Ct73wh Classic Instruments White Hot Package on 2040-parts.com

New techniques cut cost of carbon fiber

Carbon fiber, once so costly that it was the preferred material only for fighter planes and supercars, is catching the attention of weight-conscious automakers. Carbon fiber's cost is falling dramatically, thanks to production advances that let suppliers speed the material's finicky, and costly, curing process. One technological breakthrough that makes carbon-fiber auto parts more affordable may come from a process used to make carbon-fiber golf clubs.

One Lap of the Web: Wax that woody; Bentley gets high-tech

-- Bentley comes striding into the 21st century with a Mulsanne souped up with no fewer than two keyboard-equipped iPads in the backseat, hidden behind veneered wood inlays. In a short film titled "Intelligent Details" -- one must assume Bentley marketers had to resist the urge to call it "Intelligent Design" -- Luc Donckerwolke, director of design, and Sang Yup Lee, head of exterior design, go for a ride in black-and-white Manhattan. Naturally, they are not driving.

'Super salesman' calls time on 100,000-sale career

A SO-CALLED ‘super salesman’ is calling time on his career after notching up an incredible 100,000 car sales over half a century. Ken Searle, who works for Benfield Motor Group in the North East, started with British Leyland before moving to a new team selling Datsun cars when they first arrived in Britain. A proud Ken said: “I’ve loved every minute of my career and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.