Yamaha Kodiak 400 Right Foot Peg (d5) on 2040-parts.com

Toyota announces winners in design competition (w/ Video)

Toyota has announced the winners of a sponsored design competition hosted by London's Royal College of Art. Based on the theme of ‘Intelligent Urban Living', the winners include a simple but effective vertical storage system to keep bikes out of reach of thieves and a keyboard display that makes life easier for two-fingered typists. Inspired by the design of Toyota's innovative iQ city car, which addresses many of the challenges of modern city living with its compact dimensions, the contest generated inspiration that gave a new twist to some familiar household objects and produced innovations to make modern life easier and more environmentally responsible.

2011 Chevrolet Volt faces toughest test--consumers

Scientists, journalists and a slew of other alleged experts have all weighed in on the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, and now the only verdict that truly matters--the public's--will be rendered. General Motors said 6,348 consumers have taken the extended-range car for a spin during a 12-city “Volt Unplugged Tour,” and not surprisingly, GM's reviewers like it. Still, initial feedback does appear to be truly positive.

New Altima, Fusion challenge Camry and Accord for sales dominance

The Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion have entered the thick of the midsize sedan sales chase -- long a battle mainly between the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord -- leaving the rest of the pack a few laps behind. The also-rans include the Chevrolet Malibu and Hyundai Sonata. A lackluster design has hampered sales of the Malibu, and short supplies have held back the Sonata.