2009-2011 Kawasaki Ninja 650 - 30 Liter Top Case Bracket - 017bru-0030 on 2040-parts.com

Aston Martin make Nissan’s Andy Palmer their new CEO

Andy Palmer (pictured) is taking the reins at Aston Martin Lagonda Aston Martin has effectively been without a boss since Ulrich Bez stepped down from the role last year, but that changes with the announcement that Andrew Palmer – until now, Chief Planning Officer of Nissan – is to step in to the role. There’s no specific start date for Andy Palmer at Aston, but Nissan has announced that Philippe Klein will take up Palmer’s role at Nissan on 15 September, so it shouldn’t be long before Palmer holds the reins at Aston Martin. But what exactly has persuaded Andy Palmer to jump from a big corporate behemoth like Nissan to a struggling luxury car maker with owners who either want to tug the operating strings (the Kuwaitis) or are looking for a quick return (Investindustrial)?

Electric Porsche Boxster being developed

Porsche are developing and electric Porsche Boxster It’s not exactly a surprise that Porsche has announced its intention to develop an electric roadster based on the Porsche Boxster, after all – as part of VW – they have access to an awful lot of technology and they’d be foolish to let car makers like Tesla or Fisker potentially steal some future Porsche glory. So starting early next year – as part of a programme Porsche call Modellregion Elektromobilität – three electric Boxsters will be out and about with their electric powertrains in the real world to give Porsche feedback. Porsche are making it absolutely clear that this rolling lab for an electric Boxster is entirely complimentary to – and in no way undermines – their hybrid programme, which includes the Panamera and Cayenne Hybrid and the Hybrid Hypercar that should soon become the production Porsche 918 Spyder.

Audi A5 Sportback (2009) teaser photo, sketch and video

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 17 June 2009 00:01 This is the first picture of Audi’s new A5 Sportback, essentially an (oxymoronic) four-door version of its A5 Coupe. It’s the first time Audi has officially acknowledged the existence of the car, and along with the solitary photo, the company has also issued a design sketch and video to drum up interest ahead of the A5 Sportback’s launch later in 2009. Bingo – that’s exactly Ingolstadt’s catchphrase for the new car.