Arctic Cat 400 4x4 Fuse Block W/ Fuses 03-08 on 2040-parts.com

Volkswagen plans 4 million cars from one platform

Volkswagen is pushing the global-platform concept to a level unprecedented in the auto industry, introducing a modular platform this summer that eventually will be the basis of microcars, sedans, crossovers and SUVs for its four largest brands. While automakers now share platforms across brands and sometimes even segments, the VW initiative that starts this summer is far more ambitious than anything seen so far. By 2017, some analysts estimate, the MQB platform that debuts with the Audi A3 eventually will be used in 4 million units a year--close to half of VW's annual production.

Gorden Wagener on how Mercedes is "moving from a traditional luxury brand to a modern luxury brand"

Mercedes' 'home' design studio in Sindelfingen, Germany is housed in an expansive 30,000-square meter building designed by Renzo Piano. The lobby is unassuming, but we're soon through into what Mercedes' grandly calls 'the Vision Room.' It's here that strategic meetings are held with the firm's board, and where we meet Gorden Wagener, Mercedes' head of design since 2008. It's in the Vision Room that Wagener convinced the Mercedes board of the merits of his overarching design philosophy: 'sensual purity'.

Formula One class of 2014: the official pictures

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 31 January 2014 11:30 The 2014 Formula One season is only weeks away. With 2.4-litre V8 engines in the bin and turbocharged 1.6-litre V6s with twice the electrical boost power powering the racers, a controverdial triple-points rule in Abu Dhabi, and wild-looking new nosecones thanks to the latest FIA crash regulations, the class of 2014’s machines are the most radically different F1 cars in decades. If the old adage of a pretty car being a winning car rings true this season, we suspect Sauber, Red Bull and Marussia will squabble for the title, with Caterham surprised to see themselves battling Lotus and Toro Rosso at the back of the field.