Wheelhouse Rr Lh on 2040-parts.com

From Cape Town to London -- in a Fiat Panda

If we wanted to break the speed record for the run from Cape Town, South Africa to London -- a quick 10,000-mile jaunt -- we'd start out by scouring the classifieds for something big and rugged. A Land Rover would be a classic choice, but a tricked-out Toyota or Jeep could do nicely as well. A team consisting of British rally drivers Philip Young and Paul Brace are taking a somewhat different approach.

Peter Horbury replaces Steve Mattin as Vice President of Design at Volvo Cars

Ford Motor Company announced key changes to both Volvo Cars and Ford's Americas design operations today. Effective May 1, Peter Horbury, currently Executive Director of Ford Americas Design, will return to Volvo as Vice President of Design, replacing Steve Mattin who, according to Volvo, "elected to leave the company". Insider sources tell us he was forced out.

Toyoda testimony: As automaker grew, safety suffered

Toyota Motor Corp. president Akio Toyoda plans to tell lawmakers on Wednesday that the company regrettably chased growth at the expense of safety in recent years, and he will announce steps to improve Toyota's handling of customer complaints. Toyoda's written testimony to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee says the automaker's priorities “became confused.” “We pursued growth over the speed at which we were able to develop our people and our organization,” Toyoda says.