Bosch 04159 Ignition Rotor on 2040-parts.com

Who's Where: Walter de'Silva appointed Head of VW Group Design

Volkswagen has just announced that Walter de'Silva, 55, has been appointed Head of Volkswagen Group Design. Since March 2002, de'Silva has been Head of Design at the now discontinued Audi brand group. There, in addition to supervising the Audi brand design, he was also in charge of Seat and Lamborghini.

Porsche says Panamera avoids gas-guzzler tax

Few expenses were spared in conceiving the Porsche Panamera, but consumers will avoid at least one cost of ownership: the ignominious gas-guzzler tax. Porsche has announced ratings for the 2010 sedan; it will get a combined figure of 18 mpg or 19 mpg from the EPA, depending on the model. This means Porsche’s four-door foray will avoid a fairly substantial cost of ownership--a tax of up to $7,700 is levied on the most prolific guzzlers.

Audi digs at Mercedes with the help of a pair of Spocks (video)

Audi likes nothing more than a bit of ‘celebrity’ kudos, which is why you’ll find endless celebs (and royalty) running round in Audis thanks to ‘enhanced’ lease deals and freebie cars. But it’s not just individual celebs that Audi loves, they also love a blockbuster film or two, which is why you’ll also see Tony Stark running around in a car with four rings in Iron Man 3 and, although there aren’t many Audis in space (or on the Enterprise), you’ll find Audi pitching in for a bit of PR on the back of the new Star Trek film – Star Trek Into Darkness. Audi has enlisted the services of Mr Spock in the guise of the original (Leonard Nimoy) and the new (Zachary Quinto) to highlight the benefits of driving an Audi, and getting a dig in at Mercedes in the process.