1928-1929 Model A Ford Passenger Front Fender / Rat Rod on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes signs joint venture to build carbonfibre parts

Not to be outdone by BMW’s joint venture with the SGL Group to manufacturer commercially viable carbonfibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) for the electric Megacity Vehicle, Mercedes has announced a joint venture with Japanese company Toray Industries to manufacturer and market its on CFRP automotive parts. The deal was signed in Germany today, with Toray taking a 50.1% stake, Daimler holding 44.9% and the remaining 5% being taken by other shareholders. The two companies started working together in March 2010, and while Toray has been working on the materials and moulding processes, Merc has designed the automotive parts and the technologies to join the parts together.

A fun car steers brand loyalty, study shows

Car buyers stick with their current brands if the automaker builds fun-to-drive vehicles, a customer-retention study revealed. The J. D.

Infiniti Emerg-E was a Lotus Evora 414E under the skin

Infiniti Emerg-E - it's a Lotus Evora under the skin The Infiniti Emerg-E from the Geneva Motor Show was actually a Lotus Evora 414E under the skin making production more likely. One of the stars of the Geneva Motor Show in March was the stunningly good looking Infiniti Emerg-E, a range-extender sports car from Nissan’s posh arm offering 402bhp from a pair of electric motors and a range-extending 1.2 litre 3-cylinder engine. We knew at Geneva that the 3-cylinder range-extender engine came from Lotus – no surprise as they’ve also supplied the same engine to Jaguar for testing in the XJ Limo Green Hybrid – but what we didn’t know (although we should have worked it out) was that under the skin the Infiniti Emerg-E was actually a Lotus Evora.