Aircraft Maintenance Book Lot on 2040-parts.com

Toyota says quake-hit plants escape major structural damage

Toyota Motor Corp. has released the first damage report for its northern Japanese factories in the region hammered by Friday's massive earthquake, saying some equipment and fixtures will need repairs but that the plants sustained no major structural harm. For days after the quake, Toyota had trouble contacting it plants in the northern Japan quake zone, making it difficult to assess their status.

What Car – Car of the Year Awards 2009

This award goes to the new Ford Fiesta. In particular, The Ford Fiesta 1.25 Zetec. Hard one to argue against, as we found this to be a great little super mini.

BMW announces DesignWorksUSA studio and ConnectedDrive lab in Shanghai

BMW has opened both a DesignWorks studio and a ConnectedDrive lab in Shanghai, China, as a means of gathering information and insight into the Chinese market as the company looks to increase its presence in Asia. Adrian van Hooydonk, Director BMW Group Design, said, "Creating this foothold for both BMW Group Design and DesignworksUSA in Shanghai is of great importance from both strategic and creative standpoints." President of BMW Group DesignWorksUSA Laurenz Schaffer said, "Our new studio in Shanghai places DesignworksUSA at the epicenter of the most rapidly growing and influential consumer market in the world and provides an indispensable resource for shaping our global perspectives for clients." The new studio will perform functions including product, transportation, automotive, environmental and interaction design; color, material and finish design; design communication, research and strategy as well as sustainability consulting. Designers from DesignworksUSA studio in Los Angeles, Munich and Singapore will supplement a local design team.