1981 Aries Hemi 2.6 on 2040-parts.com

Volkswagen hits back, weighs making a bid for Porsche

Volkswagen is considering an audacious reverse-takeover bid for its majority shareholder, Porsche, in a twist in the drawn-out struggle for control between the two German carmakers. The Volkswagen Group's supervisory board is said to be weighing the possibility of purchasing Porsche AG, in a move that would relieve its holding company, Porsche SE, of massive debt that industry analysts suggest the company may not be able to fund should the world's financial crisis drag on well into 2010--a scenario put forward this week by the International Monetary Fund. The secret plan emerged as shareholders were set to convene at Volkswagen's annual meeting on Thursday, and it comes after Porsche revealed that it is carrying some 9 billion euros ($11.73 billion) in debt, most of it owing to interest on loans taken out to purchase its 50.8 percent stake in VW.

Drink-and-drive deaths down in 2007

By Tom Richards Motor Industry 08 August 2008 12:08 The latest figures from the Department for Transport show the number of people killed in drink-driving accidents in the UK fell in 2007. According to the data the number of fatal accidents dropped by 16 percent from 2006 to 2007 (from 490 to 410), while the number of deaths in these accidents fell 18 percent (down to 460 in 2007 from 650 in 2006). But while the number of deaths is going down, hospitals are still being kept busy as drink-drive casualties rose from 11,840 in 2006 to 12,260 in 2007, a jump of four percent.

Report finds California leads nation in car thefts

It's not just the weather that's hot in California--apparently lots of the cars are, too. The National Insurance Crime Bureau released its list of the top 10 car-theft areas in the country for 2010. Eight of them are in the Golden State, mostly in rural areas.