97 98 Eighty Eight R. Corner/park Light Cornering Fender Mounted Regency 315312 on 2040-parts.com

Old is new again: Will a floor-hinged throttle pedal be in your future?

If you think that every little nut, bolt, switch, gear or widget in your new car wasn't scrutinized by a team of highly educated, overworked car geeks (read: engineers), think again. A couple of recent conversations with automotive engineers confirmed that virtually nothing that goes into a car today is taken for granted. During the recent Pebble Beach weekend, I had the pleasure of spending time with an engineer for Jaguar, and the subject turned to materials used for various switches in the cabin.

Next-generation Land Rover Range Rover photos leaked

Land Rover has not been one to radically remake the Range Rover with any great haste. The first-generation ute was in production for 26 years, subject only to incremental improvements. The current vehicle, developed during BMW's stewardship of the brand in the 1990s and early aughts, saw a midcycle engine switch from a Munich-bred bent-eight to Jaguar's well-regarded AJ powerplant.

The Name Game: Why the next Buick will be called the Verano

Verano means “summer” in Spanish, though it could easily be a type of coffee or even a brand of crystal. But the idea behind the latest Buick was to snare an upscale, forward-sounding name to lure to new customers. Buick could have gone with an alpha-numeric designation, or even dipped into its heritage for a storied moniker from the past.