New techniques cut cost of carbon fiber

Carbon fiber, once so costly that it was the preferred material only for fighter planes and supercars, is catching the attention of weight-conscious automakers. Carbon fiber's cost is falling dramatically, thanks to production advances that let suppliers speed the material's finicky, and costly, curing process. One technological breakthrough that makes carbon-fiber auto parts more affordable may come from a process used to make carbon-fiber golf clubs.

Aston Martin to shift Rapide production to U.K.

Aston Martin said it will transfer production of the Rapide sedan to the U.K. from Magna Steyr in Austria. Rapide production will move to the company's headquarters in Gaydon, central England, in the second half of 2012, the company said Tuesday.

BMW X5 (2010 / 2011) – UK prices, details +video

BMW has revamped the X5 with cosmetic tweaks and new engines Yesterday we reported on the first details of the 2010 / 2011 BMW X5. We knew the official information was due to come out today, but the first set of images had turned up – together with a fair bit of detail of the 2010 facelift for the X5 – so we thought you’d be interested in seeing what BMW had done to the X5. As expected, the information dropped in to our inbox in the early hours and – beyond proper sized pictures of the X5 – the detail we brought you yesterday was pretty much spot-on.