1977 Ford Mustang Ii Sales Brochure on 2040-parts.com

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.

2013 BMW M5 facelift & new M6 get Competition Package

The BMW M5 (left) & M6 with new Competition Packacge But the 2013 BMW M5 – and its coupe sister, the BMW M6 – will also be getting a Competition Package option for 2013, which is probably more interesting than the minor tweaks to the 2013 5 Series. The Competition Package adds more power to both the M5 and M6 – a whole 15bhp, taking it up to 567bhp – enough to improve the 0-62mph by 0.2s on both M5 and M6 as well as re-tuned dampers and springs – which lower ride height on the M5, but not the M6 – stiffer anti-roll bars, new M Diff and an improved Dynamic Mode which should allow you to play a bit more. On the cosmetic front, just like the 5 Series facelift, you’ll have to look quite hard to see what the Competition Package adds, but you do get a black finish on the tail pipes and a slightly different set of 20″ alloys.

Big 4x4s do have a use after all!

Well, it looks like the value of my Porsche Cayenne S may just have risen from nothing to something! The heaviest snowfall in the south east for many years has lead to chaos on our roads. Slip-sliding around has been the name of the game, with only 4 wheel drive cars being able to make progress on some of our poorly-gritted roads.