International Sensor # 1839416c91 on 2040-parts.com

German Parts Pillagers Roam the American Southwest, Sending Treasures Home For Future Car Museum

Quite a few older European cars are purchased in rust-free parts of the United States and then shipped back to the home continent, and this process tends to intensify when the Euro gets stronger versus the dollar. While that's going on, crews of European gearheads also roam the wrecking yards of the Southwest, filling shipping containers with parts to ship back home; I know of a trio of Swedes who come to Colorado every year and ship home tons of parts, but they've got nothing on this pair of Germans. These gentlemen fly to the United States four times each year, spending two or three weeks each trip, and send home cars and shipping containers packed with parts, all as part of a scheme to open up a car collection showcasing "cars from the road." They were kind enough to send me a bunch of photos of their most recent trip, so let's see what their enviable lifestyle looks like.

BMW i3 caught testing in New York

BMW has been hyping its futuristic i lineup for years now, but the long lead time doesn't mean that the highly efficient, carbon-fiber-based vehicles are vaporware. Earlier this month, we test drove pre-production versions of the i3 and i8, and last week, Autoweek reader Frank Cogliano spied the former vehicle on the road. Cogliano caught this wrapped i3 near Stony Point, New York -- about 30 minutes from BMW's New Jersey headquarters.

Nissan Titan still has a future

Even without a deal to team up with Chrysler Group on a new pickup, Nissan Motor Co. plans to keep the Titan truck in its lineup and develop a new range of models on its own. "We will do the next-generation Titan in-house," Larry Dominique, Nissan North America Inc.'s vice president for product planning, told Automotive News last week at the Detroit auto show.