Maxxis Els on 2040-parts.com

Japan automakers extend shutdowns as quake impact widens

Japan's seven big automakers are extending nationwide production shutdowns amid growing concern about supply chain interruptions, power shortages and export difficulties following the massive earthquake and tsunami that hammered northern Japan, killing thousands. Toyota Motor Corp., one of the few automakers with a major manufacturing presence in the quake zone, suspended all manufacturing--at both assembly and parts plants--on Monday and extended the shutdown through at least Wednesday as an added precaution. The company will lose output of roughly 40,000 vehicles over the three-day period, spokesman Dion Corbett said.

Celebrating the Bugatti clan at the Mullin Museum

Legend holds that Ettore Bugatti was at dinner with some of his wealthiest clients when an aristocratic lady -- who already owned numerous Bugattis -- lamented, "I want to buy another Bugatti…but I want the most luxurious car in the world. Too bad I have to buy a Rolls-Royce or a Hispano-Suiza." Ettore nodded politely, in that insouciant way that temperamental geniuses do in order to distance their own reactions, excused himself after dinner, ran to his hotel room, and drew what would become the Type 41 Royale -- the most astonishing, dramatic, expensive luxury car in the world. True to the name of the recent crop of limited-edition Veyron SuperSports (and what Veyron isn't a limited edition?), Bugatti traffics in legend.

Hongik University Degree Show 2008

Hongik University held its tenth annual Degree Show late last year at the university's Modern Gallery in Seoul, Korea. With a focus on creating the next generation of sedans for the graduating students' favorite brands, luxury sedans were developed using various design procedures. The students produced sketches, a 1/10 half-mirror clay model, a 3D model with scanned modeling data in Alias, and created the proposals using a CNC machine.