1928 Buick Gas Fuel Gauge Water Temperature Dash Instrument Cluster Master Std on 2040-parts.com

The no-show cars: a reader rant on mad concepts

Instigated by Harley Earl at General Motors in the late 30s with the quaintly named Buick Y-Job, show cars, or concept cars, were presented to an excited public eager for new things. As the world recovered from a depression and then a war, these vehicles pointed to a better future that many people believed in, including the people who produced them. And, although many of the concept cars of the 50s, with their Jetsons plexiglass roofs and notional nuclear powered engines seem ludicrous now, in their time they weren’t that cynical.

Bugatti takes a pair of Veyrons to Shanghai show

The growth of manufacturing in Asia has minted more than a few wealthy people--the target audience for Bugatti. The French-based boutique carmaker took two examples of the Veyron to this week's Shanghai motor show--the Asian debut for the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport and an individually customized 16.4 Grand Sport. The Veyron 16.4 Super Sport in Shanghai wears black-colored carbon-fiber bodywork, accented with polished and anodized aluminum trim such as the badges and wheels.

Fiat 500 gets dressed up by Mopar

Chrysler is cranking up its Mopar parts unit to make it easier to customize the diminutive Fiat 500. Mopar will have more than 150 parts for the Fiat, including a Wi-Fi router to turn your microcar into a wireless hot spot. "The Fiat 500 is one of the most accessorized vehicles in Europe," said Pietro Gorlier, president and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC's service, parts and customer-care brand.