00 01 02 Mitsubishi Eclipse Contervible Top Master Switch Oem on 2040-parts.com

Orphan Car Show highlights long-gone classics

Marvelous as it is a setting for car shows, Riverside Park in Ypsilanti, Mich., does present a risk: The park is built in the floodplain of the Huron River. When organizers showed up to stage this year's Orphan Car Show--the nation's largest to feature cars built by companies that no longer do business in America--on June 6, they found the judging stand underwater. An impromptu “show” throughout nearby Depot Town and at the host Miller Motors Hudson/Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum wasn't quite the same thing.

Toyota to close Australian design studio

Toyota designers at its Technical Center Asia Pacific Australia (TTCAP-AU) are to lose their jobs as part of Toyota's decision to scale back the facility's activities as well as halting all manufacturing within the country by 2017. The TTCAP-AU, which carries out all its Australian design and evaluation operations, employs 150 designers and modelers and it's possible that its activities with the Camry, Camry Hybrid and Aurion models could be scrapped, raising doubts over its future. Around 2,500 employees at Toyota's Altona manufacturing plant are expected to lose their jobs, although the effects are likely to be wider ranging.

Chevrolet Cruze gets better fuel economy for the 2012 model year

The 2012 Chevrolet Cruze is making a run at its Eco brother, with a highway fuel-economy rating of 38 mpg with an automatic transmission, 2 mpg more than last it got last year. A manual transmission is now more widely available on the Cruze, according to the General Motors ordering guide. The 1LT and 2LT models will now be available with the six-speed manual, which should increase the fun quotient with the turbocharged 1.4-liter engine.