Falcon Steering Systems Fes3461 Tie Rod-steering Tie Rod End on 2040-parts.com

Ralph Gilles talks past, present and SRT future

Ralph Gilles -- SRT boss, Chrysler vice president of design, curator of something called the "Man Van," has become the public face of Chrysler performance, carrying the legacy of Firepower engines and 428 Coronets and the Dodge Viper RT/10 into the future with the Challenger, Charger and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8s. Since "unofficially" helping form it in 2003, Gilles has seen SRT transformed into Chrysler's most coherent performance strategy since Plymouth Rapid Transit, a company-wide force so much greater than the flagship Dodge Viper. He was there from the beginning.

Toyota and Mercedes-Benz are top global car brands

Toyota & Mercedes-Benz are the Top Global Automotive Brands 2011 Interbrand, a branding consultancy, delivers a report on the world’s brands every year, and in 2011, despite recall woes and the devastation of the Japanese Tsunami, Toyota leads the automotive brands, with luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz just behind. Interbrand uses three measures to gauge how effective a brand is – performance of branded product, the brands ability to secure earnings and the role of the brand in purchasing decisions – to come up with a chart of the top 100 world brands. At the top of the tree are companies like Coca Cola, IBM, Microsoft and Google, but car brands do well with Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Honda, VW, and Ford all making it in to the top 50.

Porsche Cayman R (2010) first official pictures

This is the new 2010 Porsche Cayman R, the lightest and most powerful version yet of Stuttgart’s mid-engined sports car, and the closest it’s ever been allowed to get to the hallowed 911. Over and above the Cayman S, the Cayman R has a mere 10bhp more, taking the total to 325bhp – the torque figure is unchanged at 272lb ft. Much more impressive (and important) are the weight reductions: the Cayman R is 55kg lighter than the Cayman S.