02-06 Lexus Es300 Es330 Cover Front Seat Right 71875-33030 on 2040-parts.com

Volkswagen's No. 1 ambition: How it plans to rule the world

When Ferdinand Piech celebrates his 74th birthday on April 17 in his villa in Salzburg, Austria, with his wife, Ursula, his youngest son, Gregor, and other close family members, he likely will look back at his career and break into a big, satisfied smile. The chairman of Volkswagen AG's supervisory board wants to turn Volkswagen Group into the world's largest automaker. And he loves it when a plan comes together.

Million Dollar Fiat: 1953 Zagato Fiat 8V Elaborata

Fiat's first, and only, V8 engine debuted at the 1952 Geneva Auto Show powering a sleek two-seater intended to dominate Ferrari, Maserati and Lancia in two-liter sports-car racing. The car was designated the 8V, or Otto Vu in Italian, because Fiat had mistakenly thought that Ford held a trademark on V8. Fiat's legendary design engineer Dante Giacosa mounted the upper portions of a pair of 70-degree V4 engines on a single crankcase to make the 1996-cc, OHV V8.

What Americans want, according to Fiat design boss Ramaciotti

American cars are big; European cars are small. And it's always been that way. But that old distinction may be diminishing, says Fiat Group design boss Lorenzo Ramaciotti.