1992-1998 Bmw 318i 323i 325i 328i E36 Drivers Window Motor Coupe & Convertible on 2040-parts.com

Michael Mauer appointed head of design at Porsche

Porsche AG has anounced the appointment of Michael Mauer to take over as chief designer from Harm Lagaay, who will retire on July 1 after 15 years in the post. Michael Mauer, 41, studied automobile design at Pforzheim University, and started his career at Mercedes-Benz. In 1989, he was appointed design project leader for the Mercedes V Class models, and was in charge of design work for the first SLK model generation.

GM envisions future city car with EN-V concepts

The city car of the future will seat two people, run on electric power and communicate with other vehicles to reach a destination faster while automatically avoiding traffic tie-ups and crashes. General Motors, working with electric-scooter maker Segway, has developed three concepts tailored toward that vision of future transportation. The Electric Networked Vehicle, or EN-V, concepts go on display May 1 at the World Expo in Shanghai.

Ford Escape recall addresses door handle issue

Ford is recalling Escape SUVs from the 2013 and 2014 model years for a problem that can make the doors difficult to close or -- more ominously -- can cause the doors to open while driving. A total of 581,986 SUVs made between October 5, 2013, and April 10, 2014, are affected; Ford blames the recall on assembly misalignment between the exterior door handle and the door outer panel. The danger of this assembly issue involves the possibility of an unbelted passenger falling out of the SUV, though Ford has not indicated that any such incident has occurred.