Triumph Spitfire Convertable Top Frame on 2040-parts.com

Who killed Pontiac? Ask Bob Lutz

Bob Lutz is not a man who can be contained within 140 characters. This past weekend he spoke at the Petersen as part of the Inside the MotoMan Studio series, hosted by friend of Autoweek George Notaras (past events have been with Ralph Gilles and Derek Jenkins). Lutz talked at length about his childhood in Switzerland, early memories working for Ford and Chrysler, the time he swayed BMW management away from building Mercedes-like luxoboats, and what Lee Iacocca was really like behind closed doors.

BMW set to debut diesel 7-series in the US

While Mercedes-Benz has let us Americans buy diesel versions of its flagship sedan from time to time, BMW has kept a number of versions of the 7-series from our shores, among which are 7-series sedans with diesel engines. Well, it looks like we'll finally be getting a diesel 7-series after all, with the arrival of the 740Ld later this spring. The 740Ld will be powered by a 3.0-liter inline-six diesel engine with a single turbocharger with variable vane turbine technology, making 255-hp and 413 lb-ft of torque, and will be coupled exclusively with BMW's xDrive all-wheel drive system.

2012 Scion xD to start at $16,075

Prices for the 2012 Scion xD will start at $16,075, Toyota said on Wednesday. For the standard five-speed manual, that’s a $235 increase from final price of the 2011 model. The sticker increases to $16,875 for the four-speed automatic version, which is also $235 more expensive than its 2011 counterpart.