguar’s chief chassis guru and driving legend Mike Cross, as he slithered and rocketed up Lord March’s front drive.

New SRT Viper spotted in the wild

Sure, we've seen the 2013 SRT Viper at the New York auto show and in glossy magazine photos. But how does it look on the street, among other more pedestrian vehicles? Autoweek reader Spencer Abbott spotted this 2013 SRT Viper cooling its heels in a Metro Detroit parking lot.