78-85 Monte Carlo Driver Side Mirror on 2040-parts.com

It looks like Aston Martin could be getting AMG/Mercedes platforms too

Mercedes/AMG platforms would make the Lagonda SUV a reality We’d been expecting Aston Martin to get access to Mercedes platforms ever since the Lagonda SUV – based on the underpinnings of the Mercedes GL - arrived in all its ‘beauty’ in 2009. The Lagonda SUV was met with wails of anguish from lovers of Aston Martin’s timeless beauty but, despite the horror at the looks of the SUV, the prospect that Aston Martin could be heading down a collaboration route with Mercedes was welcome. It was welcome because without the support of a major car maker – and access to its technology – Aston Martin would have little chance of a bright future; there is no way a minnow like Aston Martin could afford the development cost of new engines and platforms.

Nissan opens new design studio in Beijing

Delayed by the deadly earthquake that hit Japan earlier this year, Nissan Motor Co.'s new design center in Beijing finally received a proper opening this week, when global design chief Shiro Nakamura showed off the studio as a new source of ideas for Nissan and Infiniti. Nissan Design China, as the Beijing-based center is known, "is not a studio to just generate ideas for China," Nakamura said in an interview with Car Design News. It's equipped to handle designs of show cars and production cars for both Nissan and Infiniti brands, aimed at customers in China, as well as around the world.

2014 Range Rover Evoque revealed with 9-speed gearbox & Active Driveline

The 2014 Range Rover Evoque (pictured) gets a raft of improvements for 2014 In the run-up to the Geneva Motor Show in March, Land Rover revealed they were planning to fit a new 9-speed ZF automatic gearbox to the 2014 Range Rover Evoque. And they’ve done that, and more, as they reveal the 2014 Evoque. It’s hard to call the 2014 Evoque a facelift as it’s more about evolving the Evoque with improvements as it matures, but there are some interesting changes beyond a few cosmetic upgrades for 2014. Chief amongst the changes is the new 9-speed ZF ‘box which promises some quite impressive economy improvements, with fuel consumption, and therefore emissions, improving by up to 11.4 per cent with the most frugal Evoque – the FWD with the 148bhp 2.2 litre diesel – now boasting official figures of 57.6mpg and 129g/km.